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- Creators: Arizona State University
Description
The integration of yoga into the music curriculum has the potential of offering many immediate and life-long benefits to musicians. Yoga can help address issues such as performance anxiety and musculoskeletal problems, and enhance focus and awareness during musical practice and performance. Although the philosophy of yoga has many similarities to the process of learning a musical instrument, the benefits of yoga for musicians is a topic that has gained attention only recently. This document explores several ways in which the practice and philosophy of yoga can be fused with saxophone pedagogy as one way to prepare students for a healthy and successful musical career. A six-week study at Arizona State University was conducted to observe the effects of regular yoga practice on collegiate saxophone students. Nine participants attended a sixty-minute "yoga for musicians" class twice a week. Measures included pre- and post- study questionnaires as well as personal journals kept throughout the duration of the study. These self-reported results showed that yoga had positive effects on saxophone playing. It significantly increased physical comfort and positive thinking, and improved awareness of habitual patterns and breath control. Student participants responded positively to the idea of integrating such a course into the music curriculum. The integration of yoga and saxophone by qualified professionals could also be a natural part of studio class and individual instruction. Carrie Koffman, professor of saxophone at The Hartt School, University of Hartford, has established one strong model for the combination of these disciplines. Her methods and philosophy, together with the basics of Western-style hatha yoga, clinical reports on performance injuries, and qualitative data from the ASU study are explored. These inquiries form the foundation of a new model for integrating yoga practice regularly into the saxophone studio.
ContributorsAdams, Allison Dromgold (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / McAllister, Timothy (Committee member) / Micklich, Albie (Committee member) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The purpose of this study is to examine and explore Hatha Yoga and how it relates to a practice consisting of singer-friendly yoga postures, how these postures may benefit the singer's mental and physical health, and how these techniques relate to designated research. The study also investigates yogic breathing techniques and how these exercises relate to selected research. Lastly, the paper examines how the voice student and professional singer may alleviate anxiety by introducing a practice of daily yogic mediation of mudra and mantra techniques, and how voice teachers may better understand and assist their students with stage performance anxiety.
ContributorsHutton, Christopher (Singer) (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / Doan, Jerry (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / May, Judy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This work examines the spectrum of Christian attitudes toward yoga as demonstrative of contemporary religious imagination in recent United States history. With the booming commodification of yoga as exercise, the physical and mental elements of yoga practice are made safely secular by disassociation from their ostensible religious roots. Commonly deployed phrases, "Yoga is not a religion," or even, "Yoga is a science," open a broad invitation. But the very need for this clarification illustrates yoga's place in the United States as a borderline signifier for spirituality. Vocal concern by both Christians and Hindus demonstrates the tension between perceptions of yoga as a secular commodity and yoga as religiously beget. Alternatively embracing and rejecting yoga's religious history, Christian yoga practitioners reframe and rejoin yoga postures and breathing into their lives of faith. Some proponents name their practice Christian Yoga.
Christian Yoga flourishes as part of contemporary religious and spiritual discourse and practice in books, instructional DVDs, websites and studios throughout the United States. Christian Yoga proponents, professional and lay theologians alike, highlight the diversity of American attitudes toward and understanding of yoga and the heterogeneity of Christianity. For religious studies scholars, Christian Yoga advocates and detractors provide an opportune focal point for inquiry into the evolution of spiritual practice, the dynamics of tradition, experience and authority, and the dialectic nature of evolving cultural attitudes in a religiously plural and complex secular environment.
Christian Yoga flourishes as part of contemporary religious and spiritual discourse and practice in books, instructional DVDs, websites and studios throughout the United States. Christian Yoga proponents, professional and lay theologians alike, highlight the diversity of American attitudes toward and understanding of yoga and the heterogeneity of Christianity. For religious studies scholars, Christian Yoga advocates and detractors provide an opportune focal point for inquiry into the evolution of spiritual practice, the dynamics of tradition, experience and authority, and the dialectic nature of evolving cultural attitudes in a religiously plural and complex secular environment.
ContributorsWilken, Jennifer (Author) / Fessenden, Tracy (Thesis advisor) / Cady, Linell (Committee member) / Gereboff, Joel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This study addressed the questions: What is the experience of mindfulness by yoga masters? How can such experiences inform the counseling intervention of mindfulness? In a qualitative study, individuals who held the minimum credentials E-RYT 200 (i.e., Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher 200 Hour) were interviewed. The verbatim interviews were analyzed using the phenomenological approach. Two categories of themes emerged describing mindfulness as a state of being and a practice of awareness. The common themes describing mindfulness as a state of being include: conscious awareness, feeling bliss, the present moment, interconnectedness, and compassionate evolution. The common themes describing mindfulness as a practice of awareness include: waking the body, balanced practice, the power of pranayama, refining abilities, obstacles to awareness, a holistic practice, and external supports. The results of this study suggest that mindfulness is multifaceted and ephemeral; however, with regular practice it becomes more consistently maintained. As a practice of awareness, mindfulness develops through a hierarchy of techniques moving from the external to the internal including both self and other. Discussion focuses on how these experiences can be applied in counseling interventions.
ContributorsBeyer, Gina (Author) / Kinnier, Richard (Thesis advisor) / Glidden-Tracey, Cynthia (Committee member) / Hutchinson, Joel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in the U.S. While physical activity can reduce CVD risk, most adults do not engage in adequate physical activity to maintain or improve health. Older adults are less likely to participate in physical activity and experience a greater burden of CVD compared to younger adults. Despite knowledge of motivators and barriers to physical activity, the challenge to reduce cardiovascular risk in the older adult population remains unmet. Older adults face unique and complex barriers to physical activity, including limited social contextual resources and behavioral change processes. Interventions to enhance wellness motivation have demonstrated potential in promoting health behavior change among older adults.
The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of the Yoga for HEART (Health Empowerment and Realizing Transformation) Intervention to increase motivation for physical activity and improve cardiovascular health in older adults. A pilot randomized controlled trial design was used. The Intervention group received Yoga for HEART, a 12-week program to foster motivation for health behavior change. The Control group received a 12-week group yoga program that did not contain theory-based components. The intervention was based on Wellness Motivation Theory, conceptualizing health behavior change as dynamic process of intention formation and goal-directed behavior leading to the development of new and positive health patterns. Critical inputs (i.e., empowering education, motivational support, social network support) were designed to promote social contextual resources and behavioral change processes to increase motivation for physical activity and improve cardiovascular health.
Specific Aims were to: (a) examine intervention acceptability, demand, and fidelity, and (b) evaluate intervention efficacy in promoting physical activity and improving cardiovascular health through increased social contextual resources and behavioral change processes. Participants in the Intervention group realized a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) from baseline to 12 weeks when compared to participants in the Control group. Intervention group participants demonstrated improvement in theoretical mechanisms (i.e., self-knowledge, motivation appraisal, self-regulation, environmental resources) and intended outcomes (i.e., body composition) when compared to Control group participants. Findings from this study support the feasibility of the Yoga for HEART Intervention in older adults.
The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of the Yoga for HEART (Health Empowerment and Realizing Transformation) Intervention to increase motivation for physical activity and improve cardiovascular health in older adults. A pilot randomized controlled trial design was used. The Intervention group received Yoga for HEART, a 12-week program to foster motivation for health behavior change. The Control group received a 12-week group yoga program that did not contain theory-based components. The intervention was based on Wellness Motivation Theory, conceptualizing health behavior change as dynamic process of intention formation and goal-directed behavior leading to the development of new and positive health patterns. Critical inputs (i.e., empowering education, motivational support, social network support) were designed to promote social contextual resources and behavioral change processes to increase motivation for physical activity and improve cardiovascular health.
Specific Aims were to: (a) examine intervention acceptability, demand, and fidelity, and (b) evaluate intervention efficacy in promoting physical activity and improving cardiovascular health through increased social contextual resources and behavioral change processes. Participants in the Intervention group realized a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) from baseline to 12 weeks when compared to participants in the Control group. Intervention group participants demonstrated improvement in theoretical mechanisms (i.e., self-knowledge, motivation appraisal, self-regulation, environmental resources) and intended outcomes (i.e., body composition) when compared to Control group participants. Findings from this study support the feasibility of the Yoga for HEART Intervention in older adults.
ContributorsBarrows, Jennifer Leigh (Author) / Fleury, Julie (Thesis advisor) / Komnenich, Pauline (Committee member) / Belyea, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This purpose of this thesis study was to examine variables of the "War on Cancer" frame, loss-gain prime, and patient gender on treatment decision for advanced cancer patients. A total of 291 participants (141 females) participated in an online survey experiment and were randomly assigned to one of eight possible conditions, each of which were comprised of a combination of one of two levels for three total independent variables: war frame ("War on Cancer" frame or neutral frame), loss-gain prime (loss prime or gain prime), and patient gender (female or male). Each of the three variables were operationalized to determine whether or not the exposure to the war on cancer paradigm, loss-frame language, or male patient gender would increase the likelihood of a participant choosing a more aggressive cancer treatment. Participants read a patient scenario and were asked to respond to questions related to motivating factors. Participants were then asked to report preference for one of two treatment decisions. Participants were then asked to provide brief demographic information in addition to responding to questions about military history, war attitudes, and cancer history. The aforementioned manipulations sought to determine whether exposure to various factors would make a substantive difference in final treatment decision. Contrary to the predicted results, participants in the war frame condition (M = 3.85, SD = 1.48) were more likely to choose the pursuit of palliative care (as opposed to aggressive treatment) than participants in the neutral frame condition (M = 3.54, SD = 1.23). Ultimately, these significant findings suggest that there is practical information to be gained from treatment presentation manipulations. By arming healthcare providers with a more pointed understanding of the nuances of treatment presentation, we can hope to empower patients, their loved ones, and healthcare providers entrenched in the world of cancer treatment.
ContributorsKnowles, Madelyn Ann (Author) / Kwan, Virginia S. Y. (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Salamone, Damien (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
"beautiful secrets," a movement art piece engaging the audience in the art-making, exists in the in-between, an indeterminable place, fluid like the water of Kiwanis Lake. The performers sang, danced and built an architectural environment with the help of the audience to create a transformational place betwixt here and there, day and night, death and life; an in-between land where the language is mystical and symbolic, and the water of Kiwanis Lake served as a symbol of transformation. Beneath the art was a method called Somatic Yoga Dance in which the performers trained in preparation for the performance. Below the method was a blessing in which beautiful secrets took root --- a prayer for peace.
ContributorsGarner, Jamey (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Kaplan, Rob (Committee member) / Bowditch, Rachel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This paper focuses on the current use of complementary medicine in Oncology. First, it reviews the general trends in the rise of complementary therapies in the United States and look at the organizations responsible for the advancement of research. Next reviewed is the specific use of complementary medicine in cancer prevention, during treatment, and post-treatment therapy for increased quality of life. There are many modalities used in the management of this disease including yoga, tai chi chuan, botanicals, probiotics and meditation practices. Each of these therapies has their own unique benefits and are used at different stages of disease prevention and treatment.
ContributorsBalcerzak, Erin Mary (Author) / Larkey, Linda (Thesis director) / Hosley, Brenda (Committee member) / Bucho-Gonzalez, Julie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
My Critical Yoga Studies investigation maps from the early 20th century to present day how yoga has become white through U.S. law and cultural productions, and has enhanced white privilege at the expense of Indian and people of color bodies. I position Critical Yoga Studies at the intersection of Yoga Studies, Critical Race Theory, Indigenous Studies, Mobilities Studies, and transnational American Studies. Scholars have linked uneven development and racial displacement (Soja, 1989; Harvey, 2006; Gilmore, 2007). How does racist displacement appear in historic and current contexts of development in yoga? In my dissertation, I use yoga mobilities to explain ongoing movements of Indigenous knowledge and wealth from former colonies, and contemporary “Indian” bodies, into the white, U.S. settler nation-state, economy, culture, and body. The mobilities trope provides rich conceptual ground for yoga study, because commodified yoga anchors in corporal movement, sets billions of dollars of global wealth in motion, shapes culture, and fuels complex legal and nation building maneuvers by the U.S. settler state and post-colonial India. Emerging discussions of commodified yoga typically do not consider race and colonialism. I fill these gaps with critical race and Indigenous Studies investigations of yoga mobilities in contested territories, triangulating data through three research sites: (1) U.S. Copyright law (1937-2015): I chart a 14,000% rise in U.S. yoga copyrights over a century of white hoarding through archival study in Copyright Public Records Reading Room, Library of Congress; (2) U.S. popular culture/music (1941-1967): I analyze twentieth-century popular song to illustrate how racist tropes of the Indian yogi joined yoga’s entry into U.S. popular culture, with material consequences; (3) Kerala, India, branded as India’s wellness tourism destination (2018): I engage participant-observation and interviews with workers in yoga tourism hubs to document patterns of racialized, uneven access to yoga. I find legal regimes facilitate extraction and displacement; cultural productions materially segregate and exclude; and yoga tourism is a node of racist capitalism that privileges white, settler mobility at the expense of Indian people, land, culture.
ContributorsSingh, Roopa (Author) / Lomawaima, K. Tsianina (Thesis advisor) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / Swadener, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Excessive gestational weight gain (EGWG) affects 50% of US pregnant women and may be an important contributor to obesity in both the mother and child. Novel strategies to prevent EGWG are needed to reduce the risk of adverse health outcomes for the mother and child. This dissertation presents three manuscripts that 1) propose a novel model to explain how prenatal yoga may prevent EGWG through behavioral, psychological/emotional, and physical factors, 2) test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a prenatal yoga intervention to prevent EGWG compared to a pregnancy education comparison group, and 3) qualitatively investigate pregnant women’s experiences participating in a prenatal yoga intervention to prevent EGWG. In manuscript two, 49 women were recruited and randomized to a 12-week prenatal yoga intervention (n=23) or a time-matched pregnancy education comparison group (n=26). A satisfaction survey was administered at post-intervention to assess feasibility outcomes (e.g., acceptability, demand). Mindfulness, emotion regulation, self-awareness, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress were assessed at baseline and post-intervention (12-weeks) and GWG was assessed weekly. Linear mixed models were used to analyze pre-post changes in primary (i.e., GWG during pregnancy) and secondary (i.e., mindfulness, emotion regulation, self-awareness, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and stress) outcomes. In manuscript three, interviews were conducted with pregnant women who participated in the prenatal yoga intervention (n=13). Interview responses were summarized using an inductive approach to thematic analysis. Findings in manuscript two suggest that prenatal yoga was a feasible method to prevent EGWG with high enjoyment and satisfaction reported among participants. The average number of prenatal yoga sessions attended was 8.84 (SD = 3.85). There was no significant group differences on the rate of GWG or total GWG throughout the intervention and a significant group x time interaction effect for stress (p=.03). In manuscript three, twelve themes were identified among the data and were organized into the following categories (three themes each): 1) experiences of prenatal yoga, 2) prenatal yoga and weight, 3) barriers to prenatal yoga, and 4) facilitators of prenatal yoga. This initial evidence suggests that prenatal yoga has potential as a strategy to prevent EGWG in pregnant women.
ContributorsGreen, Jennifer (Author) / Huberty, Jennifer L (Thesis advisor) / Larkey, Linda K (Committee member) / Leiferman, Jenn A (Committee member) / Buman, Matthew P (Committee member) / Oh, Chien C (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019