title: A Single Session of an Integrated Yoga Program as a Stress Management Tool for School Employees: Comparison of Daily Practice and Nondaily Practice of a Yoga Therapy Program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the daily practice of a yoga therapy program learnt during a single session of an integrated yoga intervention that was developed by us as a stress management tool for school employees.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety school employees.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study. Three months after the intervention, the subjects were assigned to a daily practice group (case: n=43) and a nonconsecutive daily practice group (control: n=47) according to their daily practice level of the yoga therapy program.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects participated in a stress management education program based on an integrated yoga therapy session. The program included psychological education and counseling about stress management and yoga theories, as well as the practices of asanas, pranayama, relaxation, and cognitive structure based on Indian philosophy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Assessments were performed before and after the program using the Subjective Units of Distress for mind and body and the Two-Dimensional Mood Scale. The General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ28) was used to assess the mental health state before the intervention and at 3 months after the program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The subjects showed significant increases in their levels of calmness, comfort, and cheerfulness (p<0.001) and significant decreases in cognitive mind and body stress (p<0.001) after participating in the integrated yoga program. A comparison of the total scores on the GHQ28 using a two-way analysis of variance showed significant differences between the two groups in terms of both interaction (p=0.047) and the main effect (p=0.026).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present results suggested that a single session of an integrated yoga program was effective for reducing stress and that the mental health of school employees was promoted by the daily practice of the yoga therapy program.
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences, Hiroshima University , Hiroshima, Japan .
authors.forename: Michiyo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nosaka
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences, Hiroshima University , Hiroshima, Japan .|2 Institute of Biomedical & Health Sciences, Hiroshima University , Hiroshima, Japan .
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003863:Depression; D005178:Faculty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012574:Schools; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015013:Yoga