A qualitative study exploring middle-aged women's experiences with yoga.

The purpose of this study was to explore how yoga impacts body-related thoughts, feelings, perceptions and attitudes, well-being, and self-care behaviors in a sample of middle-aged women who regularly engage in yoga in their communities. The sample included 22 women; 10 self-identified as beginners or novices and 12 self-identified as experienced in yoga. Interpretive phenomenological analysis guided the data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Four key themes were identified around the topics of: supportive yoga environment, mindfulness, self-care behaviors, and body-related perceptions. Results highlight potential elements of yoga that can support positive body-related experiences in middle-aged women.

A conceptual model describing mechanisms for how yoga practice may support positive embodiment.

Yoga practice has been associated with various indices of positive embodiment in correlational and intervention studies. Yet, systematic, theoretically-grounded models detailing specific mechanisms by which yoga supports positive embodiment are lacking. In this article, we present a conceptual model that describes mechanisms (i.e., mediators and moderators) that can be used to guide research to help answer how, for whom, and under what conditions yoga practice may promote positive embodiment. Based on existing theoretical frameworks and empirical findings, this model suggests that (a) yoga practice may cultivate embodying experiences during yoga (e.g., state mindfulness), (b) these embodying experiences may build stable embodying experiences that generalize beyond the yoga context (e.g., trait mindfulness), and (c) these stable embodying experiences may then promote embodying practices (e.g., mindful self-care). This mediational chain is likely moderated by the yoga context (e.g., instructional focus, presence of mirrors, diversity of bodies represented) and yoga practitioners' social identities (e.g., body size, physical limitations), social and personal histories (e.g., experiences with weight stigma and trauma), and personality traits and motives (e.g., body comparison, appearance-focused motives to practice yoga). Using the structure of this conceptual model, we offer researchers ideas for testable models and study designs that can support them.

Examining the effects of mindfulness-based yoga instruction on positive embodiment and affective responses.

Empirical evidence provides support for the inclusion of yoga as part of eating disorder prevention efforts through its positive impact on positive embodiment and experience of positive core affect. However, there is a need to identify the specific instructional strategies that will more consistently support positive embodiment and positive affect. We examined the effect of teaching a single yoga class using mindfulness-based instruction compared to appearance-based and neutral instruction alternatives on embodiment (i.e., state body surveillance, state body appreciation, pleasure during yoga) and changes in affect from before to after class. Female participants (N = 62; M age = 23.89, SD = 6.86) were randomly assigned to a yoga class that emphasized: being mindfully present in one's body, changing one's appearance, or just getting into yoga poses. ANOVAs revealed significantly higher body surveillance (ηp 2 =.10) and lower forecasted pleasure (ηp 2 =.21) in the appearance class compared to the other two classes. Participants in the mindfulness class experienced greater improvement in affect (ηp 2 =.08) from before to after class and higher remembered pleasure during the yoga class (ηp 2 =.19) compared to those in the appearance class. Emphasizing changes to appearance in yoga instruction may place participants at risk for less positive affect and less positive experiences of embodiment compared to mindfulness-based or even neutral yoga instruction.

The roles of self-compassion, body surveillance, and body appreciation in predicting intrinsic motivation for physical activity: Cross-sectional associations, and prospective changes within a yoga context.

Engaging in physical activity for the immediate internal experiences it brings (e.g., pleasure, satisfaction) is critical for long-term exercise adherence. Investigations of how factors such as body image contribute to intrinsic motivation for physical activity are needed. The present study examined body surveillance and body appreciation as mediators of the relationship between self-compassion and intrinsic motivation for physical activity cross-sectionally and prospectively. One sample of college women completed measures of study variables at one time point (Sample 1; N = 269, Mage = 19.96) and a second sample did so during Weeks 1, 8, and 16 while participating in a 16-week yoga course (Sample 2; N = 323, Mage = 20.31). In Sample 1, latent variable structural equation modeling supported body appreciation as a mediator between self-compassion and intrinsic motivation for physical activity. In Sample 2, latent growth curve analyses revealed that change in self-compassion predicted changes in body surveillance and body appreciation in expected directions. Further, change in body appreciation positively predicted change in intrinsic motivation. Targeting self-compassion and body appreciation may help support women's intrinsic motivation for physical activity.

Exploring changes in mindfulness and body appreciation during yoga participation.

Evidence supports the positive role that yoga participation can play in predicting positive body image experiences. However, less is known about the mechanisms that might explain this relationship. The purpose of this study was to test for change in state and trait mindfulness and body appreciation as well as the relationship between change in trait mindfulness and change in body appreciation across 16 weeks of yoga participation. Participants (N = 376; Mage = 20.45; 87% female) were recruited from for-credit yoga classes at a university. They completed measures of trait mindfulness and body appreciation at the beginning, mid-point, and end of the 16-week course. They also completed a measure of state mindfulness of the body that targeted their experience during yoga every other week after class. Latent growth curves were estimated for each variable and demonstrated significant (p < .001) positive change in trait mindfulness and body appreciation. The full structural model showed that the rate of change in trait mindfulness associated positively with the rate of change in body appreciation. This significant relationship supports the role that mindfulness may play in supporting growth in positive body image during yoga participation.

Mindfulness and Affective Responses to Treadmill Walking in Individuals with Low Intrinsic Motivation to Exercise.

An aversion to the sensations of physical exertion can deter engagement in physical activity. This is due in part to an associative focus in which individuals are attending to uncomfortable interoceptive cues. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of mindfulness on affective valence, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and enjoyment during treadmill walking. Participants (N=23; Mage=19.26, SD = 1.14) were only included in the study if they engaged in no more than moderate levels of physical activity and reported low levels of intrinsic motivation. They completed three testing sessions including a habituation session to determine the grade needed to achieve 65% of heart rate reserve (HRR); a control condition in which they walked at 65% of HRR for 10 minutes and an experimental condition during which they listened to a mindfulness track that directed them to attend to the physical sensations of their body in a nonjudgmental manner during the 10-minute walk. ANOVA results showed that in the mindfulness condition, affective valence was significantly more positive (p = .02, ηp2 = .22), enjoyment and mindfulness of the body were higher (p < .001, ηp2 = .36 and .40, respectively), attentional focus was more associative (p < .001, ηp2 =.67) and RPE was minimally lower (p = .06, ηp2 =.15). Higher mindfulness of the body was moderately associated with higher enjoyment (p < .05, r =.44) in the mindfulness but not the control condition. Results suggest that mindfulness during exercise is associated with more positive affective responses.

A pilot yoga physical education curriculum to promote positive body image.

We examined the effects of a pilot yoga-based physical education (PE) curriculum by testing for change in trait body surveillance, physical self-worth, and body appreciation. Further, we examined the relationships among change in body image variables and the role of state mindfulness in predicting state body surveillance during classes. Adolescents participated in 12 weeks of yoga-based (n=20; Mage=16.45, 90% female) or traditional (n=23;Mage=14.52, 57% female) PE. Results showed significant (p=.004), moderate decreases in trait body surveillance and minimal nonsignificant (p=.11) increases in physical self-worth. Change in trait body surveillance was inversely related to change in physical self-worth and body appreciation in yoga participants. Multi-level modeling analyses revealed that more mindful students also surveyed their body less during class. Intentionally structured yoga participation may support positive body image among adolescents.