Developing Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Yoga and Mindfulness for the Well-Being of Student Musicians in Spain
L. Javier Bartos, María Jesús Funes, Marc Ouellet, M. Pilar Posadas, Chris Krägeloh
Frontiers in Psychology April 21, 2021 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.642992 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 93 |
| Population | Higher education student musicians at a Higher Conservatory of Music in Spain |
| Interventions | yoga positive psychology |
| Duration | One hour per week during the academic year 2019/2020, interrupted by lockdown and delivered online |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 50 |
| Key findings | A higher proportion of CRAFT program participants than controls implemented practices to improve health and well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown (92% vs 58%) and reported perceived benefits (78% vs 52%). Yoga/meditation was the most implemented and most beneficial practice in the CRAFT group, while exercise and Alexander technique were most common in controls. The authors suggest previous exposure to mindfulness and yoga may help young adults respond to exceptionally stressful conditions. |
Abstract
Here, we report on a quasi-experimental study to explore the applicability and perceived benefits of the CRAFT program, which is based on mindfulness, yoga, positive psychology, and emotional intelligence, to improve higher education student musicians’ health and well-being during the lockdown. A subset of student musicians at a Higher Conservatory of Music in Spain followed the CRAFT program during the academic year 2019/2020, 1 h per week as part of their curriculum. Students enrolled in CRAFT-based elective subjects formed the CRAFT program group (n = 40), while other students represented the control group (n = 53). The onset of the national lockdown elicited by the COVID-19 pandemic occurred halfway through the program, which was subsequently delivered in an online format. We administered an online survey to explore the effect that the exposure to the CRAFT program had in terms of how participants dealt with various health and well-being concerns arising from the COVID-19 lockdown. There was a significantly higher proportion of proactive participants in the CRAFT program group, 92%, than in the control group, 58%, in terms of implementing practices to improve their health and well-being during the lockdown. Additionally, significantly more participants acknowledged perceived benefits from their practices in the CRAFT program group, 78%, than in the control group, 52%. Among proactive participants, yoga/meditation was the most implemented in the CRAFT program group, followed by exercise, and other yoga/meditation practices, whereas in the control group, exercise and Alexander technique-based practices were the most applied. In the CRAFT program group, the highest rate of perceived benefits was from yoga/meditation CRAFT-based practices, 51%, followed by exercise, 32%, and other yoga/meditation practices, 27%, whereas in the control group, benefits were reported by 29% of exercising participants and 16% for those having practiced the Alexander technique. A similar pattern was observed when excluding participants with previous yoga/meditation experience. This study revealed how participants can independently apply learned skills from the CRAFT program in response to a naturally occurring life event of unprecedented global impact, suggesting that previous exposure to mindfulness and yoga is likely to have a beneficial effect on how young adults react towards exceptionally stressful conditions.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- A Feasibility Study of a Program Integrating Mindfulness, Yoga, Positive Psychology, and Emotional Intelligence in Tertiary-Level Student Musicians Mindfulness September 29, 2022
- Science-Based Buddhist Practice: an Illustration Using Doctrinal Charts of Won Buddhism Mindfulness April 23, 2022
- An Eight-Week Zen Meditation and Music Programme for Mindfulness and Happiness: Qualitative Content Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health December 4, 2023
- Executive Function Training Through a Mindfulness-Based Neuroeducational Program in Elementary School Students Mindfulness November 1, 2024
- Mindfulness-based interventions for student coping in higher education: a systematic review Advances in Mental Health July 10, 2026
and 2 more in the library
Cites 11
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Yoga Therapy and Polyvagal Theory: The Convergence of Traditional Wisdom and Contemporary Neuroscience for Self-Regulation and Resilience Frontiers in Human Neuroscience February 27, 2018
- The Effects of Meditation, Yoga, and Mindfulness on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Tertiary Education Students: A Meta-Analysis Frontiers in Psychiatry April 24, 2019
- A yoga program for cognitive enhancement. PLoS One August 4, 2017
and 6 more in the library