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Reported Benefits of Yoga in High Schools: A Review of the Literature
Abstract
High school is a time of changes in adolescents’ physical, psychological, social, and sexual development, often resulting in stress and anxiety. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems. Yoga is an Indian discipline practiced globally for health and relaxation. School-based yoga programs are becoming increasingly common given their potential benefits for high-school students. We conducted a literature review of studies of high school-based yoga programs, focusing on the reported benefits for adolescents. We identified 22 studies retrieved from electronic databases including Education Resources Information Center, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar that met inclusion criteria; (a) examined the benefits of yoga as the primary intervention conducted in a high school setting with students ages 14 to 19 years old, (b) was published by 2020, (c) was reviewed either by a journal editorial board or by a student’s dissertation committee, (d) was available in English, and (e) a full text copy was available. Results of studies were synthesized by clustering study findings into common domains. High school-based yoga showed promise in terms of physical, social, academic, and mental health benefits for students. Yoga also showed benefits for high school students who were stressed, anxious, or depressed, or those at risk for abusing substances or dropping out of school. We provide recommendations from the literature for those contemplating the implementation of yoga in high schools.
... An intervention that may benefit students is school-based yoga practice. The positive impact of yoga on adolescents has gained interest due to its increasing popularity in the general population and an increasing prevalence of school-based yoga programs (Caldarella & Lulla, 2022;White, 2009). ...
... Khalsa and Butzer noted that school-based yoga research appeared to be in the early stages as evidenced by various study limitations such as small sample sizes, lack of randomization, limited details about the intervention, and absence of control groups. Caldarella and Lulla (2022) conducted a review of the reported benefits of high schoolbased yoga programs and found a similar increase in yoga studies. All 22 studies which met their inclusion criteria were published since 2006, with the majority (60%) published since 2013. ...
... Other logistical factors must be addressed by schools before implementing a yoga program, as noted by Caldarella and Lulla (2022). These factors include whether yoga is offered for school credit or as a club; whether it is conducted by trained school staff or external yoga instructors; and whether yoga is offered to all students or is focused on those that are at risk. ...
Middle school is a time of adjustments in youth: physical, intellectual, and social changes often result in stress. Middle school students are vulnerable to academic, behavioral, and mental health problems. Yoga is an Indian discipline practiced for health and relaxation. School-based yoga programs are becoming increasingly common given their potential benefits for students. We conducted a literature review of studies of middle school-based yoga programs, focusing on the reported benefits for students. We identified and retrieved 12 studies from electronic databases including Education Resources Information Center, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar that met inclusion criteria: (a) examined the benefits of yoga as the primary intervention conducted in a middle school setting with students ages 10 to 15 years old, (b) was published by June 2022, (c) was reviewed either by a journal editorial board or by a student's dissertation or thesis committee, (d) was available in English, and (e) a full text copy was available. Results of studies were synthesized by clustering findings into common domains. Study results suggested that middle school-based yoga interventions showed mental health, executive functioning, physical, social, and academic benefits for students. Yoga also showed benefits for middle school students who were stressed, anxious, or depressed, and those at risk. We provide considerations for those contemplating the implementation of yoga in middle schools.
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