Can a Short-Online, Advanced Yoga and Meditation Program Impact Wellbeing Indicators, Executive Functioning and Emotion Regulation among the Participants? An investigation during COVID-19! (Preprint)

Abstract

The present study documented the psychological benefits among participants attending a short, online, yoga-meditation program during COVID-19.

The study documented the changes in executive functioning, emotion regulation, and other psychological benefits in participants after attending an online, 4-days advanced yoga and meditation program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study included 32 participants (11 men and 21 women; Mage = 38.12 years; SD = 9.65) who completed the standardized Stroop test and go/no-go task for executive functioning assessment. Participants also responded to Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire- Short Version for examining the emotion regulation strategies in addition to Multidimensional Flourishing Scale, Peace of Mind Scale, and Harmony in Life Scale through the smartphone app, PsyEx (developed for a larger study), in a pre–post-test design.

The results of pre–post test scores using paired t-test on Stroop task showed statistically significant improvement for executive functioning, flourishing, harmony in life, and peace of mind in the participants after attending the short, intense online advanced yoga and meditation program.

The findings from the study highlights the benefits of online yoga and meditation program in facilitating individuals to focus on the present moment, increase their awareness and attention, and regulate their emotions by using strategies such as cognitive reappraisal, perspective taking, and refocusing more effectively.