Trial reportStress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress2021
How does yoga reduce stress? A clinical trial testing psychological mechanisms.
Trial report in Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effects of yoga exercise on stress relief capacity and emotional changes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Preventing Musculoskeletal Strain in Dental Training: Effects of a Movement-Based Intervention.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Trial
- Yoga and meditation for menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors: a qualitative study exploring participants' experiences.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Trial
- Feasibility and impact of a remote moderate-intensity yoga intervention on stress and executive functioning in working adults: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2023Trial
- Mind-Body Exercise, Cognitive Reappraisal, Brooding, and Psychological Distress Among Middle-Aged Women.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Impact of Yoga on Spinal Mobility and Psychological Outcomes in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis: A Prospective Non-randomized Controlled Study.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- The COMPASS framework for chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder: navigating the transition from threat to safety through yoga.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The effects of chair yoga practice on stress reduction among high school teachers in Vietnam: a preliminary quasi-experimental study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Supporting Mental Health and Physical Wellbeing Among Nursing Students Through Yoga: A Mixed-Methods Study.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2025Article
- The Effect of Lifestyle Interventions on Anxiety, Depression and Stress: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Measurement invariance of the Perceived Stress Scale across race, sex, and time, and differential impacts on cocaine use treatment outcomes.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
- Examining the impact of a restorative breath-based intervention "Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- The impact of yoga on occupational stress and wellbeing: exploring practitioners' experiences.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Recent Progress in Mind-Body Therapies in Cancer Care.Current oncology reports · 2023Review
- Promoting mental health and wellbeing in schools: the impact of yoga on young people's relaxation and stress levels.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- What helps older people persevere with yoga classes? A realist process evaluation of a COVID-19-affected yoga program for fall prevention.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Intuitive eating buffers the link between internalized weight stigma and body mass index in stressed adults.Appetite · 2022Article
- Alleviating Work Exhaustion, Improving Professional Fulfillment, and Influencing Positivity Among Healthcare Professionals During COVID-19: A Study on Sudarshan Kriya Yoga.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Yoga participation associated with changes in dietary patterns and stress: A pilot study in stressed adults with poor diet.Complementary therapies in clinical practice · 2021Article
- Differential Effects of Ethical Education, Physical Hatha Yoga, and Mantra Meditation on Well-Being and Stress in Healthy Participants-An Experimental Single-Case Study.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Yoga interventions can reduce stress, but the mechanisms underlying that stress reduction remain largely unidentified. Understanding how yoga works is essential to optimizing interventions. The present study tested five potential psychosocial mechanisms (increased mindfulness, interoceptive awareness, spiritual well-being, self-compassion and self-control) that have been proposed to explain yoga's impact on stress. Forty-two participants (62% female; 64% White) in a yoga program for stress reduction completed surveys at baseline (T1), mid-intervention (T2) and post-intervention (12 weeks; T3). We measured two aspects of stress, perceived stress and stress reactivity. Changes were assessed with paired t-tests; associations between changes in mechanisms were tested in residual change models. Only stress reactivity decreased, on average, from T1 to T3. Except for self-compassion, all psychosocial mechanisms increased from T1 to T3, with minimal changes from T2 to T3. Except for self-control, increases in each mechanism were strongly associated with decreases in both measures of stress between T1 and T2 and decreases in perceived stress from T1 to T3 (all p's < 0.05). Increased psychosocial resources are associated with stress reduction. Yoga interventions targeting these resources may show stronger stress reduction effects. Future research should test these linkages more rigorously using active comparison groups and larger samples.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.