Effect of yoga-nidra on adolescents well-being: A mixed method study

Abstract

Context:Adolescent well-being is a priority area for health-care interventions in the 21st century. Yoga-nidra is an ancient Indian method of enabling individuals to attain a positive state of deep physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. The practice produces a state of simultaneous relaxation and detachment resulting in inner awareness and release of stress on all planes of one's being.Aim:This mixed method study was carried out in adolescent students aged 13–15 years with an aim to assess effects of Yoga-nidra on various dimensions of well-being.Materials and Methods:Thirty-six students received Yoga-nidra sessions 30 min daily for 3 days in a week for 1 month. Primary outcome measures were happiness, perceived stress, overall quality of life, and psychological general well-being. These and other experiential dimensions of well-being comprising of enthusiasm, alertness, quietude, clarity of thought, control over anger, self-confidence, and self-awareness were evaluated before and after intervention. Qualitative observations were recorded from participants, their teachers, and parents. Results of quantitative and qualitative methods were analyzed and compared.Results:Yoga-nidra intervention resulted in significant improvement in all primary outcome measures. Participants reported significant improvement in the feelings of happiness, enthusiasm, quietude, being more inspired and alert, active, having clarity of thought, control over anger, and self-confidence at the end of the study period. Mixed method design of the study provided cross-validation and convergence of results obtained from quantitative and qualitative assessment tools.Conclusion:Yoga-nidra is beneficial in improving multiple dimensions of adolescent well-being.

Exploring the uses of yoga nidra: An integrative review

“…Twelve studies were randomized controlled trials (Amita et al, 2009; D'cunha et al, 2021; D'souza et al, 2021; Ganpat, 2020; Immink, 2016; Monika et al, 2012; Moszeik et al, 2020; Rani, Tiwari, Singh, Agrawal, Ghildiyal, et al, 2011; Rani, Tiwari, Singh, Agrawal, & Srivastava, 2011; Rani et al, 2012, 2013; Wahbeh & Nelson, 2019), 13 were quasi‐experimental studies (Anderson et al, 2017; Bhushan & Sinha, 2001; Dol, 2019; Dwivedi, 2021; Jensen et al, 2012; Kjaer et al, 2002; Kumar, 2008, 2010; Kumar & Pandya, 2012; Livingston & Collette‐Merrill, 2018; Ozdemir & Saritas, 2019; Pence et al, 2014; Pritchard et al, 2010), three studies were mixed methods (Eastman‐Mueller et al, 2013; Sharpe et al, 2021; Vaishnav et al, 2018), and one study was qualitative in design (Stankovic, 2011). The mixed‐methods studies utilized pre/post‐test questionnaires for the quantitative portion and focus groups (Sharpe et al, 2021), daily diaries, open‐ended questionnaires, narrated letters, and parent/teacher reflections (Eastman‐Mueller et al, 2013; Vaishnav et al, 2018) for the qualitative portion of the studies. The lone qualitative study utilized tape recordings of in‐class discussions and open‐ended questionnaires for data collection (Stankovic, 2011).…”

“…Two studies did not use women at all (Kjaer et al, 2002; Stankovic, 2011) and one did not report gender (Pritchard et al, 2010). Ages ranged from middle adolescence (D'Souza et al, 2021; Jensen et al, 2012; Vaishnav et al, 2018) to older adults (Wahbeh & Nelson, 2019), but most of the participants were in their 20s and 30s. A little over half of the studies utilized the Saraswati method of yoga nidra, followed by Miller's iRest (Eastman‐Mueller et al, 2013; Livingston & Collette‐Merrill, 2018; Pence et al, 2014; Pritchard et al, 2010; Stankovic, 2011; Wahbeh & Nelson, 2019).…”

“…A little over half of the studies utilized the Saraswati method of yoga nidra, followed by Miller's iRest (Eastman‐Mueller et al, 2013; Livingston & Collette‐Merrill, 2018; Pence et al, 2014; Pritchard et al, 2010; Stankovic, 2011; Wahbeh & Nelson, 2019). Five studies did not specify the yoga nidra method used (Anderson et al, 2017; D'cunha et al, 2021; Dwivedi, 2021; Kjaer et al, 2002; Vaishnav et al, 2018) and two studies used alternative yoga nidra methods (Amita et al, 2009; Ozdemir & Saritas, 2019).…”

“…The variable that was tested the most was stress (Anderson et al, 2017; D'cunha et al, 2021; Dol, 2019; D'souza et al, 2021; Dwivedi, 2021; Eastman‐Mueller et al, 2013; Kumar, 2008; Moszeik et al, 2020; Pritchard et al, 2010; Vaishnav et al, 2018). These studies showed yoga nidra to be effective in decreasing stress levels in nurses (Anderson et al, 2017), patients with multiple sclerosis/cancer (D'cunha et al, 2021; Pritchard et al, 2010), college students (Dol, 2019; Eastman‐Mueller et al, 2013), yoga students (Kumar, 2008), adolescents (D'souza et al, 2021; Vaishnav et al, 2018), and the general population (Dwivedi, 2021; Moszeik et al, 2020). Most of these studies mentioned the yoga nidra philosophy of Swami Saraswati as the inspiration for their interventions, while two of these studies utilized Miller's iRest Yoga Nidra (Eastman‐Mueller et al, 2013; Pritchard et al, 2010).…”

“…There were 29 studies that met the criteria for inclusion in this review. Twelve studies were randomized controlled trials (Amita et al, 2009;D'cunha et al, 2021;D'souza et al, 2021;Ganpat, 2020;Immink, 2016;Monika et al, 2012;Moszeik et al, 2020;Rani, Tiwari, Singh, Agrawal, Ghildiyal, et al, 2011;Rani et al, 2012Rani et al, , 2013Wahbeh & Nelson, 2019), 13 were quasi-experimental studies (Anderson et al, 2017;Bhushan & Sinha, 2001;Dol, 2019;Dwivedi, 2021;Jensen et al, 2012;Kjaer et al, 2002;Kumar, 2008Kumar, , 2010Kumar & Pandya, 2012;Livingston & Collette-Merrill, 2018;Ozdemir & Saritas, 2019;Pence et al, 2014;Pritchard et al, 2010), three studies were mixed methods (Eastman-Mueller et al, 2013;Sharpe et al, 2021;Vaishnav et al, 2018), and one study was qualitative in design (Stankovic, 2011). The mixed-methods studies utilized pre/post-test questionnaires for the quantitative portion and focus groups (Sharpe et al, 2021) (Stankovic, 2011).…”