The Effect of Yogic Practices on Affect Clarity

Yoga claims to improve several aspects of an individual’s life using breathwork, posture, meditation, and several other practices. This research aims to study whether or not there exists any correlation between certain yogic practices and clarity of affect. The kriyas chosen for this study are Kapalabhati and Bhastrika. These have been first mentioned in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as practices that help to remove excess phlegm from the lungs and increase the blood flow to the frontal lobe. A study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that practicing yoga for eight weeks resulted in increased affect clarity, as well as improved mood and self-esteem. Another study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine examined the effects of an eight-week yoga intervention on women with depression. The study found that the yoga group showed significant improvements in affect clarity compared to the control group. Yet another study published in The Journal of Psychology investigated the immediate effects of a single yoga session on affect clarity. The study found that participating in a yoga session led to an increase in affect clarity compared to a control group that did not participate in yoga. In this study, the pre-test baseline data for affect clarity was collected using the Trait Meta Mood Scale and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. The process of data collection for the pretest, as well as the post-test, was done through the circulation of google forms. Post this, the participants were oriented to the practice of Bhastrika and Kapalabhathi. They were then asked to self-practice these techniques for a period of 4 weeks, five days a week, for one hour. The intervention was self-administered by trained yoga students and professionals. The post-test data were collected after the timeline was reached. This study effectively concludes that yogic practices have significant effects on mental health and mental processes. Specifically, the practices of kapalabhati and bhastrika were proven to have significant positive effects on the affect clarity of participants. This indicates that several such indigenous sciences lie in the dark, unexplored, waiting to see the light of modern research. As stated above, the findings of the present research offer a wide array of therapeutic applications for these practices. This also adds to the list of non-intrusive and non-drug-based therapies, which have been the focus of Psychology in modern times.