The role of yoga in enhancing spiritual and psychological health: Evidence from a large cross-sectional study.

Significant group differences were found across combined dependent variables in multivariate analyses comparing yoga practitioners, physically active individuals, and inactive controls.

• Wilks' Λ = .811, F(26, 2304) = 9.77, p < .001, partial η² = .099
• Sample consisted of 1,167 Hungarian adults, 79% females, mean age 34.52 years (SD ± 14.97)
• Data were collected via an online survey assessing spiritual health attitudes and behaviors, subjective well-being (SWB), and mental health symptoms
• Three groups compared: yoga practitioners, physically active (regular exercisers), and inactive controls

Yoga practitioners reported significantly higher well-being and spirituality compared to both regular exercisers and inactive participants.

• Differences were significant at p < .001
• Spirituality was assessed using Fisher's four-domain model of spiritual well-being
• This is described as the first study to examine spiritual well-being via Fisher's four-domain model in the context of yoga
• Yoga practitioners outperformed both comparison groups on spirituality and well-being measures

Yoga practitioners reported significantly lower depression, anxiety, and distress than both regular exercisers and inactive participants.

• Differences were significant at p < .001
• Mental health symptoms assessed included depression, anxiety, and stress
• Both active groups showed more favorable outcomes than inactive individuals, but yoga practitioners showed the greatest benefit
• Regular exercisers also demonstrated more favorable psychological outcomes than inactive individuals, though to a lesser extent than yoga practitioners

Weekly physical activity frequency was positively associated with well-being and negatively associated with mental health symptoms across all groups.

• The association held across yoga practitioners, regular exercisers, and inactive controls
• Higher physical activity frequency corresponded with better well-being scores
• Higher physical activity frequency corresponded with lower depression, anxiety, and stress scores
• This finding supports the general mental health benefits of regular physical activity independent of yoga practice

Several spirituality-related variables were uniquely and more strongly associated with health indicators in the yoga group compared to other groups.

• Correlation patterns revealed spirituality variables with unique associations in the yoga group
• Associations ranged in significance from p < .001 to p < .023
• These patterns were not observed to the same degree in the regular exerciser or inactive groups
• This suggests yoga has a distinct contribution to the spirituality-health relationship beyond general physical activity

Prior research had not examined yoga's link to spirituality using Fisher's four-domain model or included active control groups for comparison.

• The study identifies a gap in that research has rarely explored yoga's link to spirituality
• No prior studies had examined spiritual well-being via Fisher's four-domain model in yoga populations
• Comparative studies with active control groups were described as lacking in the existing literature
• This study addressed these gaps using a large cross-sectional design with three comparison groups