Effects of face-to-face and online yoga instruction on anxiety and flexibility

Abstract

A research study employing a non-equivalent pretest-posttest comparison group design was used to measure online and face-to-face (FTF) yoga instructional methods and their effects on anxiety, increased flexibility, and perceived behavioural intentions to practice yoga in the future. This study was conducted to discover if online yoga course instruction was just as effective as or more so than a course taught FTF. Findings suggest that online yoga instruction was significantly more effective in reducing the state anxiety of the students. However, there was no significant difference between groups on trait anxiety indicating that either method was equally effective. In contrast, the F2F course was significantly more effective in reducing the appearance anxiety of students when compared to the online yoga course. Students in FTF and online increased in flexibility with no significant difference between groups. Based on these results, online yoga can reduce certain types of anxiety and be just as effective at increasing flexibility. The findings show that online yoga can be just as effective as and sometimes more effective than FTF yoga in some aspects important for maintenance of health and wellness in individuals.