Evidence-based comparative study of group and individual consciousness on life satisfaction among adults

Sudhanshu Verma; Kamakhya Kumar

doi:10.4103/ym.ym_19_19

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Year : 2020 | Volume : 52 | Issue : 1 | Page : 34-37

Evidence-based comparative study of group and individual consciousness on life satisfaction among adults

Sudhanshu Verma¹, Kamakhya Kumar²
¹ Department of Yogic Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Sharda University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
² Department of Yogic Sciences, Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India

Date of Submission	19-Oct-2019
Date of Acceptance	08-Apr-2020
Date of Web Publication	11-Jun-2020

Correspondence Address:
Sudhanshu Verma
Department of Yogic Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Sharda University, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
India

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DOI: 10.4103/ym.ym_19_19

Abstract

Background: Life satisfaction (LS) is the method during which people show their emotions, feelings (moods), and the way they feel concerning their directions and choices for the longer term. It is a measure of well-being assessed in terms of mood, satisfaction with relationships, achieved goals, self-concepts, and self-perceived ability to address one's lifestyle. LS involves a good angle toward one's life instead of an assessment of the current feelings. LS has been measured in relation to economic standing, degree of education, experiences, residence, and many other topics.
Objective: The objective of the present study was to see the effect of group yoga and individual yoga training on LS among adults.
Materials and Methods: In the present study, 100 college students and employees aged 18–45 years with dissatisfaction were randomized into two groups, that is, group yoga practice (GYP, n = 50) and individual yoga practice (n = 50). All the participants were assessed for LS using standard questionnaire at the baseline and after completion of 45 days of training intervention. Data analysis was done using statistical software SPSS Version 23.0. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests.
Results: The results showed that LS in GYP improved statistically significantly (t = 3.20, p < 0.01) after 45 days of yoga intervention. Further, in case of individual yoga practice group, the results showed that there was no statistically significant increase (t = 1.94, p > 0.05) in LS of the participants.
Conclusion: Group yoga intervention is effective in increasing LS among adults as compared to individual yoga intervention.

Keywords: Group consciousness, group yoga practices, individual yoga practices, life satisfaction, mental wellness

How to cite this article:
Verma S, Kumar K. Evidence-based comparative study of group and individual consciousness on life satisfaction among adults. Yoga Mimamsa 2020;52:34-7

How to cite this URL:
Verma S, Kumar K. Evidence-based comparative study of group and individual consciousness on life satisfaction among adults. Yoga Mimamsa [serial online] 2020 [cited 2020 Nov 27];52:34-7. Available from: https://www.ym-kdham.in/text.asp?2020/52/1/34/286548

Introduction

Psychological well-being is now acquiring much importance and thus people have started resorting to a number of health behavior techniques to live a healthy and happy life. Yoga and meditation are one such purifying mechanism through which we try to unify the mind, body, and soul (Arora, & Bhattacharjee, 2008). It is an individual branch of knowledge whose ultimate aim is self-development and self-realization. Regular practice of these techniques promotes strength, resilience, and flexibility and facilitates qualities such as friendliness, compassion, and greater self-control (McCall, 2007). Sustained practice and commitment lead to changes in life perspective and self-awareness (Desikachar, Bragdon, & Bossart, 2005).

Life satisfaction (LS) directs a person to rationally appraise his or her life and how s/he feels about where it is likely to be in the near future. It is a measure of overall well-being and may be assessed in relation to mood, satisfaction with accomplished goals, self-concepts, and self-perceived ability to manage the hassles of daily life. It is having a positive attitude of one's life as a whole rather being caught with the current feelings. Feelings and emotions are assumed as temporary and are considered temporary in nature (Bailey, Eng, Frisch, & Snyder, 2007). In a simple way, we can say that LS is the most inevitable part of our day-to-day life, which gives us joy, happiness, and motivation to improve ourselves. Satisfaction with career, Satisfaction with the job, satisfaction with the neighbors is basically gives us an opportunity to be a great personality. Basically, it gives us an opportunity to be a great personality.

One of the best methodologies to combat stress and improve the satisfaction in life is yoga. Yoga which encompasses several techniques including physical postures, breathing techniques (Pranayama), and meditation has become very popular for its applications in health starting from better physical fitness (Telles, Hanumanthaiah, & Nagarathna, 1994).

Several studies have highlighted the psychological benefits of integrated Yoga practices such as anxiety and neurosis (Brown, & Gerbarg, 2005; Shannahoff-Khalsa, & Beckett, 1996). Hence, the objective of the present investigation was to study the efficacy of group yogic practice (GYP) and individual yogic practices (IYP) on LS in male adults.

Materials and Methods

Subjects

The participants for the present study were selected from Degree College of Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. Although there were 250 students and employees, 100 students and employees volunteered to participate in the study. All the participants were both from rural and urban areas. The participants' age ranged from 18 to 45 years. The participants were given an introductory lecture regarding the purpose of the project and motivated to participate in the study. All the selected participants were randomly assigned to two groups, i.e., GYP (n = 50) and individual yoga practice (n = 50), by using a random number generator. To be included in the study, the participants should be (a) male with age ranging from 18 to 45 years and (b) suffering from dissatisfaction. The exclusion criteria for the study were (a) any ailment, (b) consuming alcohol and smoking, (c) those already practicing yoga, and (d) age <18 and >45 years. The recruitment and retention process for this study is illustrated in [Figure 1].

Figure 1: Flowchart of participant recruitment and data analysis

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Study design

This was a prospective randomized, single blind, comparative study to measure the effectiveness of mental and physical health for the group allotted to GYP and IYP. Subjects of both groups were continued performing their routine work such as study, teaching and training, their jobs, family etc. means there was no such hindrance in their routine work due to this study.

Assessment

To measure the LS of the adults, LS scale (Allam & Srivastava, 2010) was used. All the participants were administered the LS scale at the baseline and after completion of 45 days of intervention.

Intervention

In addition to the normal routine, the participant needs to practice all yogic interventions presented in [Table 1] for 6 days in a week and 52 min daily for 45 days. Daily attendance was taken for all the participants in GYP, and a trained yoga expert had been assigned for this practice for GYP group.

Table 1: Yoga intervention

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While the IYP group had been instructed to do all these given intervention schedule by their own. Intervention schedule had been given in hard printed copy prior to start the practices for six days in a week, 52 mins. daily and for a period of 45 days.

The integrated yogamodule was selected from the integrated set of yogapractices used in earlier studies on the effects of integrated yoga module on positive health (Narasimhan, Nagarathna, & Nagendra, 2011).

The basis of developing the integrated approach is ancient yogatexts for total physical-, mental-, emotional-, social-, and spiritual-level developments (Narasimhan, Nagarathna, & Nagendra, 2011). Techniques include physical practices (asanas, a healthy yogicdiet), breathing practices with body movements and Pranayama, meditation, stress management, and lifestyle change through notional corrections for blissful awareness under all circumstances.

Statistical analysis

The obtained data were tabulated and analyzed. The initial values on the 0^th day of parameter were compared with the final values obtained on the 45^th day's measurement. Paired t-test was used for the statistical analysis with the help of IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA).

Results

The results showed that LS in GYP improved statistically significantly (t = 3.20, p < 0.01) after 45 days of yoga intervention. Further, in case of individual yoga practice group, the results showed that there was no statistically significant increase (t = 1.94, p > 0.05) in LS of participants. The results are presented in [Table 2] and [Figure 2].

Table 2: Descriptive statistics and t-test results for within.group comparison in life satisfaction

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Figure 2: Life satisfaction after yoga intervention

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Discussion

We can clearly see and compare the results on the basis of obtained data that GYP shows a better result than IYP. On the basis of the findings of this study, it can be concluded easily that this package can enhance the meditative state of mind which can further improve the overall performance of the adults. In summary, this randomized, prospective, single-blind study has shown the efficacy of yoga in increasing the satisfaction with life (Amaranath, Nagendra, & Deshpande, 2015). Hence, this yoga schedule may be used for the security forces, armed forces, lifesaving forces, and also for those people who feel less satisfaction with their profession and society.

The strength of our design is the integrated yoga module for GYPs, and it is tested on adults, which gives result only in short duration of course. This is the first study wherein adults with dissatisfaction were involved (Verma, & Gurvendra, 2016; Verma, & Kumar, 2016).

However, there is possibility that this yoga module may not give its best result in any other age group of individuals or if it is used for short period of time. However, it can be concluded that this yoga capsule can improve and able to reverse the situation of dissatisfaction from life and also can help students who are suffering from dissatisfaction.

While this study resulted in important findings, the results have to be considered in light of several limitations. Only males were included in this study and the small sample size does not allow for generalization of the findings to a realistic population. Moreover, neither psychological measurements nor the lasting effect of intervention was assessed. Furthermore, the study used a mix of novice and long-term yoga practitioners who were part of an ongoing residential yoga course. Therefore, it is unclear what effect yoga practice had in influencing the participant's performance and psychological states. The long-term impact of the intervention remains to be studied (Verma, & Kumar, 2016; Verma, & Kamakhya, 2018; Verma, Kashyap, & Kumar, 2016).

Conclusion

Group yoga intervention is effective in increasing LS among adults as compared to individual yoga intervention.

Financial support and sponsorship

There is no financial support or sponsorship has been taken from Govt. or Non-Govt. organizations.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.[15]

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