Effect of yoga practices on general mental ability in urban residential school children

Abstract

IntroductionMental ability of children represents functioning of brain in different aspects of competency including verbal, mathematical, logical reasoning and spatial, which is of prime importance for academic performance.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess the effect of yoga on general mental ability of urban residential school children.MethodsSixty-six urban school children aged 11–15 years were selected as participants. All the selected participants were staying in a residential school in Pune District. A stratified random sampling method was used to divide the students into experimental and control groups. There were 32 students in experimental group and 29 students in control group. Both experimental and control groups were assessed for general mental ability by using standard questionnaire at the baseline and at the end of 12 weeks of yoga training. The study participants of experimental group underwent yoga training for 12 weeks, for 1 h in the morning for a period of 12 weeks. The control group did not undergo any yoga training during this time period.ResultsThe experimental group participants showed significant improvement in general mental ability as compared to control group.ConclusionThe findings of this study indicate that yoga practices could improve general mental ability of urban residential school children.

Effects of a 12-Weeks Yoga Intervention on Motor and Cognitive Abilities of Preschool Children

“…It can influence the improvement of both their motor abilities and skills and their cognitive abilities, which will enable them to reach their full potential more easily ( 2 , 33 – 35 ). We will list the claims of several other significant authors: Lawson et al ( 8 ) suggest that yoga may have positive effects for preschool-age children, particularly in the areas of fine motor and academic performance; Preschool children's fine motor improvement with yoga is consistent, with literature showing fine-motor improvement in school-age children participating in yoga ( 36 , 37 ); the yoga program helped students feel focused and gave them strategies to control their behavior in stressful situations ( 38 ); the significant improvement was observed in measures of mental ability and memory in experimental group of yoga practices in residential school children ( 39 ); a positive influence of yoga practice in children on the parameters of visual attention ( 40 ); Hillman et al ( 41 ) suggest that the exercise can increase the children's brain volume, improve their cognitive abilities and their academic achievement ( 41 ).…”

Scoping Review of Yoga in Schools: Mental Health and Cognitive Outcomes in Both Neurotypical and Neurodiverse Youth Populations

“…Table 4 details the findings relating to 48 studies, 37 experimental [ 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 ], 7 qualitative [ 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 ] and 4 mixed [ 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 ] methods that included neurotypical youth populations. Yoga classes varied in length from 10–120 min.…”

“…Neurotypical youth populations totalled 81% of the study samples. Of these studies, 40% [ 58 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 71 , 76 , 77 , 79 , 81 , 82 , 84 , 85 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 100 ] reported on both cognitive and mental health outcomes, 31% [ 56 , 57 , 59 , 60 , 69 , 72 , 75 , 78 , 80 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 91 , 92 , 99 ] assessed just cognitive outcomes and 29% [ 53 , 54 , 55 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 67 , 70 , 71 , 73 , 74 , 83 , 90 ] on mental health alone.…”

“…Five studies found significant improvements in executive function outcomes following an SBYP [ 82 ], including four studies comparing results with control groups [ 72 , 81 , 87 , 89 ]. However, an RCT [ 68 ] and one quasi-experimental study [ 79 ] found no significant associations with executive function in either yoga or control groups.…”

Recommendations for Resuming PA after Prolonged Rest in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Integrative Review of Relevance for Immunity

“…Yoga exercises have shown to be an effective way to manage anxiety in children [ 57 , 58 ]. Yoga exercises have thus been incorporated successfully in the physical education curricula of many schools and were welcomed with great enthusiasm by teachers [ 59 ]. Yoga exercises also have strong cultural and traditional content that reflects local cultural habits, and they are largely incorporated in the normal curricula in the schools of India [ 60 ].…”