Exploring teachers’ perceptions of implementation factors in a yoga intervention: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT

The study of yoga offers much to the field of education. Yoga consists of postures, breathing activities and relaxation techniques geared toward promoting self-regulation. Several yoga interventions for preschoolers have demonstrated significant gains on self-regulation outcomes. Although these benefits are promising, there are limited qualitative studies investigating the perspectives of key stakeholders, such as teachers. Using a grounded theory research design, the author analyzed eight focus groups and six interviews with nine teachers who participated in an 8-week yoga intervention. This study investigated (1) the application of grounded theory as an exploratory research tool, which elucidated teachers’ observations of key implementation factors for effectiveness, such as adaptations of the intervention, classroom spacing and components of yoga lessons, (2) teachers’ observations of students’ internalizations of the yoga skills and (3) teachers’ reflections on how the yoga influenced their attitudes toward students. Guidelines to inform future research on classroom-based yoga programs are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Yoga
• reflections
• implementation factors
• qualitative

Acknowledgments

The author thanks the research assistants, teachers and children for their participation and commitment to this study. She also thanks The Mind and Life Institute via the Contemplative Education Grant, Grant ID Number: [A-13146632] for their financial support of this line of inquiry. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Mind and Life Institute.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author. This article is a derivative section of the author’s dissertation.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Mind and Life Institute [A-13146632].