Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Emotions of teachers are considered of importance as the teacher’s emotions determine the quality of teaching in the classroom as well as their health and psychological wellbeing. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of yoga training on the emotions (positive and negative) of primary school teachers
Who can participate?
In the present study, healthy school teachers of both sexes aged between 26 to 55 years were recruited. Those teachers who were working fulltime and had no previous experience of yoga or participation in any other wellness program were involved in the study
What does the study involve?
The study was a single group longitudinal study where the participants were assessed for their positive emotions (Mental wellbeing; using Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) and negative emotions (State anxiety; using Spielberger’s State Trait Anxiety Inventory) before and after 15 days of yoga intervention. The yoga intervention was comprised of yoga practice (240 minute/day for 15 days) and yoga theory session (120 minutes/day for 15 days). Yoga practice and yoga theory sessions were free of cost to all participants.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The possible benefits of participating in the trial were an increase in mental well-being and decrease in state anxiety. Normal healthy participants were included in the study and there are no known harmful effects of the yoga practices for healthy persons.
Where is the study run from?
Patanjali Yogpeeth-Phase 2, India
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
January 2016 for 15 days
Who is funding the study?
The study was funded by the Patanjali research Foundation and all the expenses during the trial were borne by the Patanjali Research Foundation, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India.
Who is the main contact?
Dr. Shirley Telles, M.B.B.S, PhD
shirleytelles@gmail.com
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Public
Primary contact
Dr Shirley Telles
ORCID ID
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3562-1926
Contact details
Patanjali Yogpeeth Phase I
Maharishi Dayanand Gram
Delhi-Haridwar National Highway
Near Bahadrabad
Haridwar
249405
India
+91-1334-240008
shirleytelles@gmail.com
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
Nil known
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Nil known
Protocol/serial number
12(a)
Study information
Scientific title
Mental well-being and state anxiety following two weeks of intensive yoga in primary school teachers
Acronym
Study hypothesis
Fifteen days of yoga would improve mental well-being and reduce state anxiety in primary school teachers
Ethics approval
Approved 10/01/2016, Institutional Ethics Committee of the Department of Yoga research, Divya Yog Mandir Trust (Patanjali Yogpeeth, Maharshi Dayanand Gram, Delhi-Haridwar National Highway,
Near BahadarbadHardwar, India; +91-1334-240008; divyayoga@divyayoga.com), ref: PRF/16/0012
Study design
Single group longitudinal study
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Non randomised study
Trial setting
Hospitals
Trial type
Quality of life
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Condition
Mental well-being and state anxiety of normal healthy primary school teachers
Intervention
The intervention consisted of:
1. 240 minutes of yoga/day for 15 days
2. 120 minutes of yoga theory session/day for 15 days
Since the teachers were novices to yoga, they were instructed about how to practice basic yoga postures, regulated yoga breathing and meditation. The yoga sessions were conducted in a hall in which 4000 people can practice yoga simultaneously. The 302 teachers were seated in 20 rows and 16 columns (with 16 participants in each row) separated by 3 ft distance between them. The yoga sessions were led by an expert in yoga with over 45 years of experience in the practice and theory of yoga, who learned yoga in childhood. To check the practice and support the practitioners there were 20 yoga teachers who had a minimum of five years of experience of teaching yoga. During the yoga sessions audiovisual aids were used to ensure that the yoga expert, who practiced yoga at the front of the hall on a raised stage, was visible and audible to all participants. Instructions were in Hindi, a microphone was used with 24 speakers (placed on either side of the hall), each with an output of 136 dB. There were also two LED screens (10 × 16 feet each) at the front of the hall, approximately 200 feet from the last row.
Each yoga session contained eight practices:
1. Meditation
2. Warming up
3. Loosening exercises
4. Postures (Asanas)
4.1 Standing postures
4.2 Sitting postures
4.3 Prone postures
4.4 Supine postures
5. Relaxation
6. Yoga breathing series (pranayamas)
7. Relaxation
8. Meditation and concluding prayer
For the yoga theory sessions there were
1. General topics: The topics include yoga and stress management, diet, health care and spiritual aspect of yoga.
2. Topics specific to the teaching of yoga to school children: The topics related to teaching yoga to school children included: the concept of yoga in the Hatha yoga texts (Circa 1500 A.D.), the applications in daily life, the yoga practices which are included, the directions specific to teaching yoga to children and the contraindications and precautions to prevent harm to children.
The schedule (these details are mentioned in an earlier publication on a sub-set of the present sample https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6083945/):
Participants were occupied from 04:00 in the morning to 21:00 in the night. The participants were required to stay in the campus during the training except for a 1-day visit to different units. During the remaining time, they were engaged in individual chores, group meetings with their supervisors, and in unsupervised studying or reading.
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
At baseline and day-15:
1. Positive emotion (mental well-being) using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale
2. Negative emotion (state anxiety) using the Spielbergers State Trait Anxiety Inventory
Secondary outcome measures
none
Overall trial start date
01/01/2016
Overall trial end date
31/01/2016
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1. Full time primary school teachers
2. Naïve to yoga
3. Not following any other organized wellness strategy or on continuous medication
Participant type
Healthy volunteer
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
302
Total final enrolment
302
Participant exclusion criteria
1. Any illness or use of medication chronically
2. Use of alcohol or any intoxicant
Recruitment start date
12/01/2016
Recruitment end date
14/01/2016
Locations
Countries of recruitment
India
Trial participating centre
Patanjali Yogpeeth-Phase 2
Delhi-Haridwar National Highway
Near Maharshi Dayanand Gram Roorkee
Panchayanpur
Uttarakhand 249405
Haridwar
249405
India
Sponsor information
Organisation
Patanjali Research Foundation, Haridwar, India
Sponsor details
Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust)
Patanjali Yogpeeth Phase I
Maharishi Dayanand Gram
National Highway
Near Bahadrabad
Haridwar
249405
India
+91-01334-240008
office@prft.co.in
Sponsor type
Research organisation
Website
Funders
Funder type
Research organisation
Funder name
Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Dissemination of the findings will be through publications in scientific journals.
IPD sharing statement:
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available on reasonable request from Sachin Kumar Sharma,
Email address: sharmasachin.sharma25@gmail.com; sachin.sharma@prft.co.in. The data will be shared in the form of de-identified Excel spreadsheets. The personal information obtained from the participants would be kept confidential.
Intention to publish date
01/10/2019
Participant level data
Available on request
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
2019 results in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31640779 (added 24/10/2019)