Influence of Yoga Practices on Stress Coping Strategies

Abstract

Stress coping strategies are used every day. By choosing a different coping style, people seek solution to a complicated task or situation. One of the reliable forms of motor activity, which influences favorably the development of valuable psychic and physical qualities, is yoga. The aim of the research is to determine the positive effect of yoga practices on stress coping strategies. The research was done among 76 women - 42 of them practice yoga in different clubs of the Bulgarian Yoga Federation and yoga students at NSA “Vassil Levski” – experimental group; and control group consisting of 34 women not engaged in any kind of sport or motor activity. The stress coping strategies were evaluated with the questionnaire СОРЕ-1, (Carver, C, & Scheier, M. 1985), adapted for Bulgarian conditions by A. Rusinova-Hristova and G. Karastoyanov (2000). Results show that the first seven stress coping strategies have approximately equal values with the control group. The passive strategies, related to emotion-focused coping with the problem, are dominant. In this case, the structure of the stress coping strategies with the women not engaged in sport is more imperfect than the one with the women practicing yoga.  The arrangement of the leading stress coping strategies, as well as the reliable differences with six of the strategies (43% of all 14 strategies) in favor of the EG is indicative of more harmonious and more perfect structure of the preferred stress coping strategies with women practicing yoga.

Conclusion: The leading stress coping strategies with women not engaged in sport are passive. They experience greater difficulty in solving their problems in stressful situations. The leading strategies with women practicing yoga are active. The researched individuals react immediately in stressful situations, concentrate on the problem and actively cope with it.

Keywords: Stress coping strategies, yoga, motor activity.