Effect of Sahaj Yoga Meditation on Emotional Competence of Adolescent Girls

Background: Emotional competence has been studied on a normal population but the effect of Sahaj yoga meditation on emotional competence was not studied. Hence the present study was designed. Methods: Forty girls participated in this study. Their ages ranged between 17 to 19 years (group mean ± S.D., 17.48 ± 0.55 years). These adolescent girls were school going students of Rishikesh and Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, located in the north of India. The girls were randomly selected and were willing to participate in the study. Those girls who already practiced any physical exercise, yoga or sports were excluded from the study. Signed consent form of all participants was taken prior to the study. It was a pre-post study. Emotional competence was assessed using Emotional Competence scale by Dr. H.C. Sharma and Dr. R. L. Bhardwaj. Paired t-test was estimated using SPSS 18.0 Version to determine the significant difference between pre and post practice of Sahaj yoga meditation. Result: There were a significant difference found between pre-scores of emotional competence and post score after practicing Sahaj yoga meditation. (p<0.01). Conclusion:  The present study concluded that practicing Sahaj yoga meditation increased the emotional competence and also balanced the emotions during adolescence period.