Y Yoga Works: effects of Acute Yoga on Anxiety, Affect, & Cognition

The goal of this research is to determine what components of an integrated yoga practicethat influence anxiety, cognition, and affect. Anxiety disorders are the most commonclass of mental disorders, affecting about 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. (Kessler et al.,2005). Additionally, females are significantly more likely than males to develop ananxiety disorder throughout the lifespan (Bruce et al., 2005). Yoga in general has beenshown to have a substantial number of benefits on mental health and cognition. However,there is little to no research on what parts of yoga are working to achieve positiveeffects. A total of 60 highly anxious female college students will experience all thefollowing conditions: integrated yoga (a combination of postures, breathwork, andmeditation), yoga postures only, breathwork/meditation only, watching a yoga documentary.Before and after each session, we will assess the effects of all conditions on anxiety,cognition, and affect.