Effect of yoga on the visual memory in school children.

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Yogic Sciences
by
Shruddha. S.
under the guidance of Dr R Nagarathna & Dr H R Nagendra
Division of yoga and life science,
Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana 
Deemed University, Recognized by Government of India, Ministry of HRD, New Delhi 

Abstract : The present study assessed the visual memory in school children following general yoga practices. Children (n= 297 whose ages ranged from 10-12 years) were randomly assigned 3 groups. Each group practiced a specific yoga module (Physical stamina = Dynamic practices; Creativity = artwork, crafts, skits; IQ = Special quiz, debate). These techniques were practiced and visual memory was assessed initially and after 9 days. There were 277 children who were got after dropouts and checking for abnormal data and that were taken for assessment. All 3 groups showed significant increase in visual memory (p<0.001, paired sample t- test) but physical stamina showed a higher increase (27.73 % change) than other two groups.
The left or right dominant yoga modules have influenced the visual memory more than physical and balancing effects of yoga modules.

Summary & Conclusion :  1. The present study is done to assess the efficacy of 'Integrated yoga module (IYM) with the use of three different yoga modules on visual memory.
2. The present study was also done to examine whether the creativity group (yoga module) showed much improvement in the visual memory in school children. The present study was also done to check whether gender had an effect on the changes in memory scores.
3. In this study, school children (n=297, age range = 10 to12 years) were randomly assigned to three groups namely IQG, CRG, and PSG.
4. The groups had interventions of IYM to enhance CRG, IQG and PSG. The number of students in each group during analysis was IQG (n=86), CRG (n=92), PSG (n=99).
5. The assessments for visual reproduction (visual memory) were taken on the 1st and 9th day of the course. The subjects were told that the memory test were for their self-assessment to understand the benefits derived from the course. The necessary conditions for the test namely, the seating arrangement, timing was strictly adhered to.
6. The scoring done for the test was based on Wechsler's memory scale for children. The intervention for the study included yoga practices, which were very specific for the three yoga modules.
7. The analysis of data was done after checking for elimination of abnormal data and attrition of data. The normality test showed that the groups were not of normal distribution. The 'f' test showed that the groups were homogenous. The Paired't' test indicated that all the three groups showed improvement. The Wilcoxon test done also showed improvement in the group's .The Multiple comparison Tukey test showed that there was significant difference between groups. It showed that the IQ group showed more significance than the other two groups. The scores showed results with regard to gender too. The total males between groups showed significant difference. (p=0.000) The total females did not show significant difference between groups. (p=0.067).