The subjective well-being of beginning vs. advanced Hatha yoga practitioners

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between hatha yoga practice and subjective well-being (SWB) by comparing SWB levels of beginning and advanced hatha yoga practitioners. Since SWB is correlated with several variables, the most highly correlated of these variables, extraversion (E) and neuroticism (N), were controlled to prevent potential confounding effects. Thus, in addition to completing questionnaires on SWB and demographics, participants also completed measures for extraversion and neuroticism. Participants were 107 male and female adult hatha yoga practitioners recruited from various hatha yoga centers in Hawai'i. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to analyze the effect of yoga experience on the three dependent SWB variables-life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect-considered together. Subsequent univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was then performed on each of the three dependent measures. As hypothesized, the advanced hatha yoga practitioners were found to have higher levels of SWB than the beginning hatha yoga practitioners-that is, the effect of yoga experience on SWB was found to be marginally significant (p = .0526). Subsequent ANCOVA revealed that of the three dependent components of SWB-life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect-yoga experience was found to have a significant effect on positive affect. No interaction effects were found. The advanced and beginner yoga groups were comparable in terms of gender, education, relationship status, extraversion, and neuroticism. The two groups studied were not comparable in age, income, and ethnicity.