Feasibility of a Yoga- and Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Resident Physicians

The project will implement a single group mixed‐methods randomized controlled trial to investigate the impact of the 6‐week RISE program on psychological health in Longwood medical area residents. The RISE program is an existing standardized yoga program at Kripalu that will be adapted for residents in a 60‐90‐minute, once‐weekly class for six weeks. Participants will be randomized to either the RISE yoga program or a no‐treatment control group. Participants randomized to the RISE program will also be instructed to maintain a short 10‐15‐minute daily home yoga practice. Sessions will be lead by experienced instructors from Kripalu and will be held in the Longwood medical area. Self‐report outcomes will be assessed at baseline, at program completion (post‐program), at 2‐month follow‐up, and at 6‐month follow‐up. Participants will include resident physicians at Longwood medical area hospitals. The only exclusion criterion is having practiced yoga, meditation, tai chi, qigong, or another mind‐body practice at least 25 hours or more in the past 6 months. Participants must be willing not to practice mind‐body programs other than the treatment protocol during the intervention. We plan to enroll up to 200 participants with a goal of at least 60 participants with a 2:1 ratio of participants randomized to yoga to participants randomized to control. The control group will receive one session of RISE after their participation in the trial is complete.