Influence of Selected Yogic Practices on Selected Psychological Variables of College-Level Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69980/ajpr.v28i3.874Keywords:
Yoga, Selected Psychological variables, College-level StudentsAbstract
Introduction: The purpose of the study was to estimate the influence of yogic practices on selected psychological variables of college-level students. In today's demanding educational landscape, college students face escalating stress, anxiety, and mental health challenges from academic pressures, social transitions, and life demands, with high rates of anxiety or depression. Through regular practice of asanas, pranayama, and meditation, individuals experience reduced physiological arousal and emotional reactivity, which helps lower social anxiety and depressive symptoms while enhancing calmness and self-confidence. Yogic breathing and mindfulness strengthen perceived control by increasing self-awareness, self-regulation, and an internal locus of control, enabling better coping with stress and challenges. Over time, these practices contribute to positive personality development by fostering traits such as emotional balance, discipline, compassion, and resilience, making yoga an effective holistic approach for psychological well-being and healthy personality growth. Methodology: 60 male and 60 female students were selected for the study, and each gender category was divided into two groups of equal size (n=30). The male yoga group comprised 30 students, the female yoga group comprised 30 students, and the remaining 30 males and 30 females acted as the control group. Both yoga groups had 5 years of experience in yogic practice. The age group of the subjects was between 18-25 years. Social Anxiety, Behaviour and Depression, were measured using standard testing protocols. Results: All the criterion variables of the yogic practice group were significantly better than those of the control group. Discussion: Yogic practices regulate the nervous system, reduce stress, and enhance self-awareness, emotional balance, and self-regulation. Through asanas, pranayama, and meditation, yoga promotes calmness, confidence, adaptive behaviour, positive mood, efficient performance, and the development of stable, healthy personality traits. Conclusion: It was concluded that yogic practices play a significant role in improving social anxiety, behaviour and depression by promoting balanced regulation of the mind and body of college-level students.
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