Effects of physical activity intervention combining a new sport and mindfulness yoga on psychological characteristics in adolescents

This study investigated the effects of physical activity intervention combining a new sport and mindfulness yoga on psychological characteristics in adolescents. The study employed a pre- and post-test with the two-group longitudinal design. A total of 46 primary school students voluntarily participated in the 8-week intervention (male: 25, female: 21; Mage = 10.98, SD = 0.39). Self-esteem, resilience, and happiness were measured at the pre- and post-intervention. The intervention included new sport and mindful yoga associated with psychological attributes. Specifically, new sports consisted of various sport activities including kinball and the mindful yoga programme included proper breathing and Hatha yoga 1 and 2. Results indicated that in the experimental group, the study participants’ self-esteem (F = 3.47, p = .049), resilience (F = 9.72, p = .003), and happiness (F = 31.61, p = .001) were significantly changed over the 8-week intervention. This study suggests that both physical activity and mindfulness yoga influence psychological attributes when planning and implementing physical activity promotion.