Pilot Study

Can a Short-term Complementary and Alternative Medicine Intervention Combat Stress?

Abstract

A major public health concern is the debilitating effect of chronic stress, leading to lower performance and productivity at work and school, thus affecting quality of life. Addressing this crisis, a stress reduction pilot program was designed based on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) strategies as an effective, quick, and relatively inexpensive health promotion strategy for chronic stress. The intervention, a four-session yoga and meditation regimen, was created to give participants the acquired skills and comprehension for performing seven breathing exercises, two meditation techniques, and 14 simple yoga postures to combat stress in their daily lives. The design was a quasi-experimental, with a pretest and posttest, and non-equivalent control group. Data were analyzed using five repeated measure ANOVAs. The intervention group experienced greater decreases in stress-related variables from pretest to posttest compared to the control group. Preliminary findings indicate promise for introducing yoga and meditation among a variety of schools, workplace settings, and preventive care clinics. as an effective, simple, and relatively inexpensive health promotion strategy to negate the debilitating effects of chronic stress, and to enhance well being and performance.