Evaluation of Online Adaptive Yoga for Psychological Well-Being in Adults With Disabilities

• Published in: Rehabilitation psychology 2024-02, Vol.69 (1), p.55-60
• Main Authors: Sundstrom, Megan J., Asplund, Alexa L., Nguyen-Feng, Viann N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Disabled Persons; Female; Human; Humans; Life Satisfaction; Male; Mindfulness; Outcome Assessment, Health Care; Psychological Well-Being; Rehabilitation; Social Connectedness; Well Being; Yoga; Yoga - psychology
• ISSN: 0090-5550; 1939-1544
• DOI: 10.1037/rep0000520

Purpose/Objective: The present study examined the preliminary effectiveness of an online, community-based adaptive yoga program on mindfulness, social connectedness, life satisfaction, and communicative participation. Research Method/Design: Adults (N = 48) were from a U.S. Midwest rehabilitation program and modally identified as White (73%), women (68%), and in their 30s (24%). One-third (35%) of participants were able to walk independently, and cerebral palsy was the most common primary disability diagnosis (32%). The 90-min adaptive yoga program and assessments were offered online weekly for 6 weeks, in which data from 29 participants across three sessions were included in the present analyses. Results: Regarding our primary outcome of interest, there was a statistically significant positive increase in mindfulness over time, F(1, 28) = 5.66, p = .02, with a strong effect size, d = 2.43. All secondary variables had statistically nonsignificant changes over time, although with large effect sizes: social connectedness (d = 0.77), life satisfaction (d = 0.92), and communicative participation (d = 0.40). Conclusions/Implications: The present study provides support for well-being programs for an underserved group; specifically, an online adaptive yoga program with routine outcome monitoring assessments has preliminary effectiveness in increasing mindfulness. Consideration of such well-being programs alongside insurance would be an important policy consideration. Further controlled research is necessary to draw decisive conclusions. Impact and Implications Online, community-based adaptive yoga programs may serve as an accessible well-being intervention for those with disabilities, although limits on generality must be noted given that modal participant identities were White, women, and 30-40 years old. Such programming may increase mindfulness levels among participants, which is important in examining psychological well-being, although more time and consideration are needed to note potential downstream effects.