Author: Ellie
Date: January 3, 2025
Category: Evaluations,News,Reports
Reading time: 5.8 mins
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Author: Ellie
Date: January 3, 2025
Category: Evaluations,News,Reports
Reading time: 5.8 mins
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Summary findings from self-reported mental health scores, shared by participants before and after an Umbrella Yoga program.
Report Author: Doctor Ellie Firth
Background:
It is well-established that yoga can help with a person’s mental wellbeing. But we also know that, like most interventions, not everybody responds in the same way to yoga. We are interested in finding out who benefits from group yoga sessions, and in what way.
What we did:
Adults were invited to attend a 10-week yoga program, free of charge, with one yoga session offered per week. We asked participants to complete two surveys (for anxiety, and mental wellbeing) at the start and end of the yoga program.
Some adults joined ‘Community Yoga’ sessions; these sessions were open to all adults, many had caring responsibilities and were more likely to struggle with issues such as the cost of living, isolation, and mental health problems. 38 Community Yoga participants completed the initial surveys, and 15 of these also completed the surveys at the end.
Some participants were part of ‘Trauma Survivor’ groups for women. Many were from minority migrant populations and / or had experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence. 41 trauma survivors completed the initial surveys, and 9 also completed the surveys at the end.
Participants were encouraged to attend all sessions, but attendance was not compulsory. Some attended all sessions, others attended only a few.
Anxiety symptoms. We used the Generalised Anxiety Scale (GAD-7) to measure self-reported anxiety symptoms. There are 7 questions which ask participants to indicate on a scale of 0-4 how often they have experienced things like: trouble sleeping; feeling afraid that something terrible might happen; feeling nervous, anxious or on edge. A higher score means the person responding is more anxious.
Community Yoga participants (N=15), on average, scored 8.3 before the yoga, and 5.9 after the yoga. This was a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms.
Trauma Survivor participants (N=9), on average, scored 8.6 before the yoga, and 9.3 after the yoga. This was a marginal increase in anxiety symptoms, but it was not statistically significant (meaning that this difference was probably by chance and does not represent a real change).
Mental Wellbeing. To measure wellbeing, we used the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. There are 21 questions which ask participants to rate how often they have experienced various statements such as: thinking clearly; having energy to spare; feeling confident; being interested in new things. In this survey, a high score indicates better mental wellbeing.
Community Yoga participants (N=15), on average, scored 43 before the yoga, and 46 after the yoga. This was a significant improvement in mental wellbeing.
Trauma Survivor participants (N=9), on average, scored 41 before the yoga, and 42 after the yoga. This was a marginal improvement in mental wellbeing, but again, it was not statistically significant.
Comments and feedback from participants
The yogis were invited to provide written feedback, anonymously, after each session. There were so many highly positive comments from both groups, with themes centering on:
- Being calm and relaxed.
- Feeling safe.
- Feeling better after the session than when they arrived.
- Being more comfortable physically.
- The positive community aspect.
Some quotes follow:
Trauma survivors classes:
“Moved from frantic and tired to calm and relaxed. Feel ready to go back and deal with the phone calls I have to make. Thank you.”
“Feel brought back into my body realising I’ve not been here except momentarily. This space is so special and nourishing. Thank you.”
“Incredibly grateful to be back in class and to have moved from fear and dislike of being in my body to feeling held and safe.”
“Feeling happier than when I came here.”
“I was full of pain and after the session I feel well and relaxed.”
“Thank you, feel relaxed. These sessions have made me feel everything in the body is connected. Feel better with every weekly session.”
Community yoga classes:
“What a lovely event, place and atmosphere. I enjoy it all. Thank you.”
“I enjoy the relaxing and mindful approach. You are never put under pressure to do anything beyond your own capabilities. This is a really good class and benefits people with different conditions.”
“I enjoy the class because it suits my movement, strength limitations. The class is small in numbers which again suits me as I have a compromised immune system. This group session is exercise and also meditation and managing breath which is also beneficial for me. Social side is also good for my mental health. Excellent!”
“This class has helped me so much. I love the community aspect about it, the teacher and the gentle movement.”
What does this mean?
Our results show that taking part in community yoga can reduce anxiety symptoms and improve mental wellbeing.
We think community yoga represents a real opportunity to prevent escalating mental health problems, and to empower people to take responsibility for their own well being. Because participants have achieved this themselves, by choosing to attend the class and actively participate, we believe they will be more able to maintain the benefits. This reduces pressure on primary healthcare services in the long term, and minimises the need for medication or other treatment options.
In the trauma survivor yoga groups, the survey scores did not show any significant change at the group level. This could have been for a number of reasons, such as: the program was too short; the number of people involved was too small to show a difference; anxiety was too high in the first place; there were too many other factors involved in the participant’s lives for yoga to make a measurable difference. However, it’s important to note that there were no negative outcomes recorded, and the feedback comments from individuals made it abundantly clear that participating in yoga can have a highly positive impact on the physical and mental experience of individuals who have survived trauma.
What’s next?
- We will continue to work with both these groups, encouraging individual progress and gains.
- We will share information and outcomes with other services to encourage cross-referrals and increase community yoga availability and engagement.
- There are a lot of questions unanswered. For example, we don’t know the specific backgrounds, circumstances and demographics of these individuals. We believe it is a strength of the program that anyone (over 18) can join the sessions because this creates diverse groups, fostering cohesive and inclusive communities. But, it would be interesting and useful to find out more about who is accessing the groups and how exactly they benefit, in order to maximise improvements and encourage effective service referrals. These are questions we are addressing in current and future programs.
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Featured Umbrella Yoga Teachers delivering Trauma Informed Yoga, as part if this key service
Featured image 1:
Rachel Gosling
Image 2:
Virginia Walker
Photography Credits: Lee Osborne
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