Effects of Sitting Meditation and Hatha Yoga in Adolescents

Alliant International University

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 2; Phase 1

Conditions: Psychological Stress; Anxiety

Treatments: Behavioral: Hatha yoga; Behavioral: Sitting Meditation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02339363

Quach-1-2013

Details and patient eligibility

About

The present study was a randomized controlled trial that explored the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of short-term mindfulness training among adolescents. The primary purpose was to investigate the effectiveness of two main Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction components-sitting meditation and hatha yoga-on working memory, stress, anxiety and mindfulness. The influence of daily home practice compliance on intervention outcomes was also examined.

Full description

The present study was a randomized controlled trial that explored the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of short-term mindfulness training among adolescents. The primary purpose was to investigate the effectiveness of two main Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction components-sitting meditation and hatha yoga-on working memory, stress, anxiety and mindfulness. The influence of daily home practice compliance on intervention outcomes was also examined. Participants (N = 198 adolescents) were recruited from a large public middle school in southern California. Participants were randomly assigned to sitting meditation, hatha yoga, or a waitlist control group. Participants were asked to complete a computerized working memory task, and self-report measures of perceived stress, anxiety, and mindfulness at pre- and post-intervention/waitlist, as well as one-month follow-up. A series of mixed-design analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to examine changes in working memory, stress, anxiety, and mindfulness between groups at pre- and post- intervention.

Enrollment: 198 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 12 to 17 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Students currently enrolled in school
• Between the ages of 12 - 17 years old
• English speaking-to understand and complete the measures
• Able to attend the weekly hatha yoga or sitting meditation sessions
• Not reporting any injuries or health condition(s) that might limit their physical activity

Exclusion criteria

• hearing impairments, injuries, or physical disabilities that would hinder them from fully participating in intervention

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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198 participants in 3 patient groups

Sitting Meditation

Experimental group

Description:

4 weeks (45-min sessions, 2x per week) of sitting meditation, based on MBSR. The sitting meditation condition consisted of three parts: (a) breathing techniques, (b) meditation, and (c) discussion. Participants in the sitting meditation group learned new types of sitting meditation each week. Participants in the sitting meditation group received a CD that consisted of audio meditations that they could follow along at home. The sitting meditation participants were encouraged to practice formal sitting meditation for 15 to 30 minutes every day and asked to record details of their practice on their daily home practice logs.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sitting Meditation

Hatha Yoga

Experimental group

Description:

4 weeks(45-min sessions, 2x per week) of Hatha Yoga. The adolescent hatha yoga curriculum was used with permission from Shanti Generation Yoga © (2009) created by Abby Wills. The hatha yoga sessions consisted of three parts: (a) breathing techniques, (b) yoga poses, and (c) discussion. Participants in the hatha yoga group learned a series of new yoga poses each week, as well as reviewed old poses. During the first session, participants in the hatha yoga group received a DVD that contained five yoga lessons corresponding to the yoga poses being taught in the intervention. Participants were encouraged to practice the series of yoga poses at home for 15 to 30 minutes each day and record their home practice in their daily home practice logs.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Hatha yoga

Waitlist Control

No Intervention group

Description:

4-week waitlist control condition. Completed all study measures at same time points as experimental groups. Were randomly assigned to one of the two active treatment conditions after completing the waitlist period.