Evaluation of Online Adaptive Yoga for Psychological Well-Being in Adults with Disabilities

Purpose/Objective. The present study examined the preliminary effectiveness of an online, community-based adaptive yoga program on mindfulness, social connectedness, life satisfaction, and communicative participation. Research method/Design. Adults (N = 48) were from a U.S. Midwest rehabilitation program and modally identified as White (73%), women (68%), and in their 30s (24%). One-third (35%) of participants were able to walk independently, and cerebral palsy was the most common primary disability diagnosis (32%). The 90-minute adaptive yoga program and assessments were offered online weekly for six weeks, in which data from 29 participants across three sessions were included in the present analyses. Results. Regarding our primary outcome of interest, there was a statistically significant positive increase in mindfulness over time (F[1, 28] = 5.66, p = .02), with a strong effect size, d = 2.43. All secondary variables had statistically nonsignificant changes over time, although with large effect sizes: social connectedness (d = 0.77), life satisfaction (d = 0.92), and communicative participation (d = 0.40). Conclusions/Implications. The present study provides support for well-being programs for an underserved group; specifically, an online adaptive yoga program with routine outcome monitoring assessments has preliminary effectiveness in increasing mindfulness. Consideration of such well-being programs alongside insurance would be an important policy consideration. Further controlled research is necessary to draw decisive conclusions.