Res. J. Appl. Sci. Vol., 1(5): 119-112, 2014
Journal of Research in Applied sciences. Vol., 1(5): 109-112, 2014
Available online at http://www.jrasjournal.com
ISSN 2148-6662 © Copyright 2014
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The Effect of Yoga Training on Stress and SelfEsteem and Its Relation To Emotional Intelligence
Hamid Dehghanfara*, Maryam Alicheshmealaeeb, Mahvash Noorbakhshc
a,b
c
Young Researchers Club, Dariun Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dariun, Iran
Department of physical education, Karaj branch, Islamic Azad uneversity, Karaj, Iran
*
Corresponding Author Email: hamid1360_r@yahoo.com
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to study the effect of eight weeks yoga training on stress and selfesteem and its relation to emotional intelligence. In this experimental study, demographic questionnaire, DASS21 inventory, Rozenberg self-esteem inventory, MSEIS (2005) as four instruments for this study were used. 277
Azad university students and related centers were chosen with non-randomized way, then 52 persons after
matching, were randomly assigned into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group
participated in twice weekly yoga classes of 60 minutes duration for two months. Both groups were evaluated
again after the two-month study period. The data were analyzed using descriptive (Mean & SD) and inferential
(independent t-test, Pearson, multiple regression, multivariate) statically methods. Result revealed significant
reduction in stress and significant increase in self-esteem and emotional intelligence. Yoga had positive effect
on stress and self-esteem and emotional intelligence. It is suggested that yoga is as a public, effective and
suitable sport and can lead to positive mental and physical health.
Keywords: Yoga, Stress, Self-esteem, Emotional Intelligence, Students.
Introduction
Mental difficulties are such problems which
endanger human’s mental health and consequently
human’s body. And they can affect different
features of life if we don’t seek a remedy for it.
Stress is one of these problems and is a pervasive
phenomenon and its main characteristic is the
involvement of all psychological, physical, social,
and family features in individuals. Most cases in
mental health care centers don’t have any obvious
illness in their body. And they suffer from acute
mental disease. However, they are stressful, upset,
anxious, and depressed besides they have psychophysical problems (Dadsetan, 2007). Moreover,
individuals must have positive view about
themselves and their environment in order to they
can use their maximum mental capacity and
potential ability. And they must have strong
motivation for effort and trying so that they can
learn issues and materials completely and in an
applied way. And they should want to improve
their knowledge and consequently they will be an
effective and constructive one in practice (Emami,
2007; Amiri et al., 2005; Besharat & Abbasi, 2005;
Noorbakhsh & Hassan pour, 2004).
109
On the other hand, it is said that individuals
who have high self-respect and high self-esteem
also can perceive and find out affections, emotions
and answer to the other person’s emotions with
high self-confidence. Since, it is necessary to
identify and regulate emotions to encounter to life
incidents and their consequences, this capacity can
be an important factor in prediction about the
adaptation among peoples (Esmail et al., 2007;
Karami & Matin-Rad, 2005). Researchers think
that the mental and physical diseases can be
prevented and cured through program and regular
exercise practices. One of that exercises that seems
useful for this goal is yoga. In fact, the performance
of yoga exercise is an effort to reverse the stressful
mental effects. And it is a way from psychophysical disease psycho-physical relaxation. There
have been many extensive researches about yoga
and its effects on human’s physical and mental
health in scientific centers in the past few years.
The results show that we can reach to improve
mind, body and totally our life quality and human
mental practice by training and strengthening our
body and moral (Cowen, 2010; Vadiraja et al.,
2009; Telles et al., 2009). Among the people
students in the university involve in many various
Res. J. Appl. Sci. Vol., 1(5): 119-112, 2014
problems and different difficulties such as:
providing the education tuition, having mental
disturbance about self-conceits making relationship
with other students, reading the plenty volume of
different materials, acquiring suitable scores and
the quality of study and also programming for
future years after graduating in different field,
personal and professional, and continuing the
education in higher levels. One of the factors
among students is the feeling of homesickness
which causes anxiety and low self-respect and selfesteem in the students. And it may makes them
depressed in a long period of time (Ejei et al.,
2008).
The role of exercise in development of selfesteem is very useful (Kalogiannis, 2006). Among
girl students, after they took part in yoga exercise,
they could see the reduction of stress level
(Ghasemi, 2004). Moreover, other researches
showed that yoga as a mental and physical exercise
generally improve individuals, health feeling and
reduce their stress (Chen et al., 2010; Salmon et al.,
2009; S.Cowen & Adams, 2005). Researchers have
sought a way to create more relaxation and mental
health and physical health. Undoubtedly, the
tendency of most individual toward exercise and
sport activities is one of the most effective ways
which is not expensive, and doesn’t have any side
effects and is durable and beneficial for preventing
and reducing stress ( Ejei et al., 2008). All over the
world, there are many researchers investigating
broadly on regular exercise and particularly yoga
movements in human’s mental and moral health
and in challenging with stress during daylight.
They also inquired the yoga effect on the life
quality and even the relaxation in humans sleeping
time (Carei et al., 2010; Cox et al., 2010).
It seems that there searcher in this paper has
wanted to search about a scientific alternative to
improve these different mental features which are
necessary for reduction the stress. The possible
results about stressful mental factors, self-respect
and emotional intelligence will be a suitable and
scientific suggestion for authorities in sport affairs
and exercise activities at universities.
Materials and Methods
The method of this applied research was semiexperimental accompanied with pretest and posttest by using the control group. The Statistical
population used in this research consisted of 277
male students whom enrolled in Shiraz Islamic
Azad Universities.
According to the evaluation of the result, 52 of
them had the highest stress and the least selfesteem these students were divided randomly into
two equal 26 control and experimental groups.
110
Tools
Dass-21 stressful factors test
This scale is provided by lovibond in 1995.
Alpha value in this scale in a sample with 717
participants was 0.81 stress. Alpha value for a
sample with 400 participant from mashed city
about stress was reported 0.76 (Sahebi & Sadat,
2007).
Rosenberg’s inquiry sheet about self-esteem
Cronbach's alpha coefficient for this scale at
first was 0.81 for male participant and at the second
stage was estimated 0.88. Correlation in retest was
in 0.82-0.88 range. And internal similarity
coefficient or Cronbach's alpha was in 0.77-0.88
range (Alizadeh, 2003).
Results
According to the table 1, it is showed that
yoga's exercises effect on student' stress , there is a
significant difference after eight weeks between
two control and experimental groups .consequently,
yoga exercises affect the male student' stress
significantly and reduce this stress. Therefore, the
first hypothesis is confirmed in this research. These
results is the same as the other research in this issue
(Ghasemi, 2004; Bavaghar, 2003; Kiecolt et al.,
2010; Chen et al., 2010, S.Cowen, 2010, HafnerHolter et al., 2009; Telles et al., 2009; Vera et al.,
2009; Vadiraja et al., 2009; Sanghani, 2008; Tang
et al., 2007; S.Cowen & Adams, 2005). The
reduction effect of stress can be probably because
of the yoga's ability for decreasing and controlling
the transmitting of destructive and irregular
nervous message to the central nervous system.
This characteristic of yoga exercises is mainly
because of the accompaniment of every yoga'
movement with mind concentration and tranquility
of the mind from disturbance thoughts. Every
movement is conducted in a quite relax and peace
conditions. Because of this yoga's characteristic, it
can both improve mental anxieties and physical
diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart
disease, muscle paralysis and soon. According to
this research and the other ones it seems that we
can introduce yoga as a method to decrease or to
prevent mental tension including stress and other
mental problems.
The next inquiring issue in this research was the
effects of yoga on student' self-esteem .according
to the table 2 it showed that there were significant
differences among control and experimental group
after eight weeks yoga's practice about subjects'
self-esteem level. Therefore, yoga's exercises
significantly increased male student' self-esteem
and the second hypothesis of this research is
Res. J. Appl. Sci. Vol., 1(5): 109-112, 2014
confirmed. The results of this research is the same
as the other ones about yoga's effects on increasing
self-concepts and self-esteem including: Emami,
2007; S.Cowen, 2010; Hafner-Holter et al., 2009;
Vadiraja et al., 2009; Kosuri & Sridhar, 2009; Tang
et al., 2007) in addition, Elavsky and McAuley
(2007) research on yoga about some futures of selfesteem was not affective but the results of this
research also shows that yoga generally affect the
self-esteem. It seems that these affects can be cause
by decreasing stress and reaching to the mind
relaxation and consequently reduction of muscle
tension and increasing physical abilities after
activities such as Asana exercises, improving
flexibility, balance and equilibrium, muscle
strength and increasing one' satisfaction because of
such a particular movement, self-esteem will
enhance. According to the table 3 and different
research, it can be said that the increasing of selfesteem is related with the decreasing of stress and
the stress level will affect the self-esteem level.
Table 1.The results of indeendent t-test about the comparison of the mean between two stress groups.
Self-esteem
Group
Experiment
Control
N
26
26
Meat
1.0385
5.1923
As it can be seen in table 1 there is significant
difference between self-esteem in control and
experimental group in other words, yoga exercises
SD
6.42172
5.74121
T
-2.459
Bf
50
Sig.
0.017
for eight weeks affect the level of students stress.
And these exercises decrease the stress level among
them.
Table 2. The results of independent t-test about the comparison of the mean between two groups about selfesteem.
Self-esteem
Group
Experiment
Control
N
26
26
Meat
7.6154
.0769
According to the table t=4.509 and is significant in
degree free df=50 in a=0.05 level. So, hull
hypothesis (absence the differences between two
means) rejected and query hypothesis (presence of
difference between two means) is confirmed with
0.95 assurance. In the other hand, according to the
SD
6.42172
5.74121
T
4.509
Bf
50
Sig.
0.000
mean between two groups about self-esteem
component, it is implied that yoga exercise for
eight weeks affected the self-esteem level of the
students and these exercises enhanced the student’s
self-esteem in the experimental group.
Table 3. The results of Pearson coefficient of correlation about student’s stressful factors and self-esteem.
Stressful factors
Stress
The results of Pearson correlational coefficient
shows that is significant in the relation between
stress and self-esteem and in a= .05 level is (0/666), so hull hypothesis (i.e. the absence of
significant relation between two variable) is
rejected and inquiry hypothesis is confirmed with
0.095 assurance. in the other hand there is a
relationship between student' self-esteem and
stressful factors.
Discussion and Conclusion
According to this research yoga's exercise is
affective in reduction of the stress and enhancing
the self–esteem among students according to their
individual characteristics. Yoga's exercise in the
researcher opinion is a way to reduce mental
tension and to prevent the students' depression
generally to enhance their mental health level
111
Self-esteem
-0.666
0.000
52
R
Sig.
N
according to the significant relation between to
stress level and self-esteem and stressful factors.
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