The Effect of a Yoga Program on the Stress Levels of Professionals

요가 프로그램이 전문직 종사자의 스트레스에 미치는 효과

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a yoga program on perceived stress, stress response and heart rate variability in professionals. Methods: The research design was a quasi-experimental intervention study. The participants were 47 adults with professional jobs consisting of an experimental group with 23 adults and a control group with 24 adults. The duration of the yoga program was eight weeks from July 4 to August 30, 2012. Results: There were significant decreases in the stress response score after the yoga program. No significant changes in perceived stress and heart rate variability were observed between the experimental group and control group. However, there were significant decreases in perceived stress, stress response scale, and heart rate variability for some participants whose stress levels were high. Conclusion: An eight-week-long yoga program could be considered as an intervention to decrease the stress response of professionals even though it might not reduce their perceived stress and heart rate variability. To further analyze the effects of a yoga program in professionals, changes in intervention strength (such as longer periods and frequency) and the development of physiological measures, which would show the co-relationship between perceived stress and physiological response, are necessary in future studies.