The Effects of Yoga on Self-Objectification

Abstract

Objectification theory postulates that women exist in a cultural milieu of sexual messages that serves to socialize women and girls to view themselves as objects to be examined by others (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). As a result girls and women internalize an observer’s perspective of themselves, concentrating on how they look at the expense of being aware of how they feel, an effect termed self-objectification. The present study investigated whether yoga can reduce self-objectification. Yoga is a mind-body exercise which emphasizes awareness of internal states at the expense of awareness of outward appearance. A certified Kundalini instructor taught yoga classes to adolescent participants. Participants completed self-objectification measures before and after their yoga classes. Overall, results were promising and provided limited support for the hypothesis that yoga instruction can reduce self-objectification. Implications for future research on yoga interventions for selfobjectification are discussed.