Integrating Yogic and Psychological Frameworks: EvaluatingThe MES-Q Model for Enhancing Mental, Emotional, Spiritual Health and Quality of Life

Background: Mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being are deeply interconnected ‎dimensions of health, particularly in youth facing social and psychological stressors. Existing ‎interventions often address these dimensions in isolation. This study, utilizing the MES-Q ‎intervention, aims to bridge this gap.‎ Objectives: This study evaluates the efficacy of the MES-Q (Mental, Emotional, Spiritual ‎Quotient) intervention, a structured, six-step psychospiritual model developed over three ‎decades, grounded in the Pancha Kosha framework and psychological science.‎ Methods: A pre–post experimental study was conducted with 107 undergraduate students from ‎two colleges in Mumbai. Participants completed validated scales for Mental Quotient (MQ), ‎Emotional Quotient (EQ), Spiritual Quotient (SQ), and Quality of Life (QOL) before and after ‎a 30-hour intervention. The MES-Q program incorporated techniques such as guided ‎journaling, introspective silence, group dialogue, value clarification, and visualization exercises. ‎Data were analyzed using paired t-tests, Cohen’s d effect sizes, and two-way ANOVA to assess ‎subgroup variability.‎ Results: Statistically significant improvements were observed in MQ (t = 2.38, p = 0.019, ‎Cohen’s d = 0.230, small), EQ (t = 10.83, p = 0.000, d = 1.047, large), and SQ (t = 2.78, p = ‎‎0.006, d = 0.269, small). QOL did not show a statistically significant change (t = 0.24, p = ‎‎0.815). Subgroup analyses indicated that females benefitted more strongly than males across all ‎domains, particularly in EQ and SQ.‎ Conclusion: The MES-Q intervention significantly improved inner faculties of cognition, ‎emotion, and spiritual awareness, with large effects on EQ and small but reliable effects on MQ ‎and SQ. These findings support the integrative potential of yogic and psychological tools. ‎While QOL remained unchanged in the short term, MES-Q offers a promising model for long-term well-being enhancement and can be adapted for educational, therapeutic, and community-based mental health programs.‎ Implications for practice: MES-Q can be integrated into college-based mental health ‎initiatives and youth development programs, and is also applicable to adult populations, ‎offering a scalable model to strengthen resilience, emotional intelligence, and spiritual ‎awareness across diverse groups‎.