Yoga in school settings: a research review

Abstract

Research on the efficacy of yoga for improving mental, emotional, physical, and behavioral health characteristics in school settings is a recent but growing field of inquiry. This systematic review of research on school-based yoga interventions published in peer-reviewed journals offers a bibliometric analysis that identified 47 publications. The studies from these publications have been conducted primarily in the United States (n = 30) and India (n = 15) since 2005, with the majority of studies (n = 41) conducted from 2010 onward. About half of the publications were of studies at elementary schools; most (85%) were conducted within the school curriculum, and most (62%) also implemented a formal school-based yoga program. There was a high degree of variability in yoga intervention characteristics, including overall duration, and the number and duration of sessions. Most of these published research trials are preliminary in nature, with numerous study design limitations, including limited sample sizes (median = 74; range = 20-660) and relatively weak research designs (57% randomized controlled trials, 19% uncontrolled trials), as would be expected in an infant research field. Nevertheless, these publications suggest that yoga in the school setting is a viable and potentially efficacious strategy for improving child and adolescent health and therefore worthy of continued research.

Yoga research review

“…In a bibliometric analysis, 47 publications on yoga in school settings were identified [12]. These studies were conducted primarily in the U.S. (N ¼ 30) and India (N ¼ 15).…”

Evaluation of Yoga for Preventing Adolescent Substance Use Risk Factors in a Middle School Setting: A Preliminary Group-Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Yoga is being increasingly taught in school settings as a strategy to enhance student health, well-being, and performance (Butzer et al 2015), with systematic analyses (Ferreira-Vorkapic et al 2015; Serwacki and Cook-Cottone 2012) and narrative reviews (Butzer et al 2016; Khalsa and Butzer 2016) revealing preliminary evidence for the benefits of yoga in schools. For example, Khalsa and Butzer (2016) conducted a bibliometric analysis of research on school-based yoga programs and identified 47 studies, most of which reported beneficial effects of school-based yoga on student outcomes such as psychological well-being, academic performance, and health-related measures.…”

Enhancing yoga participation: A qualitative investigation of barriers and facilitators to yoga among predominantly racial/ethnic minority, low-income adults

“…Scientific investigations of the health benefits of yoga have increased over the past twenty years (Cramer et al, 2014; Jeter et al, 2015; Khalsa et al, 2016; Field, 2016). Overall, research suggests that yoga can offer physical and mental health benefits (Bussing et al, 2012; Khalsa et al, 2016; Streeter et al, 2012), and improvements in sleep (Khalsa et al, 2004; Mustian et al, 2013; Wang et al, 2015).…”

“…Overall, research suggests that yoga can offer physical and mental health benefits (Bussing et al, 2012; Khalsa et al, 2016; Streeter et al, 2012), and improvements in sleep (Khalsa et al, 2004; Mustian et al, 2013; Wang et al, 2015). However, racial/ethnic minorities and individuals of low SES remain underrepresented demographics in the existing yoga literature.…”