mindfulness and self reports of well being- final

8/2/2019 Mindfulness and Self Reports of Well Being- Final

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Yoga, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being 1

Running Head: YOGA, MINDFULNESS AND WELL-BEING

Yoga, Mindfulness, and Self- Reported Well-being: Do Yogis Report Better Well-being

Than Those Practicing Other Types of Fitness?

Dianna Defrenza

York University


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Abstract

Mindfulness, or the practice of focused awareness on the present as it unfolds, has been

found to have enormous psychological and physical health benefits (resulting in greater

objective and subjective well-being) in the context of treatment and intervention strategies.

Currently, yoga practice in western society encourages the cultivation of mindfulness, as

well as physical strength and flexibility. The present study examines whether mindfulness

cultivated through regular yoga practice is related to greater subjective well-being, and

whether individuals that practice yoga differ significantly from those that practice other

types of physical fitness (non-yoga practitioners). Also of interest is whether mindfulness

and well-being are correlated in non-intervention populations. Yoga practitioners (N= 31)

and non-yoga practitioners (N= 31) were compared on measures of mindfulness and

subjective well-being using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the

Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). There were no differences found between yoga and

non-yoga practitioners on either scale. Mindfulness was positively correlated with well-

being in the non-yoga population only. Limitations to the current study and suggestions for

future research are discussed.


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Yoga, Mindfulness, and Self- Reported Well-being: Do Yogis Report Better Well-being

Than Those Practicing Other Types of Fitness?

Mindfulness has repeatedly been linked with subjective and objective well-being in

psychological research (Mackenzie, Poulin, & Seidman-Carlson, 2006; Miller, Fletcher &

Kabat-Zinn, 1995; Wall, 2005; Brown & Kasser, 2005). In contemporary yoga practice,

mindfulness, strength and flexibility are fundamental to the yogi. Yogic mindfulness is

facilitated through the instruction of breathing and relaxation techniques. A reasonable

assumption is that the yoga studio is a place for the average person to become more

mindful while engaging in physical fitness. The present study was designed to assess

whether those who practice yoga for fitness are more mindful than those that participate in

other forms of fitness. In addition to examining potential differences in mindfulness

between yoga and non- yoga practicing populations, an inquiry into the differences in

subjective well-being of the two groups will be made.

The concept of mindfulness can be traced back to the genesis of Buddhist

meditative practices (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Generally, mindfulness is a focused, non-reactive

awareness of the present moment, as it unfolds, without contemplation or elaboration into

the past or future. According to Kabat-Zinn (2003), An operational working definition of

mindfulness is: the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the

present moment, and nonjudgementally to the unfolding of experience moment by

moment (p. 145).

The benefits of mindful cognition have led to the development of several

procedures which utilize mindfulness in the field of clinical psychology. These procedures

include Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy,


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Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Hayes & Shenk, 2004) and Mindfulness Based

Stress Reduction (MBSR: Kabat-Zinn, 2003). These procedures foster mindfulness in

patients and clients using various techniques.

In a review of research, it is apparent that mindfulness is correlated with well-

being. There are many examples of mindfulness interventions that result in significant

improvement in subjective well-being. In a study conducted by Carlson and Brown (2005),

cancer patients participated in a mindfulness meditation intervention. Those who rated

higher in mindfulness reported lower mood disturbance and stress. Mackenzie et al. (2006)

used an abbreviated version of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) technique

(which teaches individuals how to self-regulate feelings and triggers that cause stress and

anxiety to escalate) in the nursing population. They found a significant reduction in the

nurses reported symptoms of stress and burnout following the intervention. Miller et al.

(1995) found significant improvements in subjective and objective symptoms of anxiety

and panic following an 8-week outpatientgroup stress reduction intervention based on

mindfulness meditation (p. 192). The three year follow-up was even more encouraging

because the subjects that continued compliance with meditation practice showed

maintenance of positive gains (Miller et al., 1995).

Beyond the context of therapy, some interesting findings further support the

connection between mindfulness and well-being. In 2005, Wall introduced middle school

students to Tai Chi (a type of martial art) and MBSR techniques through a five week

educational program, and found that the students reported increased well-being. Brown and

Kasser (2005) found a positive correlation between mindfulness, ecologically responsible

behaviour, and subjective well-being in samples of adolescents and adults. The


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directionality of the relationship between these variables is unknown, however it is

apparent that a positive correlation between mindfulness and well-being exists.

Yoga is an ancient system of beliefs which include the practice of mindfulness

within the general philosophy of working towards a well balanced, enlightened life.

Western culture has adopted aspects of yoga as a form of physical fitness, and the

importance of cultivating mindfulness has been maintained in most contemporary practice.

As Butera (2006) explains; the psychophysical yoga health practices in classical yoga

bring relaxation to the body and concentration to the mind. The yoga practices of posture,

breathing, and relaxation serve to quiet the mind for contemplation of deeper issues (p.

203). Yoga includes the main steps of asanas (postures) and pranayama (breath control).

The postures combined with breathing techniques aim to bring the mind to a deeper state of

concentration (Butera, 2006), which is essentially the cultivation of mindfulness.

The potential benefits of mindfulness cultivated through yoga practice have largely

been unexamined. Recent studies have revealed that yoga practitioners report lower

prevalence and intensity of psychological distress than non- practitioners (Sudha, Jyotsna,

Sumita & Nalini, 2006), and it may be argued that this sense of well-being is related to

mindfulness fostered through their chosen exercise. Impett, Daubenmier and Hirshman

(2006) found that more frequent yoga practice was associated with increased body

awareness, positive affect, and satisfaction with life. Testing the effects of yoga practice on

the general population, Sharma, Yadava and Hooda (2005) found that graduate students

who completed a 10 day yoga workshop reported reduced anxiety, enhanced concentration

and increased stamina. In spite of the clear psychological and physical health benefits of

practicing yoga, there is relatively little empirical insight into the causes of these benefits.


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The preceding studies suggest that yoga practice increases mindfulness and in

doing so, will also be related to increased subjective well-being. It was hypothesized that

the current study would find yoga practitioners to be more mindful than those who practice

other types of organized physical fitness. In addition, it was expected that the yoga

practitioners would also report greater subjective well-being than those who practice other

forms of fitness. Mindfulness was expected to be positively correlated with subjective well-

being and it was expected that the yoga practitioner sample would rate higher on both

measures when compared with the non- yoga practitioners. It was anticipated that the

results of this study would provide additional insight into the overall health benefits of

regular yoga practice for physical fitness.

Method

Participants

A total of 62 individuals (male and female) were recruited for the study (31 recruits

for each condition: yoga and non-yoga). Participants were approached at a Moksha Yoga

Studio in Toronto, on campus at York University outside of gymnasium and athletic areas,

and at a Peel Police staff fitness area. Those in the yoga group were required to practice

yoga at least two times per week to be included in the study. Individuals in the non- yoga

group were included if they participated in any other type of organized group or individual

fitness or sport two times per week or more. Non-yoga fitness was defined as any

deliberate solitary or group activity that raised the individuals heart rate and required

physical exertion which was greater than that achieved during normal daily activities,

including walking, sitting, bending, reaching, etc.

Materials


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Participants in both groups will complete the following questionnaires:

The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003). The

MAAS is a 15-item questionnaire which measures everyday mindfulness on a 6-point

Likert scale. A higher score on the MAAS indicates greater mindfulness. The MAAS has

been validated in populations that do not practice meditation or yoga, as well as those that

do practice mindfulness meditation, and is therefore an appropriate measure for this study

(Brown & Ryan, 2003). (see Appendix)

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS: Diener et al., 1985). The SWLS is a 5-

item questionnaire that measures subjective cognitive well- being. The SWLS requires

subjects to indicate on a 7-point Likert scale whether they agree or disagree with

statements. A higher score on the SWLS indicates greater satisfaction with life and will be

used to determine individuals subjective well- being. (see Appendix)

Procedure

Upon confirmation that the recruit qualified for either group, they were asked to

read the informed consent form and provide demographic information (age and gender). In

total there were 31 individuals in each group (N= 62). They each completed the MAAS

and SWLS and returned the questionnaires to the researcher. The subjects were not

debriefed, however the researcher was available for any questions or concerns that may

have arisen during or after they participated.

Results

Formal testing of the hypotheses in this study had largely insignificant findings.

The yoga and non-yoga groups were not found to differ significantly on either the


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mindfulness (MAAS) or well-being (SWLS) measures used, as shown in Table 1. A ttest

of the differences between the MAAS scores failed to detect significance between the two

populationst(60) = -.292,p = .772. Similarly, a ttest conducted for the SWLS scores did

not reveal a significant difference between the two groups t(60) = -.754,p = .454 (see

Table 2). The yoga group had a mean mindfulness score of 61 (SD = 11), and a mean well-

being score of 25 (SD = 8); the non-yoga group had a mean score of 62 (SD = 12) and a

mean well-being score of 26 (SD = 5). These findings are contradictory to anticipated

results which expected to find that yoga practitioners would be more mindful and report

greater subjective well-being that those who practiced others forms of physical fitness.

A moderately significant positive correlation (p >.01) found between the

mindfulness and well-being using Pearsons correlation coefficient (Table 3). However,

this correlation was only significant (see Table 4) in the non-yoga population r(29) = .44,p

= .05. Thus, as mindfulness increased in the non-yoga practitioners, so did subjective well

being. In summary, mindfulness was not greater in either population and was only found to

be positively related to subjective well-being in the non-yoga population. These findings

fail to support the hypotheses of this study.

Discussion

The present study failed to detect a significant advantage of practicing yoga

over other forms of physical fitness, in the cultivation of mindfulness and subjective

well-being. The results gleaned were not only contradictory to the hypotheses of this

study, but also to the body of research related to mindfulness. A significant

difference between the yoga and non-yoga groups, and the detection of a strong


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positive correlation between mindfulness and well-being for the yoga group, may

have been found with the exclusion of some of the limitations in this study.

Convenience sampling may have contributed to the results found in this study

not being representative of the population. The groups were pre-existing and

selection bias may have been a factor that impacted the current inquiry. Prior to

selecting their primary fitness activity, individuals in either group may have varied in

some systematic way. Individuals in either group may have had previous exposure to

meditation and mindfulness training. Alternatively, individuals in the yoga group

may have had lower subjective well-being or mindfulness before they initiated

regular yoga practice, when compared with people that chose other types of fitness.

Thus, yoga practice may have increased these individuals mindfulness and well-

being to a level equal to those in the comparison group. In general, subjects in this

study (who voluntarily participated) may have been systematically different than

those who did not volunteer to complete the surveys.

Limitations of time and space in this study may have also caused the results

to be inconsistent with previous findings related to mindfulness and well-being. An

experimental study with an intervention of guided yoga practice would have

controlled for differences in mindfulness instruction received by the yoga students,

variations in duration of yoga practice, as well as mindfulness and subjective well-

being prior to engaging in the chosen fitness regiment. Also, the participants

completed the questionnaires in very informal settings of a fitness area or yoga studio

lobby. The time required to complete the survey was approximately 5 minutes. These

factors may have influenced the consideration and responses that participants gave


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the questionnaires; causing them to be more casual about their answers than they

would be if responding in a lab setting with a greater time commitment to participate.

This study raises several questions which are related to the difference

between mainstream yoga practice and traditional yoga practice. Is yoga practice

cultivated in a non-meditative context simply another form of physical fitness, and

not any different than activities such as swimming or running? Also, is yoga practice

in a physical fitness context systematically different than health interventions found

in psychological research which incorporate yoga in treatment? Perhaps

contemporary western yoga practice does not differ significantly from other types of

fitness in the cultivation of mindfulness, and the present study was not impacted by

its limitations. Future research of mindfulness and well-being, comparing yoga and

non-yoga practitioners would benefit from controls to external and internal

confounding variables found in this study .In any case, futher exploration of

contemporary yoga practice for fitness will undoubtedly find that yogis enjoy great

mental and physical health benefits.

References

Brown, K. W., & Kasser, T. (2005). Are psychological and ecological well-being

compatible? The role of values, mindfulness, and lifestyle. Social Indicators

Research, 74, 349-368.


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Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its

role in psychological well-being.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84,

822-848.

Butera, R. (2006). Yoga: An Introduction. In E. R. Mackenzie & B. Rakel (Eds)

Complementary and alternative medicine for older adults. New York: Springer

Publishing Company, Inc.

Carlson, L. E., & Brown, K. W. (2005). Validation of the mindful attention awareness scale

in a cancer population.Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 58, 29-33.

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life

scale.Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.

Impett, E. A., Daubenmier, J. J., & Hirshman, A. L. (2006). Minding the body: Yoga,

embodiment, and well-being. Sexuality Research & Social Policy: A Journal of the

NSRC, 3, 39-48.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and

future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144-156.

Mackenzie, C. S., Poulin, P. A., & Seidman-Carlson, R. (2006). A brief mindfulness-based

stress reduction intervention for nurses and nurse aides.Applied Nursing Research,

19, 105-109.

Miller, J. J., Fletcher, K., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1995). Three year follow-up and clinical

implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the

treatment of anxiety disorders. General Hospital Psychiatry, 17, 192- 200.

Sharma, N., Yadava, A., & Hooda, D. (2005). Effect of yoga on psycho-physical functions .

Journal of Indian Psychology, 23, 37-42.


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Sudha, P., Jyotsna, G. N., Sumita, K., & Nalini, B. (2006). Comparative study of

psychological distress among practitioners and non-practitioners of yoga.Journal

of Indian Psychology, 24, 7-13.

Wall, R. B. (2005) Tai chi and mindfulness-based stress reduction in a Boston public

middle school.Journal of Paediatric Health Care, 19, 230- 237.

Appendix

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)

Instructions: Please use one of the following numbers from 1 to 7 to indicate

how much you agree or disagree with the following statements.

7 Strongly agree


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6 Agree

5 Slightly agree

4 Neither agree nor disagree3 Slightly disagree

2 Disagree

1 Strongly disagree

1. ____In most ways my life is close to my ideal.

2. ____The conditions of my life are excellent.3. ____I am satisfied with my life.

4. ____So far I have gotten the important things I want in my life.

5. ____If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

Note. Scores for all items are summed to calculate a total score.

The Mindful Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS)

Instructions: Below is a collection of statements about your everyday experience. Using the16 scale below, please indicate how frequently or infrequently you currently have each

experience. Please answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than

what you think your experience should be.

1 Almost always,

2 Very frequently

3 Somewhat frequently4 Somewhat infrequently

5 Very infrequently6 Almost never

1. ____ I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some timelater.

2. ____ I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of

something else.

3. ____ I find it difficult to stay focused on whats happening in the present.4. ____ I tend to walk quickly to get where Im going without paying attention to what I

experience along the way.

5. ____ I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grabmy attention.

6. ____ I forget a persons name almost as soon as Ive been told it for the first time.

7. ____ It seems I am running on automatic without much awareness of what Im doing.8. ____ I rush through activities without being really attentive to them.

9. ____ I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touch with what I am

doing right now to get there.10. ____ I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what Im doing.


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11. ____ I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing something else at the same

time.

12. ____ I drive places on automatic pilot and then wonder why I went there.13. ____ I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past.

14. ____ I find myself doing things without paying attention.

15. ____ I snack without being aware that Im eating.


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Table 1

Group Statistics for Yoga and Non-Yoga on Mindfulness and Well-being Measures

Exercise N Mean Std. Deviation

Mindfulness Yoga 31 61.06 11.20Non Yoga 31 61.93 12.27

Well-being Yoga 31 25.25 7.76

Non Yoga 31 26.48 4.63


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Table 2

Equality of Variances and Equality of Means for Mindfulness and Well-being Results

F Sig. t df

Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean

Difference

Std. Error

Difference

95% ConfidenceInterval of the

Difference

Mindfulness Equalvariances

assumed

.087 .769 -.292 60 .772 -.87097 2.98558 -6.84302 5.10109

Equal

variancesnot assumed

-.292 59.503 .772 -.87097 2.98558 -6.84405 5.10211

Well-being Equal

variancesassumed

6.853 .011 -.754 60 .454 -1.22581 1.62497 -4.47622 2.02461

Equalvariances

not assumed

-.754 48.989 .454 -1.22581 1.62497 -4.49132 2.03970


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Table 3

Correlation between Mindfulness and Well-being

Mindfulness Well-being

Mindfulness Pearson Correlation 1 .364**Sig. (2-tailed) .004

N 62 62

Well-being Pearson Correlation .364** 1Sig. (2-tailed) .004

N 62 62

**p < .01 (2-tailed)


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Table 4

Correlation between Mindfulness and Well-being In Yoga and Non-Yoga Groups

Exercise Mindfulness Wellbeing

Non Yoga Mindfulness Pearson Correlation 1 .442*Sig. (2-tailed) .013

N 31 31

Wellbeing Pearson Correlation .442* 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .013

N 31 31

Yoga Mindfulness Pearson Correlation 1 .336Sig. (2-tailed) .065

N 31 31

Wellbeing Pearson Correlation .336 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .065N 31 31

p < .05 level (2-tailed)

mindfulness and self reports of well being- final

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