Abstract
Introduction:
University students’ motivators and preferences for yoga as their course of study can influence their future as yoga instructors and therapists.
Materials and Methods:
Six hundred and thirty-six students of both genders (251:385, male: female) from four North Indian universities offering graduate and postgraduate courses in yoga were the respondents to a convenience sampling survey about their preferences and motivators.
Results:
The three most common reasons why students chose to study yoga were (i) “I can help many people through knowledge of yoga” (32.2%), (ii) “I will become a better person by studying yoga” (21.9%), and (iii) “I find yoga interesting” (18.9%). After completion of the course, most students wished (i) “to study another course in yoga” (28.8%), (ii) “to work in yoga and education in a university” (17.5%), and (iii) “to work in yoga and research” (14.3%). Students appreciated positive effects which they attributed to yoga (e.g. good health, feeling peaceful, and positive behavior changes).
Conclusion:
Students did not like regulations such as early wakening and dietary restrictions. The available information about the scope, benefits, safety considerations, and requirements of yoga can help student aspirants make an informed choice about their future careers. Students of yoga can be further motivated by evidence informed interactive sessions.
Keywords: Aspirations, motivators, preferences, university students, yoga
Introduction
Students in professions which have an integrative approach in healing are formed by their education as well as the experiences and values of the students,[1] and of society.[2,3] With the growing interest in yoga for wellness,[4] promotion of positive health,[5] disease management,[6] disease prevention[7] as well as for nonhealth related benefits,[8] formal degree and diploma courses in yoga have been introduced in universities to attempt to train instructors adequately.[9] As a result, study programs in yoga have evolved to include both theory and practice. Furthermore, there has simultaneously been an increase in research on the effects of yoga practice in the last 10 years which complements the advances in yoga education.[10] These factors have influenced yoga professionals; hence, as for other professions which have systematized instruction,[11] yoga professionals are more organized, theoretical, research-minded, and bureaucratic compared to earlier on, before systematizing education in yoga. This change may in turn influence the field of yoga as described here. Well-informed and trained yoga professionals can be considered “agents of change,” who are able to contribute to modify yoga as a present-day discipline.[12] With this perspective, the motives and expectations of students of yoga have the potential to influence yoga as a discipline in the future. Understanding the motives and expectations of students enrolled in graduate and postgraduate university courses in yoga would help understand their perspective and how this could influence the future of yoga as a socially relevant discipline, especially in health care.
The present study
The present study had two aims. The first was to determine students’ motives for studying yoga and their plans for the future after completing a course in yoga. The second aim was to determine if there were differences in students’ motives and future plans based on students’ characteristics such as age, gender, the course in yoga enrolled for, and whether they came from a rural or urban area.
Materials and Methods
Participants
Six hundred and seventy participants were screened and enrolled for the study from four different universities in North India which have graduate, postgraduate, and doctoral courses in yoga. Participation of the respondents in the present study was based on the following inclusion criteria (i) age between 18 and 35 years, and (ii) enrolment in graduate or postgraduate courses in yoga. Participants with a diagnosed illness or on continued medication were excluded from the study. None of the participants were excluded from the study due to these reasons. A faculty member from each of the four universities involved in the study to enroll students in the survey. Students were aware that there is no incentive for participation, neither any academic nor other consequences based on their responses. All respondents provided their signed informed consent before participation in the survey. There were six hundred and forty-nine participants (with average age in years mean ± standard deviation [SD], 20.86 ± 2.40; 254 males).
Study design
The study was a single time cross-sectional survey administered offline to the target population by convenience sampling. The study was conducted between February, 2022, and October, 2022, in two phases, i.e., the first phase of the study was conducted between February and May, 2022, and the second phase from August 2022, to October, 2022. These months were selected to exclude examinations and summer holidays. The responses collected during this time were included in the study. Approval was obtained from the institutional ethics committee before data collection (number PRF/YRD/2022/012). The present study was reported based on the recommended guidelines of “Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)” for reporting observational studies.
The survey
The original survey was developed in English by an expert in yoga who had experience of more than 30 years in practice and research in the field of yoga. The finalized survey responses were arranged in alphabetical order and the sequence of multiple responses was randomized. The survey was presented in both English and Hindi to make it easy for the students to understand and respond to the questions correctly. The steps involved are presented here. (i) Two independent bilingual experts converted the English version of the survey to Hindi. (ii) The Hindi version was back-translated and checked for any discrepancies. If discrepancies were found between the two translated versions of the survey they were resolved through discussion.
The first part of the survey required students to fill in their sociodemographic details such as their age, gender, course enrolled for, whether they were from rural or urban areas, and their experience of yoga practice (as number of months and minutes of practice/week). The second main part of the survey was designed to determine (i) why students chose to study a course in yoga and (ii) students’ plans for further study or employment after completing the course. The responses to (i) and (ii) were obtained with a combination of a multiple close-ended and one open-ended response. Two open-ended questions were included to determine what students (i) liked or (ii) did not like about the course in yoga. The details of the survey are given in Figure 1. The survey was administered to students in a group of thirty in each of the four participating universities, either in a classroom or in a designated common room.
Figure 1.
Survey with questions about the reasons to study yoga and the future plans after completing course in yoga, also students’ reasons to like or dislike the course
Data cleaning
Multiple close-ended responses
Thirty-four respondents were excluded from the survey due to following reasons: (i) incomplete or (ii) incorrect survey responses. A total of six hundred and thirty-six respondents (Mage = 20.88 years, SD = 2.41) completed the survey and were included for further data analysis with an overall response rate (94.9%) of the survey.
Open-ended responses
A few open-ended responses were obtained for the two parts of the survey which had multiple close ended response options. These were as follows. (i)for‘Reasons to choose a course in yoga’, 5.7% added a response of their own. (ii) Similarly, for ‘Future plans’, 7.1% added a response of their own.
For the two open-ended questions students gave specific responses as follows: i) In response to being asked what they liked about a course in yoga, 92.1%had a specific response. (ii) Similarly, in response to a question about what they disliked about the course 48.4%had specific responses. All responses to open-ended questions were examined by two independent researchers and the responses were grouped as categories of responses [Table 1].
Table 1.
Categories of open-ended responses to each question
| Categorization of description | Typical responses of students (one/two in each category are presented) |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Q1: Reasons to study a course in yoga at graduate or postgraduate level | |
| Social benefits | To create awareness in society about yoga; to help people practice yoga to promote a healthy lifestyle |
| Security during studying | University campuses and hostels are safe places to study |
| Personal development | To practice yoga; to have a systematized daily schedule |
| Parent’s satisfaction and | To make my parents proud |
| Knowledge benefits | To study about Life; study traditional knowledge such as Vedic scriptures and knowledge related to cultural aspects of life |
| Health benefits | Yoga is good for my health; for mental stability |
|
| |
| Q2: Future plans after completion of a course | |
|
| |
| Professional | To study further; study some other subject |
| Promotion of health and therapy | To impart integrated therapy with yoga; prevent diseases without medicines |
| Self-employment | Open a yoga studio; conduct online yoga classes |
|
| |
| Q3: What students liked about the course | |
|
| |
| Health benefits | Gaining health and fitness; increasing physical flexibility |
| Knowledge | Increase knowledge about Vedic culture of India and yoga texts; Widen general knowledge while rooted in tradition |
| Personal benefits | Live happily; Behaviour modification and a positive vibes |
| Professional benefit | Professional growth; Earn my livelihood independently |
| Therapeutic benefits | Manage a specific disease; Learn how to reduce medicine intake |
|
| |
| Q4: What students disliked about the course in yoga | |
|
| |
| Related to their future | Few government jobs placement; earning is often lower than other fields |
| Related to practical implementation | Difficult to apply yoga principles in Life |
| Related to language: Sanskrit | Sanskrit is difficult to learn |
| Related to infrastructure and teaching management | Poor reference literature; Less chance to study viewpoints of other institutions |
| Related to personal | Required to wake up early; required to restrict diet |
Data analysis
The percentages of respondents who reported (i) specific reasons to select a course in yoga and (ii) future plans after completing the course in yoga were calculated. The data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 24.0), New York, USA.
Chi-square tests were carried out to determine the association of (i) reasons to select a course in yoga and (ii) future plans after completing the course in yoga with (a) sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., age, gender, education and locality) and (b) yoga practice related characteristics (i.e., experience in yoga practice and time spent in practicing yoga).
Cramer’s V > 0.10 was considered the critical value to report moderate association between the variables studied as reported elsewhere.[13]
Results
The present study reported a response rate (97.9%) for both parts of the survey, i.e. (i) reasons to choose a course in yoga at graduate and postgraduate level and (ii) respondents’ future plans after completing the course in yoga. The baseline characteristics of the respondents are provided in Table 2. The number of respondents at different stages of the study are provided in Figure 2.
Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of respondents who participated in the survey
| Baseline characteristics of the respondents | Total respondents (n=636), n (%)/mean±SD |
|---|---|
| Age (years) | |
| Age range | 18–35 |
| Average age (years) | 20.88±2.41 |
| <21 | 336 (52.83), 19.16±0.81 |
| ≥21 | 300 (47.17), 22.80±2.15 |
| Gender | |
| Males | 251 (39.47), 21.06±2.58 |
| Females | 385 (60.53), 20.76±2.28 |
| Nature of courses | |
| Graduates | 398 (62.58) |
| Postgraduates | 238 (37.42) |
| Locality | |
| Rural | 286 (44.97) |
| Urban | 350 (55.03) |
| Yoga practice related factors | |
| Experience of yoga practice in months | |
| YE ≤24 | 377 (59.28), 14.43±6.88 |
| YE >2 | 259 (40.72), 50.78±23.83 |
| Frequency of yoga practice | |
| Practice as days per week | |
| FP ≤5 | 143 (22.48), 4.34±0.95 |
| FP >5 | 493 (77.52), 6.52±0.50 |
| Practice as (min per day) | |
| DP ≤60 | 297 (46.70), 50.54±12.65 |
| DP >60 | 339 (53.30), 109.41±32.08 |
| Time to practice yoga (min per week) | |
| <150 | 29 (4.56), 112.41±21.45 |
| 150–300 | 130 (20.44), 231.15±53.52 |
| >300 | 477 (75.00), 602.69±243.39 |
SD: Standard deviation, YE: Experience of yoga practice, DP: Daily Practice, FP: Frequency of yoga practice
Figure 2.
Number of respondents at different stages of the study
Students’ reasons to choose a course in yoga:
The respondents selected five most frequent reasons to choose to study yoga: (i)”I can help many people through knowledge of yoga” (32.2%), (ii) “I will become a better person by studying yoga” (21.9%), (iii) “I find yoga interesting” (18.9%), (iv) “My parents asked me to take this course” (7.6%) and (v) “I believe that I will be able to earn a living through this course” (7.1%).
The frequencies of the responses are provided in Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Reasons for selecting a course in yoga. R1.1 I can help many people through knowledge of yoga, R1.2 The university/institutions close to my home, R1.3 The fees are within my budget, R1.4 I have been practicing yoga since childhood and want to learn more, R1.5 Yoga is covered in the media and seems glamorous to me, R1.6 I could not getinto other courses as my marks were not good enough, R1.7 I find yoga interesting, R1.8 I believe that I will be able to earn a living through this course, R1.9 I will become a better person by studying yoga, R1.10 The course seems easy and I will not need to make a big effort to pass, R1.11 My parents asked me to take this course
Students’ future plans after completing the course in yoga:
The five most frequent responses about future plans were: (i) “to study another course in yoga” (28.8%), followed by (ii) “to work in yoga and education in a university” (17.5%), (iii) “to work in yoga and research” (14.3%), (iv) “to work in yoga and healthcare in a hospital” (13.9%) and (v) “to work in yoga and wellness/lifestyle” (7.2%).
The frequencies of the responses are provided in Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Future plans of the students after completing the course in yoga. R2.1 Study another courses in yoga, R2.2 Study some other discipline, R2.3 A job in yoga and healthcare in a hospital, R2.4 A job in yoga and wellness and lifestyle in a spa or resort, R2.5 A job in yoga and research, R2.6 A job in yoga and education in a university, R2.7 Conduct yoga classes at home, R2.8 Conduct yoga classes through home visits, R2.9 Conduct yoga classes on social media and YouTube, R2.10 Work in some other field
Differences between the multiple close-ended responses and baseline characteristics of respondents for both parts of the survey, i.e., (i) Reasons to choose a course in yoga at graduate and post-graduate level and (ii) Respondents plans after completing the course in yoga.
Reasons to choose a course in yoga at graduate and postgraduate level
Age
There were fewer respondents aged less than 21 years who selected “I find yoga interesting” (14.9%), compared to those over 21 years (23.3%). However more respondents with ages less than 21 years selected “my parents asked me to take this course” (11.0%) compared to those over 21 years (3.7%).
Gender
More female respondents selected (i) “I can help many people through knowledge of yoga” (37.1%) as compared to male respondents (29.1%); (ii) fewer females selected “I find yoga interesting,” (13.9%) as compared to male respondents (22.1%).
Nature of courses
More respondents in postgraduate courses selected “I find yoga interesting” (24.4%) as compared to respondents in graduate courses (15.6%). Less respondents in postgraduate courses selected “my parents asked me to take this course” (3.8%), as compared to respondents enrolled in graduate courses (9.8%).
Locality
More respondents from rural areas selected “I can help many people through knowledge of yoga,” (37.4%) compared to urban respondents (28.0%).
Time spent in practicing yoga (minutes per week)
More respondents with less than 150 min of yoga practice selected “The university is close to my home,” and “I have been practicing yoga since childhood and want to learn more,” (6.9%, 3.5% respectively) as compared to respondents with more than 300 min yoga practice (3.1%, 2.3%) respectively. Less respondents with less than 150 min of yoga practice selected “I believe that I will be able to earn a living through this course” (3.5%), as compared to respondents with more than 300 min yoga practice (10.0%).
The association of reasons for selecting yoga with sociodemographic characteristics and yoga practice related factors are shown in Table 3.
Table 3.
Reasons to select a course in yoga in relation to sociodemographic characteristics and yoga practice related factors
| Baseline characteristics | n (%) | Reasons for selecting a course in yoga* | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||
| R1.1 | R1.2 | R1.3 | R1.4 | R1.5 | R1.6 | R1.7 | R1.8 | ||
| Age (years), n (%) | |||||||||
| <21 | 336 (52.83) | 105 (31.25) | 10 (2.98) | 3 (0.89) | 27 (8.04) | 5 (1.49) | 2 (0.60) | 50 (14.88) | 27 (8.04) |
| ≥21 | 300 (47.17) | 100 (33.33) | 3 (1.00) | 4 (1.33) | 16 (5.33) | 1 (0.33) | 3 (1.00) | 70 (23.33) | 18 (6.00) |
| Gender, n (%) | |||||||||
| Males | 385 (60.53) | 112 (29.09) | 6 (1.56) | 6 (1.56) | 26 (6.75) | 4 (1.04) | 2 (0.52) | 85 (22.08) | 26 (6.75) |
| Females | 251 (39.47) | 93 (37.05) | 7 (2.79) | 1 (0.40) | 17 (6.77) | 2 (0.80) | 3 (1.20) | 35 (13.94) | 19 (7.57) |
| Nature of courses, n (%) | |||||||||
| Graduate | 398 (62.58) | 130 (32.66) | 12 (3.02) | 3 (0.75) | 30 (7.54) | 4 (1.01) | 2 (0.50) | 62 (15.58) | 30 (7.54) |
| Postgraduate | 238 (37.42) | 75 (31.51) | 1 (0.42) | 4 (1.68) | 13 (5.46) | 2 (0.84) | 3 (1.26) | 58 (24.37) | 15 (6.30) |
| Locality, n (%) | |||||||||
| Rural | 286 (44.97) | 107 (37.41) | 4 (1.40) | 4 (1.40) | 17 (5.94) | 2 (0.70) | 1 (0.35) | 45 (15.37) | 16 (5.59) |
| Urban | 350 (55.03) | 98 (28.00) | 9 (2.57) | 3 (0.86) | 26 (7.43) | 4 (1.14) | 4 (1.14) | 75 (21.43) | 29 (8.29) |
| Yoga practice related factors, n (%) | |||||||||
| Experience of yoga practice (months), n (%) | |||||||||
| <24 | 259 (40.72) | 84 (32.43) | 4 (1.54) | 2 (0.77) | 22 (8.49) | 3 (1.16) | 3 (1.16) | 48 (18.53) | 17 (6.56) |
| ≥24 | 377 (59.28) | 121 (32.10) | 9 (2.39) | 5 (1.33) | 21 (5.57) | 3 (0.80) | 2 (0.53) | 72 (19.10) | 28 (7.43) |
| Time spent (min) practicing yoga in a week, n (%) | |||||||||
| <150 | 29 (4.56) | 9 (31.03) | 2 (6.90) | 1 (3.45) | 1 (3.45) | 0 | 0 | 6 (20.69) | 1 (3.45) |
| 150–300 | 477 (75.00) | 150 (31.45) | 7 (1.47) | 3 (0.63) | 39 (8.18) | 5 (1.05) | 5 (1.05) | 91 (19.08) | 31 (6.50) |
| >300 | 130 (20.44) | 46 (35.38) | 4 (3.08) | 3 (2.31) | 3 (2.31) | 1 (0.77) | 0 | 23 (17.69) | 13 (10.00) |
|
| |||||||||
| Baseline characteristics | n (%) | Reasons for selecting a course in yoga* | χ 2 | Degree of freedom (df) | Cramer’s V | P | Strength of association | ||
|
| |||||||||
| R1.9 | R1.10 | R1.11 | |||||||
|
| |||||||||
| Age (years), n (%) | |||||||||
| <21 | 336 (52.83) | 68 (20.24) | 2 (0.60) | 37 (11.01) | 27.25 | 10.00 | 0.21 | 0.002 | Strong |
| ≥21 | 300 (47.17) | 71 (23.67) | 3 (1.00) | 11 (3.67) | |||||
| Gender, n (%) | |||||||||
| Males | 385 (60.53) | 89 (23.12) | 2 (0.520 | 27 (7.01) | 14.38 | 10.00 | 0.15 | 0.16 | Moderate |
| Females | 251 (39.47) | 50 (19.92) | 3 (1.20) | 21 (8.37) | |||||
| Nature of courses, n (%) | |||||||||
| Graduate | 398 (62.58) | 82 (20.60) | 4 (1.01) | 39 (9.80) | 23.19 | 10.00 | 0.19 | 0.01 | Strong |
| Postgraduate | 238 (37.42) | 57 (23.95) | 1 (0.42) | 9 (3.78) | |||||
| Locality, n (%) | |||||||||
| Rural | 286 (44.97) | 61 (21.33) | 3 (1.05) | 26 (9.09) | 14.39 | 10.00 | 0.15 | 0.16 | Moderate |
| Urban | 350 (55.03) | 78 (22.29) | 2 (0.57) | 22 (6.29) | |||||
| Yoga practice related factors, n (%) | |||||||||
| Experience of yoga practice (months), n (%) | |||||||||
| <24 | 259 (40.72) | 59 (22.78) | 3 (1.16) | 14 (9.80) | 7.68 | 10.00 | 0.11 | 0.66 | Moderate |
| ≥24 | 377 (59.28) | 80 (21.22) | 2 (0.42) | 34 (3.78) | |||||
| Time spent (min) practicing yoga in a week, n (%) | |||||||||
| <150 | 29 (4.56) | 6 (20.69) | 0 | 3 (10.34) | 20.39 | 20.00 | 0.13 | 0.43 | Moderate |
| 150–300 | 477 (75.00) | 106 (22.22) | 4 (0.84) | 36 (7.55) | |||||
| >300 | 130 (20.44) | 27 (20.77) | 1 (0.77) | 9 (6.92) | |||||
*R1.1: I can help many people through knowledge of yoga, R1.2: The university/institution is close to my home, R1.3: The fees are within my budget, R1.4: I have been practicing yoga since childhood and want to learn more, R1.5: Yoga is covered in the media and seems glamorous to me, R1.6: I could not get into other courses as my marks were not good enough, R1.7: I find yoga interesting, R1.8: I believe that I will be able to earn a living through this course, R1.9: I will become a better person by studying yoga, R1.10: Thecourse seems easy and I will not need to make a big effort to pass, R1.11: My parents asked me to take this course; Level of significance: P<0.05 (two tailed)
Respondents’ future plans after completing the course in yoga
Age
More respondents with ages less than 21 years selected “study another course in yoga” (34.5%) compared to those over 21 years (22.3%). Fewer respondents with ages less than 21 years selected “to work in yoga and research” (10.7%) as compared to those over 21 years (18.3%).
Gender
More male respondents selected “to work in yoga and health care in a hospital” (16.9%) compared to female respondents (9.6%). Also, male respondents more frequently selected “to work in yoga and education in a university” (20.8%) compared to female respondents (12.4%).
Nature of courses
Respondents enrolled in postgraduate courses less frequently selected “study another course in yoga” (17.2%) compared to those who were enrolled in graduate courses (35.7%). Respondents in postgraduate courses more frequently selected “to work in yoga and research” and “to work in yoga and education in university” (21.8% and 25.2%, respectively) in comparison to those who enrolled in graduate courses (9.8% and 12.8%, respectively).
Locality
Respondents from rural areas more frequently (20.9%) selected “to work in yoga and education in a university” as compared to respondents from urban areas (14.6%).
Time spent in practicing yoga (minutes per week)
Respondents with less than 150 min of yoga practice more frequently selected “study some other discipline” (10.3%) and “to work in yoga and wellness/lifestyle” (10.3%) as compared to respondents with more than 300 min of yoga practice (9.2% and 5.4%, respectively). Fewer respondents with less than 150 min of yoga practice selected “conduct yoga classes at home” (3.5%) as compared to respondents with more than 300 minutes of yoga practice (5.4%).
The association of reasons for future plans after completing the course in yoga with sociodemographic characteristics and yoga practice-related factors is shown in Table 4.
Table 4.
Future plan of the respondent’s after completing the course in yoga in relation to sociodemographic characteristics and yoga practice related factors
| Baseline characteristics | n (%) | Future plan of the respondent’s after completing the course in yoga* | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||
| R2.1 | R2.2 | R2.3 | R2.4 | R2.5 | R2.6 | R2.7 | R2.8 | ||
| Age (years), n (%) | |||||||||
| <21 | 336 (52.83) | 116 (34.52) | 22 (6.55) | 43 (12.80) | 23 (6.85) | 36 (10.71) | 52 (15.48) | 16 (4.76) | 5 (1.49) |
| ≥21 | 300 (47.17) | 67 (22.33) | 13 (4.33) | 46 (15.33) | 23 (7.67) | 55 (18.33) | 59 (19.67) | 11 (3.67) | 8 (2.67) |
| Gender, n (%) | |||||||||
| Males | 385 (60.53) | 104 (27.01) | 20 (5.19) | 65 (16.88) | 23 (5.97) | 56 (14.55) | 80 (20.78) | 15 (3.90) | 5 (1.30) |
| Females | 251 (39.47) | 79 (31.47) | 15 (5.98) | 24 (9.56) | 23 (9.16) | 35 (13.94) | 31 (12.35) | 12 (4.78) | 8 (3.19) |
| Nature of courses, n (%) | |||||||||
| Graduate | 398 (62.58) | 142 (35.68) | 29 (7.29) | 56 (14.07) | 28 (7.04) | 39 (9.80) | 51 (12.81) | 17 (4.27) | 5 (1.26) |
| Postgraduate | 238 (37.42) | 41 (17.23) | 6 (2.52) | 33 (13.87) | 18 (7.56) | 52 (21.85) | 60 (25.21) | 10 (4.20) | 8 (3.36) |
| Locality, n (%) | |||||||||
| Rural | 286 (44.97) | 83 (29.02) | 11 (3.85) | 42 (14.69) | 22 (7.69) | 40 (13.99) | 60 (20.98) | 8 (2.80) | 8 (2.80) |
| Urban | 350 (55.03) | 100 (28.57) | 24 (6.86) | 47 (13.43) | 24 (6.86) | 51 (14.57) | 51 (14.57) | 19 (5.43) | 5 (1.43) |
| Yoga practice related factors, n (%) | |||||||||
| Experience of yoga practice (months), n (%) | |||||||||
| <24 | 259 (40.72) | 74 (28.57) | 11 (4.25) | 45 (17.37) | 19 (7.34) | 33 (12.74) | 49 (18.92) | 9 (3.47) | 5 (1.93) |
| ≥24 | 377 (59.28) | 109 (28.91) | 24 (6.37) | 44 (11.67) | 27 (7.16) | 58 (15.38) | 62 (16.45) | 18 (4.77) | 8 (2.12) |
| Time spent practicing yoga in a week (min), n (%) | |||||||||
| <150 | 29 (4.56) | 9 (31.03) | 3 (10.34) | 6 (20.69) | 3 (10.34) | 5 (17.24) | 2 (6.90) | 1 (3.45) | 0 |
| 150–300 | 477 (75.00) | 138 (28.93) | 20 (4.19) | 62 (13.00) | 36 (7.55) | 68 (14.26) | 90 (18.87) | 19 (3.98) | 10 (2.10) |
| >300 | 130 (20.44) | 36 (27.69) | 12 (9.23) | 21 (16.15) | 7 (5.38) | 18 (13.85) | 19 (14.62) | 7 (5.38) | 3 (2.31) |
|
| |||||||||
| Baseline characteristics | Future plan of the respondent’s after completing the course in yoga* | χ 2 | Degree of freedom df | Cramer’s V | P | Strength of association | |||
|
| |||||||||
| R2.9 | R2.10 | ||||||||
|
| |||||||||
| Age (years), n (%) | |||||||||
| <21 | 14 (4.17) | 9 (2.68) | 24.19 | 9.00 | 0.20 | 0.004 | Strong | ||
| ≥21 | 16 (5.33) | 2 (0.67) | |||||||
| Gender, n (%) | |||||||||
| Males | 10 (2.60) | 7 (1.82) | 27.67 | 9.00 | 0.21 | 0.001 | Strong | ||
| Females | 20 (7.97) | 4 (1.59) | |||||||
| Nature of courses, n (%) | |||||||||
| Graduate | 20 (5.03) | 11 (2.76) | 62.08 | 9.00 | 0.31 | 0.001 | Very strong | ||
| Postgraduate | 10 (4.20) | 0 | |||||||
| Locality, n (%) | |||||||||
| Rural | 7 (2.45) | 5 (1.75) | 16.36 | 9.00 | 0.16 | 0.06 | Strong | ||
| Urban | 23 (6.57) | 6 (1.71) | |||||||
| Yoga practice related factors, n (%) | |||||||||
| Experience of yoga practice (months), n (%) | |||||||||
| <24 | 10 (3.86) | 4 (1.54) | 7.53 | 9.00 | 0.11 | 0.58 | Moderate | ||
| ≥24 | 20 (5.31) | 7 (1.86) | |||||||
| Time spent practicing yoga in a week (min), n (%) | |||||||||
| <150 | 0 | 0 | 16.27 | 18.00 | 0.11 | 0.57 | Moderate | ||
| 150–300 | 24 (5.03) | 10 (2.10) | |||||||
| >300 | 6 (4.62) | 1 (0.77) | |||||||
*R2.1: Study another courses in yoga, R2.2: Study some other discipline, R2.3: A job in yoga and health care in a hospital, R2.4: A job in yoga and wellness and lifestyle in a spa or resort, R2.5: A job in yoga and research, R2.6: A job in yoga and education in a university, R2.7: Conduct yoga classes at home, R2.8: Conduct yoga classes through home visits, R2.9: Conduct yoga classes on social media and YouTube, R2.10: Work in some other field, Level of significance: P<0.05 (two tailed)
Discussion
The three most common reasons why students selected to study a course in yoga were (i) to help others through knowledge of yoga (32.2%), (ii) to become a better person by studying yoga (21.9%), and (iii) because they found yoga interesting (18.9%). The three most common future plans of students of yoga after completion of their course (i) “to study another course in yoga” (28.8%), (ii) “to work in yoga and education in a university” (17.5%), and (iii) “to work in yoga and research” (14.3%).
Students of yoga who chose to study yoga with an intention to help others were altruistically motivated.[14] The idea of being able to help others through yoga is in keeping with the principles of karma yoga (where karma = action in Sanskrit), which involves activity without self-interest.[15] Hence, informing students about social and health-related applications of yoga can help in keeping them motivated.
Another factor which increases students’ motivation is their level of interest in a subject, which was the second most common reason among students to choose to study yoga. This was especially seen among students of postgraduate courses and among younger males. Interest in a subject can be a state of attention and affect toward a particular object or topic, as well as an enduring predisposition to reengage over time with an area of interest.[16] In order to capture the attention of students and subsequently sustain their interest in yoga, courses should follow recognized educational principles. This would include engaging stimulating their attention and thereafter building on emerging individual interests by providing practical and academic tasks that facilitate connecting academic topics with existing interests.[17]
Students’ future plans also reflected their interest in yoga with the highest percentage of students wishing to study a further course in yoga. Students’ frequent preferences also included wishing to work in yoga and education or in yoga and research. This may be related to the increasing interest in understanding the principles of yoga as a basis for all applications.[18] The interest in yoga research is all in keeping with a growing interest in conducting and being informed about research in yoga.[10] Also, given the increasing application of yoga in healthcare and therapy, students require systematized courses or electives as part of any course on applications of yoga in healthcare. They also require an opportunity to see yoga used in a therapeutic context. Also, since yoga therapy work opportunities may have better earning potential, certain categories of students of yoga (i.e., males, and students from rural areas), selected these options as their future career plans. Hence, graduate level students also require to have basic training in yoga and health care.
Students who had been practicing yoga for the last time (which could be because they had no practice of yoga before the course and/or were starting a course in yoga) had practical reasons to choose a course in yoga (i.e., “the university is close to home;” “I can earn a living”). Also students with a shorter duration of yoga practice wanted to study another discipline as their future plan, perhaps due to inadequate exposure to the practice and principles of yoga.
In response to an open-ended question, 92.1% of students mentioned what they liked most about the course in yoga. Their answers covered three main areas. The first was self-development (in 47.3% of students) with responses such as “Yoga helps me find peace within” or “Yoga practice helps me modify my behavior”. The second area was health (in 45.9% of students), with responses such as “Yoga helped me maintain good health” or “Yoga maintains my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health”. The third area was disease (in 3.5% of students), such as “Yoga helped manage my illness (polycystic ovarian disease).”
Students also mentioned factors they did not like about the course in yoga (48.4%). There were three categories of responses. The first factor was related to personal choices (in 40.5% of students) such as “yoga requires changes in what I eat” or “I need to wake up early to practice yoga.” Though eating a plant-based diet and practicing yoga early in the morning are common recommendations (Gheranda Samhita; Verses 6, 11 and Verse 14 Hatha Yoga Pradipika)[19,20] these are not essential to the practice and should not act as a deterrent to practice. The next most common area students disliked about the course were related to the way it was taught. This factor included “Lack of interactive projects” or “No exposure to research.” These responses emphasize the importance of innovations in teaching, especially with a subject like yoga which has practice and principles to be learned. Finally, students also disliked verses in Sanskrit which are sourced from traditional and ancient yoga writings. This emphasizes the need for students to know how to access to the many excellent translations of the traditional verses.
Yoga instructors are trained in short-term courses. Since the study was intended to determine the motivators and aspirations of university students studying yoga, these instructors did not fall within the scope of this study.
In summary, university students most often chose to study yoga to help others, due to their interest in the topic and for self-development. After completing their course in yoga most students wished to study yoga further or to work in yoga and education or in research on yoga. While students liked specific benefits which they attributed to yoga practice (e.g., feeling peaceful or having good health), they disliked certain requirements which they thought were necessary for yoga practice (e.g., waking early). However, this is not necessarily true. The results emphasize the importance of adequate awareness about the scope, requirements, and benefits of yoga practice among student aspirants to help students select yoga as a course and for students of yoga to use their knowledge optimally.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgment
We acknowledged our heartiest gratitude to the students, supporting staff, and mentors for all participating universities in this study.
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