Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being

Running Head: YOGA, MINDFULNESS AND WELL-BEING

Yoga, Mindfulness, and Self- Reported Well-being: Do Yogis Report Better Well-being Than Those Practicing Other Types of Fitness? Dianna Defrenza York University

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Abstract Mindfulness, or the practice of focused awareness on the present as it unfolds, has been found to have enormous psychological and physical health benefits (resulting in greater

objective and subjective well-being) in the context of treatment and intervention strategies. Currently, yoga practice in western society encourages the cultivation of mindfulness, as well as physical strength and flexibility. The present study examines whether mindfulness cultivated through regular yoga practice is related to greater subjective well-being, and whether individuals that practice yoga differ significantly from those that practice other types of physical fitness (non-yoga practitioners). Also of interest is whether mindfulness and well-being are correlated in non-intervention populations. Yoga practitioners (N= 31) and non-yoga practitioners (N = 31) were compared on measures of mindfulness and subjective well-being using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). There were no differences found between yoga and non-yoga practitioners on either scale. Mindfulness was positively correlated with wellbeing in the non-yoga population only. Limitations to the current study and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Yoga, Mindfulness, and Self- Reported Well-being: Do Yogis Report Better Well-being Than Those Practicing Other Types of Fitness?

Mindfulness has repeatedly been linked with subjective and objective well-being in psychological research (Mackenzie, Poulin, & Seidman-Carlson, 2006; Miller, Fletcher & Kabat-Zinn, 1995; Wall, 2005; Brown & Kasser, 2005). In contemporary yoga practice, mindfulness, strength and flexibility are fundamental to the yogi. Yogic mindfulness is facilitated through the instruction of breathing and relaxation techniques. A reasonable assumption is that the yoga studio is a place for the average person to become more mindful while engaging in physical fitness. The present study was designed to assess whether those who practice yoga for fitness are more mindful than those that participate in other forms of fitness. In addition to examining potential differences in mindfulness between yoga and non- yoga practicing populations, an inquiry into the differences in subjective well-being of the two groups will be made. The concept of mindfulness can be traced back to the genesis of Buddhist meditative practices (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Generally, mindfulness is a focused, non-reactive awareness of the present moment, as it unfolds, without contemplation or elaboration into the past or future. According to Kabat-Zinn (2003), An operational working definition of mindfulness is: the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgementally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment (p. 145). The benefits of mindful cognition have led to the development of several procedures which utilize mindfulness in the field of clinical psychology. These procedures include Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy,

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Hayes & Shenk, 2004) and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR: Kabat-Zinn, 2003). These procedures foster mindfulness in patients and clients using various techniques. In a review of research, it is apparent that mindfulness is correlated with wellbeing. There are many examples of mindfulness interventions that result in significant

improvement in subjective well-being. In a study conducted by Carlson and Brown (2005), cancer patients participated in a mindfulness meditation intervention. Those who rated higher in mindfulness reported lower mood disturbance and stress. Mackenzie et al. (2006) used an abbreviated version of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) technique (which teaches individuals how to self-regulate feelings and triggers that cause stress and anxiety to escalate) in the nursing population. They found a significant reduction in the nurses reported symptoms of stress and burnout following the intervention. Miller et al. (1995) found significant improvements in subjective and objective symptoms of anxiety and panic following an 8-week outpatientgroup stress reduction intervention based on mindfulness meditation (p. 192). The three year follow-up was even more encouraging because the subjects that continued compliance with meditation practice showed maintenance of positive gains (Miller et al., 1995). Beyond the context of therapy, some interesting findings further support the connection between mindfulness and well-being. In 2005, Wall introduced middle school students to Tai Chi (a type of martial art) and MBSR techniques through a five week educational program, and found that the students reported increased well-being. Brown and Kasser (2005) found a positive correlation between mindfulness, ecologically responsible behaviour, and subjective well-being in samples of adolescents and adults. The

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being directionality of the relationship between these variables is unknown, however it is apparent that a positive correlation between mindfulness and well-being exists. Yoga is an ancient system of beliefs which include the practice of mindfulness within the general philosophy of working towards a well balanced, enlightened life. Western culture has adopted aspects of yoga as a form of physical fitness, and the

importance of cultivating mindfulness has been maintained in most contemporary practice. As Butera (2006) explains; the psychophysical yoga health practices in classical yoga bring relaxation to the body and concentration to the mind. The yoga practices of posture, breathing, and relaxation serve to quiet the mind for contemplation of deeper issues (p. 203). Yoga includes the main steps of asanas (postures) and pranayama (breath control). The postures combined with breathing techniques aim to bring the mind to a deeper state of concentration (Butera, 2006), which is essentially the cultivation of mindfulness. The potential benefits of mindfulness cultivated through yoga practice have largely been unexamined. Recent studies have revealed that yoga practitioners report lower prevalence and intensity of psychological distress than non- practitioners (Sudha, Jyotsna, Sumita & Nalini, 2006), and it may be argued that this sense of well-being is related to mindfulness fostered through their chosen exercise. Impett, Daubenmier and Hirshman (2006) found that more frequent yoga practice was associated with increased body awareness, positive affect, and satisfaction with life. Testing the effects of yoga practice on the general population, Sharma, Yadava and Hooda (2005) found that graduate students who completed a 10 day yoga workshop reported reduced anxiety, enhanced concentration and increased stamina. In spite of the clear psychological and physical health benefits of practicing yoga, there is relatively little empirical insight into the causes of these benefits.

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being The preceding studies suggest that yoga practice increases mindfulness and in doing so, will also be related to increased subjective well-being. It was hypothesized that

the current study would find yoga practitioners to be more mindful than those who practice other types of organized physical fitness. In addition, it was expected that the yoga practitioners would also report greater subjective well-being than those who practice other forms of fitness. Mindfulness was expected to be positively correlated with subjective wellbeing and it was expected that the yoga practitioner sample would rate higher on both measures when compared with the non- yoga practitioners. It was anticipated that the results of this study would provide additional insight into the overall health benefits of regular yoga practice for physical fitness. Method Participants A total of 62 individuals (male and female) were recruited for the study (31 recruits for each condition: yoga and non-yoga). Participants were approached at a Moksha Yoga Studio in Toronto, on campus at York University outside of gymnasium and athletic areas, and at a Peel Police staff fitness area. Those in the yoga group were required to practice yoga at least two times per week to be included in the study. Individuals in the non- yoga group were included if they participated in any other type of organized group or individual fitness or sport two times per week or more. Non-yoga fitness was defined as any deliberate solitary or group activity that raised the individuals heart rate and required physical exertion which was greater than that achieved during normal daily activities, including walking, sitting, bending, reaching, etc. Materials

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Participants in both groups will complete the following questionnaires: The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003). The MAAS is a 15-item questionnaire which measures everyday mindfulness on a 6-point Likert scale. A higher score on the MAAS indicates greater mindfulness. The MAAS has been validated in populations that do not practice meditation or yoga, as well as those that do practice mindfulness meditation, and is therefore an appropriate measure for this study (Brown & Ryan, 2003). (see Appendix) The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS: Diener et al., 1985). The SWLS is a 5item questionnaire that measures subjective cognitive well- being. The SWLS requires subjects to indicate on a 7-point Likert scale whether they agree or disagree with statements. A higher score on the SWLS indicates greater satisfaction with life and will be used to determine individuals subjective well- being. (see Appendix) Procedure Upon confirmation that the recruit qualified for either group, they were asked to

read the informed consent form and provide demographic information (age and gender). In total there were 31 individuals in each group (N = 62). They each completed the MAAS and SWLS and returned the questionnaires to the researcher. The subjects were not debriefed, however the researcher was available for any questions or concerns that may have arisen during or after they participated.

Results Formal testing of the hypotheses in this study had largely insignificant findings. The yoga and non-yoga groups were not found to differ significantly on either the

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being mindfulness (MAAS) or well-being (SWLS) measures used, as shown in Table 1. A t test of the differences between the MAAS scores failed to detect significance between the two populations t(60) = -.292, p = .772. Similarly, a t test conducted for the SWLS scores did not reveal a significant difference between the two groups t(60) = -.754, p = .454 (see

Table 2). The yoga group had a mean mindfulness score of 61 (SD = 11), and a mean wellbeing score of 25 (SD = 8); the non-yoga group had a mean score of 62 (SD = 12) and a mean well-being score of 26 (SD = 5). These findings are contradictory to anticipated results which expected to find that yoga practitioners would be more mindful and report greater subjective well-being that those who practiced others forms of physical fitness. A moderately significant positive correlation (p >.01) found between the mindfulness and well-being using Pearsons correlation coefficient (Table 3). However, this correlation was only significant (see Table 4) in the non-yoga population r(29) = .44, p = .05. Thus, as mindfulness increased in the non-yoga practitioners, so did subjective well being. In summary, mindfulness was not greater in either population and was only found to be positively related to subjective well-being in the non-yoga population. These findings fail to support the hypotheses of this study. Discussion The present study failed to detect a significant advantage of practicing yoga over other forms of physical fitness, in the cultivation of mindfulness and subjective well-being. The results gleaned were not only contradictory to the hypotheses of this study, but also to the body of research related to mindfulness. A significant difference between the yoga and non-yoga groups, and the detection of a strong

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being positive correlation between mindfulness and well-being for the yoga group, may have been found with the exclusion of some of the limitations in this study. Convenience sampling may have contributed to the results found in this study not being representative of the population. The groups were pre-existing and selection bias may have been a factor that impacted the current inquiry. Prior to selecting their primary fitness activity, individuals in either group may have varied in some systematic way. Individuals in either group may have had previous exposure to meditation and mindfulness training. Alternatively, individuals in the yoga group may have had lower subjective well-being or mindfulness before they initiated regular yoga practice, when compared with people that chose other types of fitness. Thus, yoga practice may have increased these individuals mindfulness and wellbeing to a level equal to those in the comparison group. In general, subjects in this study (who voluntarily participated) may have been systematically different than those who did not volunteer to complete the surveys. Limitations of time and space in this study may have also caused the results to be inconsistent with previous findings related to mindfulness and well-being. An experimental study with an intervention of guided yoga practice would have controlled for differences in mindfulness instruction received by the yoga students, variations in duration of yoga practice, as well as mindfulness and subjective wellbeing prior to engaging in the chosen fitness regiment. Also, the participants completed the questionnaires in very informal settings of a fitness area or yoga studio lobby. The time required to complete the survey was approximately 5 minutes. These factors may have influenced the consideration and responses that participants gave

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being the questionnaires; causing them to be more casual about their answers than they would be if responding in a lab setting with a greater time commitment to participate. This study raises several questions which are related to the difference between mainstream yoga practice and traditional yoga practice. Is yoga practice cultivated in a non-meditative context simply another form of physical fitness, and not any different than activities such as swimming or running? Also, is yoga practice in a physical fitness context systematically different than health interventions found in psychological research which incorporate yoga in treatment? Perhaps contemporary western yoga practice does not differ significantly from other types of fitness in the cultivation of mindfulness, and the present study was not impacted by its limitations. Future research of mindfulness and well-being, comparing yoga and non-yoga practitioners would benefit from controls to external and internal confounding variables found in this study .In any case, futher exploration of contemporary yoga practice for fitness will undoubtedly find that yogis enjoy great mental and physical health benefits.

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References Brown, K. W., & Kasser, T. (2005). Are psychological and ecological well-being compatible? The role of values, mindfulness, and lifestyle. Social Indicators Research, 74, 349-368.

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its

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role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822-848. Butera, R. (2006). Yoga: An Introduction. In E. R. Mackenzie & B. Rakel (Eds) Complementary and alternative medicine for older adults. New York: Springer Publishing Company, Inc. Carlson, L. E., & Brown, K. W. (2005). Validation of the mindful attention awareness scale in a cancer population. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 58, 29-33. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75. Impett, E. A., Daubenmier, J. J., & Hirshman, A. L. (2006). Minding the body: Yoga, embodiment, and well-being. Sexuality Research & Social Policy: A Journal of the NSRC, 3, 39-48. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144-156. Mackenzie, C. S., Poulin, P. A., & Seidman-Carlson, R. (2006). A brief mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention for nurses and nurse aides. Applied Nursing Research, 19, 105-109. Miller, J. J., Fletcher, K., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1995). Three year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. General Hospital Psychiatry, 17, 192- 200. Sharma, N., Yadava, A., & Hooda, D. (2005). Effect of yoga on psycho-physical functions. Journal of Indian Psychology, 23, 37-42.

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Sudha, P., Jyotsna, G. N., Sumita, K., & Nalini, B. (2006). Comparative study of

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psychological distress among practitioners and non-practitioners of yoga. Journal of Indian Psychology, 24, 7-13. Wall, R. B. (2005) Tai chi and mindfulness-based stress reduction in a Boston public middle school. Journal of Paediatric Health Care, 19, 230- 237.

Appendix

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) Instructions: Please use one of the following numbers from 1 to 7 to indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements. 7 Strongly agree

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being 6 Agree 5 Slightly agree 4 Neither agree nor disagree 3 Slightly disagree 2 Disagree 1 Strongly disagree 1. ____In most ways my life is close to my ideal. 2. ____The conditions of my life are excellent. 3. ____I am satisfied with my life. 4. ____So far I have gotten the important things I want in my life. 5. ____If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing. Note. Scores for all items are summed to calculate a total score.

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The Mindful Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS) Instructions: Below is a collection of statements about your everyday experience. Using the 16 scale below, please indicate how frequently or infrequently you currently have each experience. Please answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than what you think your experience should be. 1 Almost always, 2 Very frequently 3 Somewhat frequently 4 Somewhat infrequently 5 Very infrequently 6 Almost never 1. ____ I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later. 2. ____ I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of something else. 3. ____ I find it difficult to stay focused on whats happening in the present. 4. ____ I tend to walk quickly to get where Im going without paying attention to what I experience along the way. 5. ____ I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention. 6. ____ I forget a persons name almost as soon as Ive been told it for the first time. 7. ____ It seems I am running on automatic without much awareness of what Im doing. 8. ____ I rush through activities without being really attentive to them. 9. ____ I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touch with what I am doing right now to get there. 10. ____ I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what Im doing.

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11. ____ I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing something else at the same time. 12. ____ I drive places on automatic pilot and then wonder why I went there. 13. ____ I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past. 14. ____ I find myself doing things without paying attention. 15. ____ I snack without being aware that Im eating.

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Table 1 Group Statistics for Yoga and Non-Yoga on Mindfulness and Well-being Measures Exercise Yoga Non Yoga Yoga Non Yoga N 31 31 31 31 Mean 61.06 61.93 25.25 26.48 Std. Deviation 11.20 12.27 7.76 4.63

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Mindfulness Well-being

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Table 2 Equality of Variances and Equality of Means for Mindfulness and Well-being Results 95% Confidence Std. Error Interval of the Difference Difference 2.98558 -6.84302 2.98558 -6.84405 1.62497 -4.47622 1.62497 -4.49132 5.10109 5.10211 2.02461 2.03970

F Mindfulness Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed .087

Sig. .769

t -.292 -.292

df 60 59.503 60 48.989

Sig. (2tailed) .772 .772 .454 .454

Mean Difference -.87097 -.87097 -1.22581 -1.22581

Well-being

6.853

.011

-.754 -.754

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Table 3 Correlation between Mindfulness and Well-being Mindfulness Mindfulness Well-being Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 1 62 .364** .004 62

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Well-being .364** .004 62 1 62

**p < .01 (2-tailed)

Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being Table 4 Correlation between Mindfulness and Well-being In Yoga and Non-Yoga Groups Exercise Non Yoga Mindfulness 1 31 .442* .013 31 1 31 .336 .065 31

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Mindfulness

Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N

Wellbeing

Wellbeing .442* .013 31 1 31 .336 .065 31 1 31

Yoga

Mindfulness Wellbeing

p < .05 level (2-tailed)