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== Yoga way of life and emotional intelligence: empirical study ==

== Yoga way of life and emotional intelligence: empirical study ==

The present study was conducted in a manufacturing company in the state of Gujarat in western India, in one of the units manufacturing viscose staple fibre (VSF). The organisation is a flagship company of a large conglomerate, which ranks among India’s largest private sector companies. The VSF plant where this study was conducted was set up in 1996. The unit where this study was conducted has about 120 people in the managerial cadre and more than 1000 in the workers’ category. The average total work experience of the sample group is 16.11 years. Most of the employees reside in the township of the company, which made it easy to conduct the intervention of yoga.  

The present study was conducted in a manufacturing company in the state of Gujarat in western India, in one of the units manufacturing viscose staple fibre (VSF). The organisation is a flagship company of a large conglomerate, which ranks among India’s largest private sector companies. The VSF plant where this study was conducted was set up in 1996. The unit where this study was conducted has about 120 people in the managerial cadre and more than 1000 in the workers’ category. The average total work experience of the sample group is 16.11 years. Most of the employees reside in the township of the company, which made it easy to conduct the intervention of yoga. The salient aspects of the study methodology are summarized below<ref name=":1" />:

The salient aspects of the study methodology are summarised below:  

The managers of the company were given the option of participating in this study after the purpose and the modality of this experiment were explained to them. One of the expectations was regularity of attendance for the theory and practice sessions of the proposed study. Written consent for participating in the experiment was obtained. Those who agreed to participate in the study were divided into two equal groups of 42 each; Group 1 was designated as the yoga group and group 2 as the physical exercise group, which was the control group for this experiment.  The yoga group was given 30 hours of yoga practice (75 minutes every day) and 25 hours of theory lectures on the philosophy of yoga spread over six weeks. The theory lectures were given by the first author of this article and included topics such as definitions of the yoga way of life, implications of the four types of yoga (Raja yoga, Karma yoga, Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga) on life, analysis of the aspects of true happiness in life, Ashtanga yoga steps and the central theme of universality of consciousness as propounded in these texts.The practice sessions for the elements of yoga which included asanas, pranayama and relaxation were conducted by a well-trained yoga instructor<ref name=":1" />. 

 The managers of the company were given the option of participating in this study after the purpose and the modality of this experiment were explained to them. One of the expectations was regularity of attendance for the theory and practice sessions of the proposed study. Written consent for participating in the experiment was obtained.   Those who agreed to participate in the study were divided into two equal groups of 42 each; Group 1 was designated as the yoga group and group 2 as the physical exercise group, which was the control group for this experiment.  The yoga group was given 30 hours of yoga practice (75 minutes every day) and 25 hours of theory lectures on the philosophy of yoga spread over six weeks. The theory lectures were given by the first author of this article and included topics such as definitions of the yoga way of life, implications of the four types of yoga (Raja yoga, Karma yoga, Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga) on life, analysis of the aspects of true happiness in life, Ashtanga yoga steps and the central theme of universality of consciousness as propounded in these texts.  

The control group was also given training in normal physical workout for an equal number of hours, and lectures on the success factors in life based on modern thought (that seeks to achieve success by systematic control of factors within one’s area of influence). This was necessary in order to obviate the possibility of the Hawthorne effect on the control group. The topics for theory given to this group included success and happiness, the importance of attitude, self-image, good relationship with others, goal setting, the power of the subconscious mind, communication, motivation and leadership. The practice given to this group included fast exercises such as spot jogging, bending, body rotation, hand and leg movements etc<ref name=":1" />.  

The practice sessions for the elements of yoga which included asanas, pranayama and relaxation were con- ducted by a well-trained yoga instructor.   The control group was also given training in normal physical workout for an equal number of hours, and lectures on the success factors in life based on modern thought (that seeks to achieve success by systematic control of factors within one’s area of influence). This was necessary in order to obviate the possibility of the Hawthorne effect on the control group. The topics for theory given to this group included success and happi- ness, the importance of attitude, self-image, good relationship with others, goal setting, the power of the subconscious mind, communication, motivation and leadership. The practice given to this group included fast exercises such as spot jogging, bending, body rotation, hand and leg movements etc.   In order to test the hypothesis, EI was measured for both the groups, before and after the study, with the help of a standard self-reported questionnaire. In addition, measurements of certain physical parameters such as weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and blood sugar were taken for all, before and after the study.   The required data was taken before the commence- ment of the study on 17th September, 2007. The intervention to both the groups was simultaneously done between 18th September and 24th October, 2007. The post-study measurement was done on 24th October, 2007.   Out of the total of 42 in both groups, there were some who did not attend all the theory and practice classes on several days, and hence only the top 30 (in terms of regularity) were included for both groups in the final sample for the analysis. This came to a minimum attendance figure of 65% approximately for both groups. The profile of this group is summarised in Exhibit 3.

In order to test the hypothesis, EI was measured for both the groups, before and after the study, with the help of a standard self-reported questionnaire. In addition, measurements of certain physical parameters such as weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and blood sugar were taken for all, before and after the study. The required data was taken before the commencement of the study on 17th September, 2007. The intervention to both the groups was simultaneously done between 18th September and 24th October, 2007. The post-study measurement was done on 24th October, 2007. Out of the total of 42 in both groups, there were some who did not attend all the theory and practice classes on several days, and hence only the top 30 (in terms of regularity) were included for both groups in the final sample for the analysis. This came to a minimum attendance figure of 65% approximately for both groups. In this experiment rigorous training of 55 hours spread over 6 weeks was organised for the yoga group to instill all these five aspects in the experiment group<ref name=":1" />.  

 

 

 

In this experiment rigorous training of 55 hours spread over 6 weeks was organised for the yoga group to instil all these five aspects in the experiment group.  

 

Statistical analysis of the data was done using the SPSS. The sample profile given in Exhibit 3 indicates that 80% and 86% of the participants from the yoga group and the control group respectively were from the age group of 21e50, while the rest were above 50. Similarly, 20% of the yoga group and 17% of the control group were from the top management (i.e. deputy general manager and above), while 57% of the yoga group and 63% of the control group were from the line level managers (deputy managers and officers).  

Statistical analysis of the data was done using the SPSS. The sample profile given in Exhibit 3 indicates that 80% and 86% of the participants from the yoga group and the control group respectively were from the age group of 21e50, while the rest were above 50. Similarly, 20% of the yoga group and 17% of the control group were from the top management (i.e. deputy general manager and above), while 57% of the yoga group and 63% of the control group were from the line level managers (deputy managers and officers).