Autonomous Motivations for Yoga and Allied Therapies and Their Association with Treatment Outcome: A...

Determining whether individuals' intrinsic or extrinsic motivation for treatment best predicts a favorable outcome assists in developing strategies to accordingly influence motivation for conventionally used psychosocial interventions, where motivation is considered necessary for treatment effectiveness. Categorizing motivation based on autonomy and relating autonomy in motivation to treatment effectiveness has not been reported for yoga therapy. To determine this association, we recruited patients from a wellness center (n = 389, female-to-male ratio 252:137, age 18-50), mostly presenting with diseases of the musculoskeletal system or connective tissue (21.3%) or endocrine, nutritional, or metabolic diseases (18.8%). Assessments included: (1) motivation for yoga therapy at baseline (using a modified version of the RM4-FM motivation for physical activity questionnaire); and (2) treatment outcome, assessed at baseline and after 7 days of residential yoga and allied therapies (with the EuroQol 5D-3L questionnaire and Global Perceived Effect scale). The intervention included yoga, with allied treatments (e.g., hydrotherapy) about 26% of the time. Multivariable regression analyses (controlled for age, gender, and baseline EuroQol 5D-3L set values and EuroQol 5D-3L visual analog scale scores) showed a significant negative association between the Relative Autonomy Index and Global Perceived Effect scores (β = -0.135) and identified regulation (a dimension of extrinsic motivation) and change in EuroQol 5D-3L value scores (β = -0.114). Greater autonomy (i.e., greater intrinsic motivation) in patients' motivation for yoga therapy predicted improvement after the course of yoga and allied therapies, whereas greater extrinsic motivation did not. Strategies to enhance individuals' experience of yoga therapy are suggested to motivate patients to opt for yoga therapy based on their enjoyment of the experience rather than other factors. As participants were recruited from a single yoga therapy center, the study findings cannot be directly generalized to patients elsewhere.