The effects of a complex yoga-based intervention on healthy psychological functioning.

Background: Yoga based interventions were found to have a positive impact on various indicators of psychological functioning, such as perceived stress, satisfaction with life, positive and negative affectivity. Additionally, such interventions improved bodily or interoceptive awareness and spirituality. Methods: The present study assessed the effects of a 3-month long complex yoga-based intervention compared to a passive control group in a Hungarian community sample. The final sample consisted of 44 intervention (Mage = 47.5, SD = = 8.76) and 29 control participants (Mage = 47.4, SD = 9.47). The aforementioned constructs were measured 1 week before and after the intervention. Results: The intervention reduced participants' perceived stress (p = <0.001, ηp 2 = 0.153) and negative affectivity (p = 0.019, ηp 2 = 0.113), improved spirituality (p = 0.048, ηp 2 = 0.054) and various aspects of interoceptive awareness such as noticing (p = <0.001, ηp 2 = 0.169) attention regulation (p = <0.001, ηp 2 = 0.211), self-regulation (p = 0.002, ηp 2 = 0.190) body listening (p = 0.010, ηp 2 = 0.097), trusting (p = 0.026, ηp 2 = 0.070), but did not impact positive affectivity and satisfaction with life. Conclusion: A 3-months long complex yoga-based intervention has a positive impact on many aspects of healthy psychological functioning.

Are there placebo or nocebo effects in balancing performance?

Placebo and nocebo effects could influence the perceived, actual, or both postural stabilities. Therefore, this experiment examined whether postural stability is susceptible to placebo and nocebo effects. Driven by expectations, these cognitions could influence the motor stability of people in physical rehabilitation and those with motion instability. We randomly assigned 78 participants to a placebo, nocebo, or control group. Then, we applied a sham sports cream with positive, negative, or neutral instructions about its impact on balance. Next, we tested postural stability with a modified version of the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction in Balance, including standard, proprioceptive, visual, and vestibular tests before and after the intervention. Further, we measured expected and perceived performance with visual analog scales and assessed trait anxiety, change in state anxiety, optimism, holistic thinking, persistence, and cooperation with questionnaires. The intervention did not affect actual test performances; similarly, trait and state variables and expectations did not have an impact. Furthermore, the experimental manipulation and trait and state variables did not significantly affect perceived performance. However, the association between expectation and perceived performance was strong (ϱ = 0.627, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that postural stability is not susceptible to placebo and nocebo influences. Still, there is a dissociation between objective and subjective performance, showing that expectations impact perceived but not actual performance, which could fuel motivation in rehabilitation settings.