| Millions of Americans are practicing Hatha yoga for stress relief Preliminary yoga research has indicated that decreases in stress are associated with increases in mindfulness. Hatha yoga, however, differs in the way it is practiced and researched; some interventions focus on yoga as a single-component exercise, and other interventions focus on yoga as a multi-component mind-body system. The purpose of this study was to examine two different presentations of yoga in order to understand which yoga presentation offers the most benefit, if any, in increasing facets of mindfulness and reducing stress. A quantitative experimental pretest posttest design was used to compare the effects of a single-component yoga intervention (asana-only), a multi-component yoga intervention (asana, pranayama, and dhyana), and no intervention on perceived stress, the five facets of mindfulness including observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging of inner experience, and nonreactivity of inner experience, and overall mindfulness in a purposive sample of 97 yoga novices assigned to one of the three groups. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences among the three groups for Perceived Stress scores, X2 ( 2 , N = 89) = 40.84,p < .001. Additionally, the results indicated that there were statistically significant differences among the three groups for all facets of mindfulness scores including Observing scores, X 2(2, N= 89) = 18.39, p < .001, Describing scores, X2 ( 2 , N= 89) = 18.74,p < .001, Awareness scores, X2(2, N= 89)) = 24.55,p < .001, Nonjudging scores, X2(2, N= 89) = 19.96,p < .001, Nonreactivity scores, X2(2, N= 89) = 24.88, p < .001, and Overall Mindfulness scores, X2(2, N= 89) = 35.00, p < .001. Both yoga groups had lower stress scores and higher scores on all mindfulness scales than the control group. The multi- component yoga group had lower scores on perceived stress and higher scores on the Describing, Acting with Awareness, Nonreactivity, and Overall Mindfulness scales than the single-component yoga group. Based on these results it was recommended that pranayama and dhyana be included in future yoga interventions, and that dhyana might be taught with a stronger emphasis on nonjudging of passing thoughts, and that yoga therapy protocols should include an understanding of mindfulness skills through multi-component yoga for therapeutic purposes. Future research should explore how various mindfulness facets affect distressed populations and the specific mechanisms through which yoga and yoga components act. Additionally, researchers should explore mindfulness skills in longer-term yoga interventions and larger sample sizes, and should ensure that control group participants receive the same amount of interaction as those in the yoga intervention groups. |
