Yoga as a preventative and treatment for depression, anxiety and stress Campbell, Debra and Moore, Kathleen 2004, Yoga as a preventative and treatment for depression, anxiety and stress, International journal of yoga therapy, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 53-58. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Yoga as a preventative and treatment for depression, anxiety and stress Author(s) Campbell, Debra Moore, Kathleen Journal name International journal of yoga therapy Volume number 14 Issue number 1 Start page 53 End page 58 Publisher Yoga Research and Education Center for the International Association of Yoga Therapists Place of publication Lower Lake, Calif. Publication date 2004 ISSN 1531-2054 Summary With the dual aims of better understanding the contribution of Yoga to positive mental health and exploring links between yogic philosophy and psychological theory, researchers at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, conducted a study on Yoga as a preventative and treatment for symptoms of mental illness. The Yoga classes were designed as a six-week program incorporating breathing techniques (prânâyâma), exercises for strength, vitality, and flexibility (âsanas), guided relaxation (yoga-nidrâ), and meditation. The aim of this process was to enhance self-awareness, encourage the perspective that emotional states are somewhat transient, and encourage a self-accepting and calm attitude through concentrating on synchronizing gentle movements and breathing. By developing calmness, selfacceptance, a balanced perspective, and enhanced concentration it was hypothesized that participants in the six-week Yoga program would strengthen their resistance to emotional distress. Psychometric testing was carried out to assess symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression across three groups: regular Yoga practitioners, beginners entering the program, and people who did not practice Yoga, and these tests were re-administered after six weeks. In addition, a strong sense of intrinsic spiritual experience has been cited as a possible buffer to stress, anxiety, and depression and has been associated with decreased frequency of medical symptoms. All participants were therefore also assessed on their sense of intrinsic spirituality, but not on religious beliefs. At the end of six weeks, the Yoga beginners group showed lower average levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress than at commencement, but levels were stable for regular Yoga practitioners and people who did not practice Yoga. In addition, beginners showed growth in their self-reported level of intrinsic spiritual experience. Language eng Field of Research 170106 Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology HERDC Research category C3 Non-refereed articles in a professional journal Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30013077 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Health School of Psychology Related Links Link Description Connect to published version Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Tue, 21 Oct 2008, 11:18:11 EST Tue, 26 May 2009, 16:35:10 EST Tue, 26 May 2009, 16:38:45 EST Fri, 29 May 2009, 09:59:37 EST Wed, 02 Jul 2014, 14:48:53 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 0 times in TR Web of Science Cited 0 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 1133 Abstract Views, 0 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Tue, 21 Oct 2008, 11:18:11 EST