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COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND VINYASA YOGA ON CREATIVE THINKING

Abstract

Emma Pierce, Justin Moody, Rebecca R. Rogers. Samford University, Birmingham, AL.

BACKGROUND: Meditation has been shown to stimulate the neocortex part of the brain, which is responsible for higher order thinking, thereby enhancing creativity. Hatha yoga is a yoga style that focuses on mindful breathing and meditation and Vinyasa yoga is a yoga style that focuses on body movements and power holding. The purpose of this study was the examine the acute effects of Hatha yoga and Vinyasa yoga on creative thinking. METHODS: College-aged females (19.8±1.5 yrs, 118.3±7.6 lbs, 62.7±0.6 in) were recruited into the study. The study was approved by the university Institutional Review Board. All participants completed a health history and informed consent. Participants visited our laboratory three times and in a randomized, cross-over design, completed either a 30-minute video of Hatha Yoga, a 30-minute video of Vinyasa Yoga, or sat and watched a 30-minute video of a Ted talk, which served as the control session. The yoga trials were separated by a minimum of 48 hours to allow for recovery. Before and after each session, participants completed five tests of divergent creative thinking: the Alternative Uses Test, the Letter Test, a Critical Thinking Dilemma, and a Connect the Lines test. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in any of the five tests of creative thinking after either type of yoga or the control session (p>0.05). Additionally, there were no significant differences between either type of yoga or control conditions (p>0.05) in any of the tests of creative thinking. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that yoga, regardless of the type of yoga, does not improve divergent creative thinking after one session.

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