Abstract
Background
It is known that yoga has positive effect on visual and auditory reaction time (RT). This study was designed to prove whether yoga has positive effect on discrimination auditory and visual stimuli in higher level of brain functions. Therefore, yoga may influence learning ability and concentration.
Method
Total number of 30 normal healthy volunteers, both male and female (13 male, 17 female, group average age ± S.D., 29.7± 9 years) who came for Yoga for Instructor’s Course (YIC), one month intensive, residential yoga training program at SVYASA university, were subjects for the study. This study was one group, pre-post design, self as control. Each subject participated pre-assessment on the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th day of the course, and post-assessment was being held exactly 14 days after the yoga intervention. The device used for measurement is called “Brain Boy”. It contains a test battery for visual and acoustic tests. The following tests were selected. (i) visual boy measuring the ability to discriminate visual stimuli (ms) (ii) acoustic boy measuring the ability to discriminate acoustic stimuli (ms) (iii) long boy measuring the ability to discriminate auditory sound pattern (ms).
Result
There was a significant improvement in the scores (RT) of all three tests, especially in the visual order threshold test with p<0.002; auditory order threshold test p<0.042, auditory sound pattern test p<0.032.
Conclusion
Two weeks of intensive yoga practice significantly had reduced visual and auditory RT in normal healthy volunteers. Thus, we can conclude that yoga has positive effect on learning ability and concentration.
Keywords
Yoga Training
Visual Reaction Time
Auditory Reaction Time
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