Yoga as a Preventive Health Care Program for White and Black Elders: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

A ten-week yoga program was implemented with sixty-one white and forty-five low-income black elders at two community sites, along with a pretest-posttest control group research design with random assignment at each site. White elders attended class regularly, practiced yoga on their own on a daily basis, improved psychological well-being, and lowered their systolic blood pressure level, in comparison to a control group. Black elders, on the other hand, attended the once-a-week class regularly but did not practice on their own on a daily basis. Thus, they did not improve psychological well-being nor reduce blood pressure level in comparison to a control group. Social analysts suggest that low-income minority elders need more frequent contact with structured leadership in order to adhere to a daily routine that may lead to psychological and physical change. Other directions for controlled follow-up studies are suggested.