METHOD

Subjects

There were two groups of 31 volunteers each, of either sex (16 males, 15 females), with group average age ± SD, 28.0 (± 8.9 years - yoga); (+ 7.0 years - control). The yoga group attended a 1-month residential yoga training camp. The control group did not receive yoga training. All subjects were right hand dominant, based on questions about the hand used to throw a ball, look for change in a purse, and to write.

Design of the study

Assessments of both yoga and control groups were made on Day 1 and a month later (Day 30). Between assessments, the yoga group received yoga training, while the control group carried on with their routine activities.

Apparatus

The wooden pencil maze had two layers of wood. The bottom layer served as the base on which paper was kept, and the upper layer as the maze walls (Anand Agencies, Pune, India). A pencil tracing of the path that was approximately 1.2 cm wide could be obtained on the recording paper (6). There were 16 blind alleys of varying lengths and only one correct solution pathway.

Procedure

The maze was placed horizontally on a table, in front of the subject. The experimenter was seated across from the subject. Subjects were asked to trace the path in the wooden pencil maze with the dominant hand, while blindfolded and without lifting the pencil from the paper (7). The time taken to successfully complete the maze (in seconds) and number of errors, i.e., blind alleys taken, were noted. Each subject was given 5 trials, without a gap in between. Hence after completing one trial, the subjects hand was guided to bring the pencil to the starting point to begin the next trial. The time taken in seconds was noted using a stopwatch. The number of errors was noted after the experiment based on the pencil trace of the path on the paper. The scores (time and error) at Trial 1 gave the 'absolute' performance scores for maze tracing, whereas the difference between Trial 5 and Trial 1, gave an indication of the effect of repetition, related to maze learning.

Yoga practice

The yoga group received 30 days training in yoga postures (asanas, 90 min), voluntarily regulated breathing (pranayama, 60 min), yoga cleansing practices (kriyas, 30 min), meditation 20 min, devotional sessions 60 min, guided relaxation 60 min and lectures on the theory and philosophy of yoga for 60 min.

Data analysis

The data were analyzed using separate two factor analyses of variance for the two groups (yoga and control), with assessments (Day 1, Day 30) as Factor A and the 5 trials as Factor B. The Tukey test was used to test multiple comparisons for significant differences.