The influence of yoga therapy on anxiety

The stressful lifestyles that accompany modern living generate levels of anxiety that become a major concern in society. Psychopharmacological medication and psychotherapy for anxiety is expensive for government health departments as well as for individual consumers. Although the value of yoga as a beneficial and cost effective therapy for anxiety has long been advocated, there have been very few well designed scientific studies in this regard. Therefore the aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga therapy on anxiety perceptions and experiences. The research hypothesis that yoga could decrease such anxiety was investigated by comparing two groups, an experimental group of 18 participants that practised yoga and a control group of 19 participants that did not practise yoga, over a duration of three months, The research design included quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative results from the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) indicated that, although regular yoga therapy was associated with significant decreases in anxiety perceptions over time, these changes were not significant when compared with the control group. Therefore, no causative inferences can be made. Qualitative findings from thematic content analysis of participants’ experiences suggested meaningful relief from anxiety over time, especially with regard to such themes as physicality, contentment, relaxation, breath control, mindfulness, transcendence and spirituality. Although further randomised controlled studies with larger samples are needed, this research provided some systematic evidence for yoga therapy as a significant and relatively cost effective intervention for anxiety reduction. Key Words: Yoga, therapy, anxiety, stress.