Effects of an 8-Week Yoga-Based Physical Exercise Intervention on Teachers’ Burnout

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the efficacy of an 8-week yoga-based physical exercise program to improve mental and emotional well-being and consequently reduce burnout among teachers. We considered yoga because it is a discipline that enhances body awareness and encourages the contact with nature and the respect for every form of life, with a view to a more sustainable and greener global system. We recruited 40 professional educators (40–47 years), teachers in a public high school who reported perceiving signs of stress and emotional discomfort. We randomly assigned the 40 professional educators to either an experimental yoga practice (~60 min, twice a week) group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20) that received a nonspecific training program (~60 min, twice a week). At baseline and after training we administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory: Educators Survey (MBI-ES) and the State Mindfulness Scale (SMS) to assess teachers' perceived level of awareness and professional burnout. We found a significant Time x Group interaction for the MBI-ES and SMS, reflecting a meaningful experimental group improvement (p < 0.001). No significant pre–post changes were found in the control group. The results suggest that an 8-week yoga practice could aid teachers to achieve a greater body and emotional awareness and prevent professional burnout.

Psychophysiological Adaptations to Yoga Practice in Overweight and Obese Individuals: A Topical Review

“…Noteworthy, all of those studies demonstrated positive alterations in selected psychological-health-related markers among overweight and obese adults [ 73 , 74 , 75 , 78 , 80 , 81 , 87 , 88 , 93 ]. These findings are in agreement with those reported for other populations, supporting the beneficial role of yoga practice in lowering anxiety, depression, stress [ 129 ], and professional burnout [ 130 ]. In general, the improvements in well-being through lower anxiety and depression levels have been considered as an important research area.…”

Emotional Labor and Burnout of Public Health Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediating Effects of Perceived Health Status and Perceived Organizational Support

“…This suggested that when PHNs experience high emotional labor, increasing PHS and strengthening POS could help alleviate burnout. Interventions that provide effective emotional regulation management education, communication, and psychological counseling support [ 43 ] to positively manage the negative effects of emotional labor and maintain fitness and health by recommending meditation, yoga, or exercise [ 44 ] could help reduce or prevent PHNs’ burnout. Moreover, managers and organizations where the PHNs belong should analyze the COVID-19-related burden, role change, and work scope to provide organizational support, such as adequate rest, flexible work hours, work allocation, and appropriate personnel management, to alleviate burnout [ 9 ].…”

RespirArFundo: Um programa de promoção de exercício físico em professores e funcionários em contexto escolar - Estudo quantitativo e qualitativo

“…A ausência de diferenças significativas numa maior quantidade de variáveis em estudo pode ser compreendida pelo reduzido número de sessões, bem como pelos constrangimentos associados às mesmas (nomeadamente o número de sessões teórico-práticas realizadas em regime online). Este resultado parece indicar que esta duração/frequência do programa apesar de poder ser suficiente para ter algum efeito em algumas variáveis, não o será noutros domínios, algo que foi também referido em outros programas semelhantes (ex., Latino et al, 2021). Assim, e com vista a procurar um melhor entendimento do efeito que Projeto "RespirArFundo" 199 este programa teve, foi adotada uma metodologia qualitativa complementar (grupo focal).…”