Eun Joo Kim, Geetha Appachu, Ravi Kulkarni.
Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University, Bengaluru, India
viveka27@never.com

Abstract

Background
Emotions are the sauce that adds pleasure and excitement to our life, and are associated with a variety of thoughts and behaviors. Emotions makeup our personality and influence our personality development. The integrated practices of the science of Yoga have been shown to influence emotions. This study examines the role of Yoga on the personality development of children.
Methods
The aim of the study is to understand the influence of different Yoga based activities on the mood states of 14 year old children in a 10 day residential Yoga Personality Development Camp. The tool was a ‘Mood Thermometer’ that assessed two parameters: anger and poorness of mood (which includes: tension, confusion, fatigue and depression) for each subject after each session in the camp.
Results
The results indicated that the group means for anger and poorness of mood was highest after a creativity session. Anger and poorness of mood was at its least after Yoga asana session. These results also indicated that there was a significant decrease in anger state as well as poorness of mood after the Pranayama session. This revealed that the Pranayama session, which was after the creativity hour, was able to bring about positive changes in the mood states of this group.
Conclusion
Looking into this schedule of a residential yoga Personality Development Camp, two sessions, Yogasana and Pranayama, seemed to have had a significant positive influence on the mood states of fourteen year olds, when compared to all the other sessions offered each day.
Key Words
Emotional Development,
Yoga, Adolescents,
Mood