Effectiveness of Yoga Therapy and Pranayama in Reducing Examination-associated Anxiety among (Tenth) 10th Standard Students in the Selected High Schools at Bangalore, India

Abstract

Anxiety is a human emotion that is a part of life and can often serve as a beneficial form of adrenaline, for instance, before giving a speech, taking an exam, or performing on stage. Anxiety levels vary from student to student, and only a small fraction of exam-anxious students ever receive adequate anxiety reduction training. However, it can drastically impact and affect functions or performance. There are methods to overcome nervousness and anxiety when they interfere with performance.  An experimental research design was used in this study on 60, students of 10thstandard from the selected high schools in Bangalore, India This is an experimental research design study conducted on 60 10th-standard students selected from high schools in Bangalore, India. A modified anxiety rating scale was used to assess the level of examination anxiety among 10thstandard students. Pre-test- and post-test data were collected after 4 weeks of intervention on both the experimental and control group. Yoga and pranayama were given to the experimental group along with counselling, whereas only counselling was given to the control group. The results of this study showed that in the experimental group, the overall mean pre-test and post-test scores were 100.02 and 54.01, respectively, with a paired ‘t’ value of 11.60, which was above the table value of 2.7 at p≤0.01 level of significance. Whereas in the control group, the overall mean pretest and post-test mean score was 104.77 and 101.43 respectively with paired ‘t’ value of 0.82, which is not significant at p≤0.01 level of significance. Excessive exam anxiety can result in stress and may negatively affect performance. Yoga therapy may help individuals work with the physical, as well as the emotional tensions that either reduce anxiety.