The role of yoga in shaping emotional intelligence and life satisfaction in the context of personal relationships

This study examines the relationship between yoga practice and socioemotional functioning, comparing practitioners and non-practitioners across dimensions of emotional intelligence and social relationship patterns. Results indicate that yoga practitioners reported higher levels of emotion understanding and emotion control, but lower cognitive empathy and lower levels of support given to friends. A moderation analysis showed that yoga practice moderated the association between empathy and life satisfaction: empathy positively predicted life satisfaction in non-practitioners but not in regular practitioners. These associations suggest that greater intrapersonal emotional regulation among practitioners co-occurs with lower levels of interpersonal overinvolvement. As mindfulness was not measured, mechanistic interpretations remain tentative. These findings may have implications for interventions aimed at supporting emotional competencies and relational functioning, but causal claims require longitudinal investigation. The study contributes to understanding how yoga practice is associated with emotional and social functioning while proposing new directions for research on individualized effects of mind-body practices.