Developing Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Yoga and Mindfulness for the Well-Being of Student Musicians in Spain

Abstract

Here, we report on a quasi-experimental study to explore the applicability and perceived benefits of the CRAFT program, which is based on mindfulness, yoga, positive psychology, and emotional intelligence, to improve higher education student musicians’ health and well-being during the lockdown. A subset of student musicians at a Higher Conservatory of Music in Spain followed the CRAFT program during the academic year 2019/2020, 1 h per week as part of their curriculum. Students enrolled in CRAFT-based elective subjects formed the CRAFT program group (n = 40), while other students represented the control group (n = 53). The onset of the national lockdown elicited by the COVID-19 pandemic occurred halfway through the program, which was subsequently delivered in an online format. We administered an online survey to explore the effect that the exposure to the CRAFT program had in terms of how participants dealt with various health and well-being concerns arising from the COVID-19 lockdown. There was a significantly higher proportion of proactive participants in the CRAFT program group, 92%, than in the control group, 58%, in terms of implementing practices to improve their health and well-being during the lockdown. Additionally, significantly more participants acknowledged perceived benefits from their practices in the CRAFT program group, 78%, than in the control group, 52%. Among proactive participants, yoga/meditation was the most implemented in the CRAFT program group, followed by exercise, and other yoga/meditation practices, whereas in the control group, exercise and Alexander technique-based practices were the most applied. In the CRAFT program group, the highest rate of perceived benefits was from yoga/meditation CRAFT-based practices, 51%, followed by exercise, 32%, and other yoga/meditation practices, 27%, whereas in the control group, benefits were reported by 29% of exercising participants and 16% for those having practiced the Alexander technique. A similar pattern was observed when excluding participants with previous yoga/meditation experience. This study revealed how participants can independently apply learned skills from the CRAFT program in response to a naturally occurring life event of unprecedented global impact, suggesting that previous exposure to mindfulness and yoga is likely to have a beneficial effect on how young adults react towards exceptionally stressful conditions.

Emotional Intelligence and Academic Self-Efficacy in Relation to the Psychological Well-Being of University Students During COVID-19 in Venezuela

“…Emotional intelligence is a protective factor of well-being ( Hussien et al, 2020 ; Bermejo-Martins et al, 2021 ; Moroń and Biolik-Moroń, 2021 ), and directly and indirectly contributes to improving psychoeducational variables in university students ( Iqbal et al, 2021 ). It has aided in the development of resilience, well-being, and mental health in Spanish students during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Bartos et al, 2021 ). Specifically, emotional intelligence is a predictor of psychological well-being, enabling healthier coping strategies during COVID-19 pandemic by avoiding emotional distress ( Sánchez-Ruiz et al, 2021 ).…”

Perceived benefits of a remote yoga and mindfulness program for student musicians during COVID-19.

“…In the current study, we focused on examining through qualitative methods the responses provided by proactive CRAFT participants to an open-ended question in an online questionnaire (Bartos et al, 2021). This question asked which particular practice or practices participants had implemented, where they learned it, and briefly describe their own experience with it and the impact they had on their physical, mental, and emotional state.…”

Building Emotional Resilience: Japanese Women’s Religious and Spiritual Coping Strategies in the Time of COVID-19

“…Against this backdrop, a porous movement of seekers of supirichuaru kea (spiritual care)-also referred to as kokoro no kea (care of mind) by the media and health and religious professionals-has developed, composed of individuals who do not source only from conventional forms of collective rituals and popular religious-cultural activities for their emotional relief. Studies have shown that spiritual practices for self-care such as meditation, relaxation, and mind-body disciplines have been positively correlated with increased selfresilience during the pandemic (Lucchetti et al 2020;Bartos et al 2021;Sahni et al 2021) in that individuals develop necessary resources-such as psychological and emotional resources-to self-regulate their behaviour and successfully adapt to stressful circumstances (Koenig 2008;Hart and Koenig 2020). Findings have already revealed the effectiveness of such self-resilience among the Japanese during the COVID-19 pandemic (Kubo et al 2021;Sugawara et al 2020).…”