Effect of Yoga Practice on Feeling Inspired in Life: A Study from Kerala State, India

To psychologists, inspiration is a very strong and rapid surge of creativity which pushes a person into original ideas or insights. The study reported in this article was undertaken by Patanjali Yoga Research Centre, Kozhikode, Kerala State, India among a randomly selected sample of 100 yoga practitioners from Kerala State using a questionnaire containing the measure of feeling of inspiration in life, how far yoga practice has contributed to feeling inspired in life, and the characteristics of the yoga practitioners, namely, sex, age, marital status, period of yoga practice (in months), and the effects obtained through yoga practice. Equal interval Likert scale scoring was adopted for the responses to feeling irritated and all the characteristics of the respondents except age, for which the numerical value of the age was considered for analysis. The total inspiration score and the total score for contribution of yoga practice to feeling inspired in life were worked out as the sum of the item scores. The data was analysed as proportion reporting, as scores and through statistical tests. The results show that 60 % of the respondents have total inspiration score in the range of 71.4 to 100 % of the maximum possible score. This is supported by the responses of the yoga practitioners on the level and frequency of experience of various items related to inspiration considered in the study. Statistical significance exists in the difference in total inspiration score based on period of yoga practice. The lowest score is obtained by people who have done yoga for a period of up to 1 year, followed by a comparatively higher score in the case of people having 3 to 4 months of yoga practice and the highest score for those who have practiced yoga for more than 12 months. Statistical significance is observed in the difference in total inspiration score based on the age of the yoga practitioners. Comparatively younger respondents get a higher score than those in the higher age groups. Statistical significance of the difference in total inspiration score of the respondents based on marital status of the yoga practitioners is also evident. Unmarried respondents get a comparatively higher score than those who are married. The results of regression analysis of the characteristics of the respondents on total inspiration score shows that marital status, period of yoga practice, sex, and the effects obtained through yoga practice by the respondents contribute to 62 % of the variation observed in their total inspiration score. Among them, the regression coefficient is significant in the case of the characteristic, namely, the effects obtained through yoga practice. 85 % of the yoga practitioners report 62.5 to 100 % contribution of yoga practice to feeling inspired in life. Feeling inspired in life would help to boost motivation, promote positive coping strategies and foster a sense of purpose, thus improving the psychological wellbeing of the yoga practitioners This could prove useful in reducing their psychological and psychiatric problems also.