Enhancing Athlete Resilience: Preliminary Validation of the Sports Mind Inventory and the Impact of Yoga of Immortals on Sports-Related Stress

The mental and emotional health of an athlete is crucial for their performance and well-being. Sports-related stress can significantly impair their mental health. Further, there were minimal tools available to measure Sports resilience, specifically during COVID-19 restrictions or earlier. This study reports the preliminary validation of the Sports Mind Inventory (SMI) in athletes from different geographical areas (<i>n</i> = 66), with the majority of participants from Mauritius, and tests the SMI in elite athletes practicing the Yoga of Immortals (YOI). YOI is a unique combination of specific yogic postures, breathing exercises, sound therapy & meditation, which has demonstrated benefit in improving measures of mental health. The exploratory factor analysis of the 24-item SMI resulted in a six-factor inventory. The confirmatory factor analysis of these six-factor SMI showed goodness-of-fit index (0.935), and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α) of 0.949, showing good fit and reliability. The correlation between overall scale and individual factors showed diverse degree of positive correlations. This validated SMI was then tested to investigate whether YOI can enhance athletes' resilience to sports-related stress. Participants were a diverse set of athletes based in Mauritius who routinely engage in a wide range of athletic activities. Participants were randomly assigned to receive four weeks of YOI or no intervention. Both groups completed the SMI questionnaire at baseline and again after four weeks. The YOI intervention significantly increased (<i>p</i> = 0.002) the total mean SMI scores, and underlying factors, i.e., Factor 1: Positive and Competitive sports mindset (<i>p</i> = 0.014), Factor 2: Social relatedness and adaptability (<i>p</i> = 0.008), Factor 3: Resilient mindset and self-confidence (<i>p</i> = 0.036), Factor 4: Sports Resilience and Emotional Responses (<i>p</i> = 0.001). This indicated improved sports resilience and psychological health. No improvement was observed in the control group. The correlation analysis in YOI group at week-4 showed positive correlation between overall scales and underlying construct. In conclusion, SMI showed acceptable fitness to measure sport resilience. This YOI intervention helped in improving sports-related stress and improved athletes' resilience.