Nursing students experience a considerable amount of stress to meet their professional demands
both academic and clinical requirements. However, yoga is an effective practice to reduce
stress and improve psychological and physical well-being.
AIMTo evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week yoga intervention on psycho-physical functioning
of nursing students.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a randomized wait-list control trial. We recruited 100 students from Kempegowda
Institute of Nursing, Bangalore, and randomized them into two groups (yoga=50 and wait-list
control=50 students). The following instruments were used to collect the data, Freiburg
Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), Self-Compassion Scale- short form (SCS-SF), Connor-
Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Jefferson Scale
of Empathy HPS-Version (JSE-HPS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Sit and Reach Test, Peak
Flow Meter, Handgrip Dynamometer, Pinch Gauge, and Purdue Pegboard. Data was analyzed
using Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM-ANOVA) followed by post-hoc
Bonferroni correction for all the variables.
CONCLUSIONOverall, the present study has demonstrated mixed results. Though we could not elucidate
significant improvements in all the variables, an increase in mindfulness, self-compassion, low
back, and hamstring flexibility, and pinch strength is worth noting. This improvement in
psycho-physical functioning aid nursing students to meet the demands of the profession. Hence,
yoga intervention can be recommended in nursing education.
