Measures of Well-being Parameters in Gayatri Mantra Practitioners, Yoga Practitioners, and Nonpractitioners: A Cross-sectional Survey Study in India

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of mental health problems and declining well-being among individuals is a growing concern. Among the methods prescribed for mental well-being, meditation, and yoga practices have been at the forefront since ancient times. This paper presents a cross-sectional survey study aimed at understanding the effect of Gayatri Mantra (GM) and yoga practices on the well-being indicators of practitioners compared with nonpractitioners. A cross-sectional survey study using convenience sampling was conducted, involving 1135 adults (age mean = 34.26 and standard deviation = 13.14) in the study. The participants were grouped as Gayatri mantra with yoga practitioners (GMY), yoga practitioners (YP), and nonpractitioners (NP) based on their daily routine practices they followed. GMY and YP were further sub-grouped based on the duration of practice viz: Long-term, mid-term, and short-term practitioners. The Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by the Mann–Whitney test, indicated that GMY and YP had higher well-being measures on the scales of Peace of Mind Scale, Scale of General Well-being, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Brief Resilience Scale than NP (all P < 0.01). Further, it was found that GMY had significantly higher well-being measures than YP (P < 0.01) on all scales, and YP had significantly higher well-being scores than NP (P < 0.01) on all scales except resilience. In addition, it was also found that the duration of GM and yoga practices in years was positively associated with well-being measures. Altogether, the findings from the study reveal that practices of GM and yoga help promote the mental well-being of the individuals essential for living a healthy life. In addition, the findings also suggested that incorporating GM practices alongside yoga yields a more pronounced positive impact on overall well-being than yoga practices alone. The study also revealed that the long-term practice of GM and yoga leads toward better well-being, peace of mind, satisfaction in life, and resilience.