An investigation of the psychological benefits of yoga practice across cultures and in neurodevelopmental populations

Abstract

Yoga has grown in popularity globally as an intervention for wellbeing and mental health. Little research has explored the individual components of yoga and if yoga benefits are universal. Exploration of how features and components of yoga practice are related to wellbeing across populations is needed to understand if interventions may benefit from tailoring to optimize the effect of yoga.

Chapter one presents a systematic review of yoga on psychosocial outcomes in neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs). 21 studies were included in the review. The main findings suggest yoga may have a positive impact on some cognitive and behavioural outcomes in NDCs. However, there was inconclusive evidence for social outcomes and limited evidence for emotional outcomes. Findings were limited by heterogeneity in interventions and outcome measures. Directions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.

Chapter two presents a quantitative cross-sectional study. The study explores features of yoga practice across the UK and India as well as looking at whether components of yoga (the eight limbs) were related to wellbeing across cultures. The study recruited 435 participants (275 UK and 160 Indian practitioners) who completed an online survey. The findings provide preliminary support that features of yoga practice differ across cultures and that specific limbs of yoga are differentially associated with psychological wellbeing across cultures’. Due to methodological limitations the findings should be interpreted tentatively. Further research using intervention RCT designs are needed to investigate the impact of different features of yoga practice and individual limbs on health-related outcomes across populations.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Natasha Wing: orcid.org/0009-0009-8779-8329

ORCID for Alison Bennetts: orcid.org/0000-0003-2461-7868

ORCID for Katy Sivyer: orcid.org/0000-0003-4349-0102

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