Development of Specific Aspects of Spirituality during a 6-Month Intensive Yoga Practice

Abstract

The majority of research on yoga focuses on its psychophysiological and therapeutic benefits, while the spiritual aspects are rarely addressed. Changes of specific aspects of spirituality were thus investigated among 160 individuals (91% women, mean age years; 57% Christians) starting a 2-year yoga teacher training. We used standardized questionnaires to measure aspects of spirituality (ASP), mindfulness (FMI—Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory), life satisfaction (BMLSS—Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale), and positive mood (lightheartedness/relief). At the start of the course, scores of the respective ASP subscales forsearch for insight/wisdom, transcendence conviction, andconscious interactions/compassionwere high, while those forreligious orientationwere low. Within the 6 month observation period, bothconscious interactions/compassion(effect size, Cohen’s ),Religious orientation(),Lightheartedness/Relief() and mindfulness () increased significantly. Particularly non-religious/non-spiritual individuals showed moderate effects for an increase ofconscious interactions/compassion. The results from this study suggest that an intensive yoga practice (1) may significantly increase specific aspects of practitioners’ spirituality, mindfulness, and mood, (2) that these changes are dependent in part on their original spiritual/religious self-perception, and (3) that there are strong correlations amongst these constructs (i.e.,conscious interactions/compassion, and mindfulness).