Differential effects of ethical education, physical Hatha yoga, and mantra meditation on well-being and stress in healthy participants—An experimental single-case study
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Abstract
Traditionally, yoga is a multicomponent practice consisting of postures, breathing techniques, meditation, and ethics. To date, only a few studies have tried to dismantle the effects of each of these components and their combinations. To fill this gap, we examined the incremental effects of ethical education and physical yoga on mantra meditation using a single-case multiple-baseline design. This study was part of a project evaluating the new mind–body program Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification. Forty-two healthy participants were randomly assigned to four conditions—meditation alone, meditation plus physical yoga, meditation plus ethical education, and meditation plus yoga and ethics. All the interventions lasted for 8 weeks and were run consecutively according to baseline length. During the baseline and treatment phases, participants received daily questionnaires measuring their well-being, perceived stress, and subjective experiences. We analyzed our data using visual inspection, effect size estimation (Tau-U), and multilevel modeling. Almost all participants showed an increase in well-being, except participants in the meditation-only condition. This increase was most prominent in participants who received ethical education. There was a tendency for all treatments to decrease stress. However, there was a marked reduction in stress for participants in the yoga-plus-meditation condition. These results emphasize the incremental and differential effects of practicing meditation in combination with other practices from the eightfold yoga path. This approach is valuable for better understanding the multifaceted practice of yoga.
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In the earlier publication, the simple meditation treatment was the least effective and led to increased stress and decreased well-being in a sizeable number of participants.
“In this earlier publication, we elucidated that the simple meditation treatment was the least effective and led to increased stress and decreased well-being in a sizeable number of participants.”
From Embodied Cognition in Meditation, Yoga, and Ethics—An Experimental Single-Case Study on the Differential Effects of Four Mind–Body Treatments (2022) · cites this paper as [47]
The Results (Well-Being and Stress; page unavailable) identify meditation alone (MA) as the least favorable condition: half its participants had moderate stress increases, and the most pronounced well-being declines were in MA. But only two MA participants had substantially lower well-being following treatment, while MA showed no average well-being decline; the paper also cautions that increased stress may have had other causes. Saying the treatment led to both outcomes in a sizeable number overstates those findings. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThese results complement and extend previously reported findings on well-being and stress.
“Nonetheless, these results complement and extend our previously reported findings on well-being and stress [47].”
From Embodied Cognition in Meditation, Yoga, and Ethics—An Experimental Single-Case Study on the Differential Effects of Four Mind–Body Treatments (2022) · cites this paper as [47]
The two less extensive combinations of yoga components, ME and MY, were the most helpful in enhancing well-being (ME) and reducing stress (MY).
“Furthermore, the two less extensive combinations of yoga components, namely, the ME and MY condition were the most helpful in enhancing well-being (ME) and reducing stress (MY).”
From Embodied Cognition in Meditation, Yoga, and Ethics—An Experimental Single-Case Study on the Differential Effects of Four Mind–Body Treatments (2022) · cites this paper as [47]
Adding other yoga components to the treatment proved to be a valuable extension and possibly provided participants with additional inspiration and a frame of reference.
“In this respect, adding other yoga components to the treatment proved to be a valuable extension and possibly provided participants with additional inspiration and a frame of reference [47].”
From Embodied Cognition in Meditation, Yoga, and Ethics—An Experimental Single-Case Study on the Differential Effects of Four Mind–Body Treatments (2022) · cites this paper as [47]
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References 137 · Cited by 37
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Barlow D. H. Nock M. Hersen M. (2009). Single Case Experimental Designs: Strategies for Studying Behavior for Change, 3rd Edn. Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Bryant E. F. (2015). The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Lehrer P. M. Woolfolk R. L. Sime W. E. (2007). Principles and Practice of Stress Management, 3rd Edn. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
- Quasten L. C. (2019). Die Untersuchung Psychologischer Maße in der Meditationsforschung im Rahmen Experimenteller Einzelfallanalysen. Unpublished master's thesis.
- Authors
- Matko, K., Sedlmeier, P., & Bringmann, H. C.
- Affiliations
- Chemnitz University of Technology (DE)
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Matko, Karin
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2021-08-05
- Volume
- 12
- Pages
- 672301-672301
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8375679
- OpenAlex
- W3188720217
- Cited by
- 37
- References
- 137
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 6
- FWCI
- 4.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Karl und Veronica Carstens-Stiftung
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Keywords
- hatha yoga, mantra meditation, ethics education, well-being, stress, mind-body interventions, healthy adults
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