Effect of 1-month yoga practice on positive-negative affect and attitude toward violence in schoolchildren: A randomized control study

BACKGROUND: The children of today are the future of tomorrow; but unfortunately, they are pressurized because of coping with many stressful times. Either way they are influenced to experience negative emotions. Yoga is well known to take one's life to positivity. Introducing yoga which is noncompetitive will prevent children from negative emotions. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of 1-month yoga practice on positive-negative affect (PA-NA) and attitude toward violence (ATV) in schoolchildren. MATERIALS and METHODS: Sixty boys were selected from St. Tukaram Prathamik Vidyalaya, Pune Corporation school no. 55 and were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups of thirty students each. Participants' age ranged from 12 to 15 years. ATV and PA-NA were assessed using variables ATV and PA-NA schedule (PANAS)-children tests, respectively, before starting yoga intervention. The experimental group underwent yoga practice every day for an hour for 1 month. After 1 month, parameters were repeated. RESULTS: The yoga group showed significant changes in the mean value. PANAS-PA has increased 10%, PANAS NA and ATV have reduced significantly 34% and 25%, respectively, whereas the control group did not show any significant change in any of their scores. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that yoga practice is effective on schoolchildren to increase PA and to reduce NA and ATV as well as yoga is feasible and safe. Hence, inclusion of yoga in school education has the potential to help children.