Stretching the Mind: the Effect of Yoga on Children's Imagination and Creative Thinking

This randomized controlled experimental study was conducted to examine the effect of ayoga‐based intervention program on children's imagination and creative thinking.Class‐level cluster randomization was used to assign participants to the experimental andcontrol groups.A total of 60 eighth‐grade middle school students who met the study eligibility criteriaand voluntarily participated in the study were included. The participants were recruitedfrom two different classes within the same school. Using a lottery method, one class wasassigned to the experimental group (n=30) and the other class was assigned to the controlgroup (n=30). Class‐level randomization was used to minimize interaction betweenparticipants in the experimental and control groups during the intervention.Before the intervention, pre‐test assessments were administered to both groups. Theexperimental group received a structured yoga‐based intervention twice a week for eightweeks, with each session lasting approximately 45 minutes. The control group continuedits routine educational activities and did not receive the yoga‐based intervention. Aftercompletion of the intervention period, post‐test assessments were administered to bothgroups. Pre‐test and post‐test measurements were used to evaluate changes inparticipants' imagination and creative thinking and differences between the experimentaland control groups.Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Dual Facet Imagination Scale(DFIS), and the Creative Thinking Tendencies Scale (CTTS). The DFIS consists of 16 itemsand assesses general imagination as well as two dimensions: experiential simulation andconceptual innovation. The CTTS consists of 25 items and six dimensions and was used toassess children's creative thinking tendencies.Sociodemographic characteristics, including age and gender, were collected at baseline.Because of the nature of the yoga‐based intervention, blinding of participants andintervention providers was not feasible. Outcome data were coded for statisticalanalysis. Statistical analyses included independent‐samples and paired‐samples t‐testsand repeated‐measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) to evaluate within‐group andbetween‐group changes in imagination and creative thinking outcomes.