Trauma-informed yoga (online) for positive mental health: A pilot study

Objective

This aim of the study was to explore the effectiveness of an online trauma-informed yoga programme to increase positive mental health and reduce stress in the general population.

Design

This was a mixed-methods prospective intervention study with an active trauma informed yoga group and a wait-listed control group.

Methods

Thirty participants were recruited from an organisation based in the United Kingdom.The active intervention was a once weekly pre-recorded TIY video class (approximately one-hour) for 10 weeks. The control group were wait-listed. The primary outcome was a comparison between the active and control groups postintervention on the positive mental health scale. Secondary outcomes were the difference between groups over various related scales. ANCOVA was used in the analysis to respectively control for baseline levels of the outcomes.

Results

A non-significant increase in PMH (b = 2.44, p = 0.16), mindfulness (b = 6.35, p = 0.07) and resilience (b = 4.08, p = 0.15 and a significant increase in selfcompassion (b = 2.53, p = 0.04) were demonstrated, while perceived stress increased non-significantly (b = 1.51, p = 0.56) and empowerment was reduced non-significantly (b = −0.25, p = 0.29) for the active group compared with controls.

Conclusions

Consistent trends over multiple outcomes demonstrated positive effects of TIY on PMH, mindfulness, resilience, and a significant improvement in self-compassion. Limitations of a small study include an increased risk of failing to reject the null hypothesis when it is false. A larger trial is warranted to demonstrate the effects of TIY more conclusively in positive mental health.