Effect of 4-Week Yogic Asanas Training on Flexibility Among School Students

Abstract

The modern educational landscape increasingly demands prolonged sedentary behavior, leading to adaptive muscular shortening and severe flexibility deficits in school-aged adolescents. The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate the effect of a 4-week, high-frequency yogic asanas training program on the flexibility of high school girls. A quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test control group design was employed. Thirty female students under 17 years of age from Government Senior Secondary School Gantheelasar, Nagaur, were purposively selected

and divided equally into an Experimental Group (n = 15) and a Control Group (n = 15). The Experimental Group underwent a 4-week yoga intervention (5 days/week, 30–45 mins/session), while the Control Group continued

standard routines. Flexibility was measured using the standardized Sit-and-Reach test. Data were analyzed using an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to control for baseline variations. The Experimental Group demonstrated a massive and statistically significant improvement in adjusted post-test flexibility (24.825 cm) compared to the Control Group (20.376 cm), with an F-ratio of 42.16 (p < 0.05). A condensed, 4-week yogic intervention successfully bypassed myotatic stretch reflexes, resulting in a highly significant increase in hamstring and lumbar flexibility.