Yoga as a Contemplative Practice and Its Contribution to Participatory Self-Knowledge and Student Retention: A Scoping Review of the First-Year Undergraduate Student Transition.
Beverley Martin, Blake Peck, Daniel Terry
International journal of environmental research and public health July 7, 2024 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21070884 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA scoping review of 17 studies examined whether yoga, as a contemplative practice in higher education, supports first-year medical and nursing students' well-being and self-knowledge during the transition from high school to university. Two themes emerged: physical practices and training, and barriers to success. The review suggests that yoga helps undergraduate students manage stress, and that the participatory, reflective processes embedded in the physical practice provide a framework for coping with the challenges of higher education.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Scoping review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 17 |
| Population | University students studying for medical and nursing degrees |
| Intervention | yoga |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Learning Stress Well-being |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key finding | Yoga supports undergraduate students in managing stressful lives by providing a framework to cope with the stress and challenges of higher education through participatory reflective processes. |
Abstract
Contemplative pedagogy, specifically yoga, introduced into the higher education curriculum has the potential to develop and entrain intellectual, emotional, and social development in relation to mental health among university students studying for medical and nursing degrees. The objective of the study is to determine the extent of the current literature on the prevalence of yoga as a contemplative practice that contributes to student well-being and self-knowledge in the first-year transition from high school to university. As part of the scoping review, CINAHL, EBSCO, Medline, Emerald, Eric, and PsycINFO were searched to identify the prevalence and connection of mind-body courses to student well-being between 2011 and 2022. Screening and selection of studies were based on eligibility criteria and methodological quality assessment. Colaizzi's method of data analysis enabled the phenomena of interest to be examined and follows the PRISMA for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. Seventeen studies were included with two themes emerging, which include physical practices and training and barriers to success. Yoga is a practice that supports undergraduate students in managing their stressful lives. Due to the experiential nature of yoga the participatory reflective processes established within the physicality of the students provided a framework to cope with the stress and challenges of higher education.