A yoga-integrated mind-body movement intervention: effects on children's problem solving, mathematics anxiety, and physical activity

INTRODUCTION: This study examined the effects of a 10‐week yoga‐integrated mind‐body movement program embedded within routine mathematics instruction on elementary school students' problem‐solving performance, computation skills, mathematics anxiety, and self‐reported physical activity. METHODS: A quasi‐experimental design was employed with third‐grade students assigned to either a yoga‐integrated mathematics group or a traditional mathematics instruction group. Outcome measures included verbal problem‐solving performance, computation skills, overall mathematics achievement, mathematics anxiety, and self‐reported physical activity assessed using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ‐C). RESULTS: Compared with the control group, students who participated in the yoga‐integrated program demonstrated significantly greater improvements in problem‐solving performance, computation skills, and overall mathematics achievement. The intervention group also showed significantly lower mathematics anxiety at post‐test. In addition, students in the intervention group reported higher PAQ‐C scores following the intervention, suggesting increased self‐reported physical activity. DISCUSSION: Overall, the findings suggest that integrating structured mind‐body movement into routine mathematics lessons may support cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physical aspects of learning. However, because physical activity was assessed using a self‐report instrument and the intervention was implemented in intact classrooms within a quasi‐experimental design, the findings should be interpreted with appropriate caution. Future studies employing active comparison groups, objective measures of physical activity (e.g., accelerometry), and longitudinal follow‐up designs are needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying these associations and to evaluate the long‐term effectiveness of yoga‐integrated mathematics instruction.