The effects of yoga practice in school physical education on children's motor abilities and social behavior

BACKGROUND: In recent years, yoga programs in childhood have been implemented in schools, to promote the development for children. AIM: To investigate the effects of yoga program in physical education classes on the motor abilities and social behavior parameters of 6–8-year-old children. METHODS: The study included 16 children from the 1(st) grade of a public elementary school in the South of Brazil. The children participated in a 12-week intervention, twice weekly, with 45 min each session. To assess children's performance, we used the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency - Second Edition, the flexibility test (sit and reach – Eurofit, 1988), the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children and semi-structured interviews with children, parents, and classroom’ teacher. Data were analyzed with Wilcoxon test and level of significance was 5%. RESULTS: The yoga program was well accepted by children, children also demonstrated significant and positive changes in overall motor abilities scores (balance, strength, and flexibility). In addition, the interviews reported changing in social behavior and the use of the knowledge learned in the program in contexts outside of school. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the implementation of yoga practice in physical education lessons contributed to children's development.