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Content uploaded by Stella Rokka
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All content in this area was uploaded by Stella Rokka on May 13, 2020
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212
Stella Rokka, Filippos Filippou, George Mavridis, Gregory Masadis, & Evagelos Bebetsos 212 - 215
ΤHE EFFECT OF PILATES AND YOGA PROGRAMS
ON ADULT WOMEN’S WELL-BEING
Stella Rokka, Filippos Filippou, George Mavridis,
Gregory Masadis, & Evagelos Bebetsos
School of Physical Education and Sport Science,
Democritus University of race, Komotini, Greece
ABSTRACT
e aim of the present study was to investigate the eect of Pilates and Yoga programs on adult women’s well-being and
to identify any possible dierences between types of programs. e sample of the study consisted of 197 women, with
a mean age 54 ± 6,89 years, who systematically participated in Pilates’ (n=105) and Yoga (n=92) group programs
in private gyms at the municipality of essaloniki. For the data collection, the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale
(McAuley & Courneya, 1994) was used which was modied for the Greek population by Mavrovouniotis et al., 2010.
It includes 12 items, representing the three factors of psychological health-wellness: a) Positive Well-Being (4 questions
e.g., “good or great”), b) Psychological Stress (e.g., “dejected”), and c) Fatigue (e.g., “attenuated / or tired”). Each item
presents how participants are undergoing each feeling state, in a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1(not at all) to 7
(very much). Questionnaires were completed by the participants ve minutes before and aer the completion of each
program. e ‘Cronbach’s α’ internal cohesion indicator of the questionnaire was satisfactory. e values concerning all
three factors, before participation varied from .78 to .89, while the values of the same factors aer participation varied
from .84 to .91 respectively. e Repeated Measures Anova analysis showed that there was a statistically important
interaction between measurement (before-aer) and the type of programs. From the analysis of the interaction for the
Positive Well-being factor, a signicant improvement was observed aer the end of both programs with the highest
being aer participating in the Yoga program. Similarly, for the Psychological distress there was a statistically signicant
reduction in both programs, but a greater decrease was found aer the Yoga program. Also, in the Fatigue there was an
increase in fatigue aer participating in the Pilates program while there was a decrease in the Yoga program. e results
of the survey showed that Pilates and Yoga programs had high positive eects on the well-being and reduced the factors
of psychological distress and fatigue, with the largest decrease occurring in Yoga team programs. In conclusion, both
Yoga and Pilate’s programs have a particular impact on reducing psychological stress and tension, promoting a sense of
positive well-being and improving the psychological health and well-being of the participants.
Key words: positive well-being, Pilates, Yoga, group programs
INTRODUCTION
Due to the exhaustingly fast paced, modern life-
style and its rapidly increasing demands, it is es-
sential for individuals to engage in health promot-
ing, physical and recreational activities (Hogan,
Mata, Carstensen, 2013). Maintaining a physically
active lifestyle is crucial for mental and physical
health. It has been found that regular participa-
tion in organized physical activity and leisure pro-
grams can postpone chronic health issues and im-
prove quality of life, mental health and well being
of the participants (Netz, Wu, Becker & Tenen-
baum, 2005).
Participating in exercise programs of health and
leisure has a positive eect on both the cognitive
functions and the reinforcement of the psycholog-
ical wellness. Scientic research has highlighted
the connection of psychological well-being to sub-
jective welfare and happiness, optimistic thinking,
positive mood, satisfactory living (Diener, Suh,
Lucas & Smith, 1999), autonomy, creative relations
with the others, as well as more components such
as self acceptance, self respect and a meaning in life
(Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009; Seligman, 2008; Ryan &
Deci, 2001). According to McAuley and Courneya
(1994), psychological and spiritual health consists
of negative and positive feelings or emotional sit-
uations, which can be separated in psychological
stress (anxiety, depression, worry, stressful feelings)
and psychological or positive well-being (positive
feelings, happy mood, optimistic thinking, and
subjective welfare).
213
ΤHE EFFECT OF PILATES AND YOGA PROGRAMS ON ... 212 - 215
In their research, Li et al. (2009), having analyzed
a sample of 23 men and 75 women who partic-
ipated in Tai Chi programs for 6 months, using
the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale (SEES),
supported that aer their participation in the pro-
gram, there was an increase in positive well-being
and a statistically important decrease in psycho-
logical stress. Positive well-being allows maxi-
mum eectiveness and happiness, ability to retain
a constant positive attitude, spiritual awareness,
socially discrete behavior and a pleasant mood.
e results showed that the benets from the
psychological well-being of people are visible in
longevity, decrease in the cost of service for psy-
chological health and better prognostics for psy-
chological disturbances (Fredrickson, 2008; Selig-
man, Rashid & Parks, 2006).
Aim of the study
e purpose of the present study was to investigate
the eect of Pilates and Yoga programs on adult
women’s well-being and to identify any possible
dierences between the two dierent programs.
METHODS
Sample
The sample of the study consisted of 197 women,
with a mean age 54 ±6,89 years, who participated
systematically (at least three times per week) in or-
ganized Pilates’ (n=105) and Yoga (n=92) team
programs in private gyms at the municipality of
Komotini.
Instrument
For the data collection, we used the Subjective Ex-
ercise Experiences Scale (McAuley & Courneya,
1994), modied for the Greek population (Mav-
rovouniotis, Argiriadou, & Papaioannou, 2010).
e scale constitutes a measurement of global psy-
chological responses, to the stimulus properties of
physical activity. e scale is composed of 12 items
that represent three factors. Two of these factors,
positive well-being and psychological stress corre-
spond to the positive and negative poles associated
with psychological health, whereas the third factor
represents subjective indicants of fatigue. a. Positive
Well-being (4 questions e.g. “positive or great”), b.
Psychological Stress (4questions e.g. “discouraged”)
and c. Fatigue (4 questions e.g. “weakened or
tired”). e answers of the participants were added
aer the sentence “how do you feel at this moment,
before / aer participating in the ………..program”
and on a seven degree Likert type scale, from 1=
“not at all”, to 7= “very much”.
Procedure
e data collection was carried out with the meth-
od of personally lled in anonymous question-
naires. e questionnaires were lled in by the par-
ticipants in place, ve minutes before and aer the
completion of each program, aer being given ex-
planations that: a. the participation in the research
was optional, b. they had to give truthful answers, c.
there were not right or wrong answers and d. the re-
search data would be exclusively used for the needs
of the study.
Statistical analysis
For the statistical analysis of the data, the method
used was the reliability analysis and the Re peated
Measures Anova analysis. e level of statistical
signicance was set at p< .05.
RESULTS
e internal consistency of the scale measured
with Cronbach’s alpha. e results showed that in
the present study reliability analyses supported the
psychometric properties of the scale. e ‘Cron-
bach a’ internal cohesion indicator of the ques-
tionnaire was satisfactory. e values concerning
all three factors, before participation varied from
.78 to .89, while the values of the same factors aer
participation varied from .87 to .91 respectively
(Table1). e Repeated Measures Anova analysis
showed that there was a statistically important
interaction between measurement (before-aer)
and the type of programs [F (2,194) =11, 23; p<.001].
From the analysis of the interaction for the Posi-
tive Well-Being factor, a signicant improvement
was observed aer the end of both programs [F
(1,196) = 8, 66; p <.01], with the highest being aer
participating in the Yoga program (p<.01). Sim-
ilarly, for the Psychological distress there was a
statistically signicant reduction [F (1,196) =9, 33;
p <.01] in both programs, but a greater decrease
was found aer the Yoga program, which diered
from the Pilates in level (p <.05). Also, in the Fa-
tigue [F (1,196) = 11, 47; p <.001], the interaction
analysis showed a statistically signicant increase
in fatigue aer participating in the Pilates pro-
gram (p <.01); while there was a decrease in the
Yoga program (Table 1.).
214
Stella Rokka, Filippos Filippou, George Mavridis, Gregory Masadis, & Evagelos Bebetsos 212 - 215
Table 1. Mean prices, Standard deviations, Statistical dierences and Reliability analysis of the factors
before and aer participating in two dierent programs
Type of Programs Pilates Yoga α
Cronbach
Measurements Before After Before After Before/After
Factors M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)
1. Positive well-being 5.57 (.92 5.92 (.82)* 5.56 (.93) 6.14 (.96)** .78/87
2. Psychological distress 1.29 (.74) 1.19 (.79) 1.51 (49) 1.21 (.53)* .89/91
3. Fatigue 1.54 (.42) 1.91 (.48)** 1.64 (.39) 1.56 (.56)* .86/89
Note: statistically signicant differences *p<.05, ** p <.01 and *** p <.001
DISCUSSION
Findings from the present research showed that
Pilates and Yoga programs had high positive ef-
fects on the well-being and reduced the factors of
psychological distress and fatigue, with the largest
decrease occurring in Yoga programs. e results
conrm the hypothesis of the research that aer
participating in dierent group programs in gyms,
negative factors are expected to decrease and pos-
itive well-being is expected to increase (Hogan et
al., 2013; Mavrovouniotis et al., 2010). e results
are in agreement with studies that have shown
that exercise directly reduces the intense feelings
of stress, anxiety and anger and increases feelings
of vigor (Hogan et al., 2013; Polman et al., 2007).
Even though some studies have even found mini-
mal or non-signicant changes (Sabina et al., 2005),
extended amount of studies’ ndings showed that
integrated practices of mental and physical tness
can improve health (Jayasinghe, 2004; Raub, 2002),
psychological well-being (Brown & Gerbarg, 2005a;
Netz & Lidor, 2003) and reduce stress (Brown &
Gerbarg, 2005b; Gura, 2002). In conclusion, both
Yoga and Pilates’ programs have a particular im-
pact on reducing psychological stress and tension,
promoting a sense of positive well-being and im-
proving the psychological health and well-being of
the participants, by promoting positive well-being,
while at the same time provide positive thinking
which drives people away from everyday problems
and stress. It is proposed to encourage adults to
participate in order to benet from the eects of
Yoga and Pilates’ programs, to improve the psycho-
logical health and quality of life.
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Corresponding author:
Stella Rokka
Associate Professor, DPESS/DUTH
School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences,
Democritus University of race,
University Campus, Komotini, 69100
Ε-mail: srokka@phyed.duth.gr
