| Titel: | The effect of exercise on body awareness and mood |
|---|---|
| Autor: | Kawano, R |
| Mediengruppe: | --- |
| Herausgeber: | --- |
| Zeitschrift: | Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering |
| Jahr: | 1999 |
| Band: | 59 |
| Heft: | 7 B |
| Seiten: | 3387 |
| Sprache: | English; englisch |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of exercise on awareness of body and mood states. The strenuousness of exercise was examined to determine whether nonstrenuous exercise programs improve mood states and body awareness as much as do traditional strenuous exercise programs. Mood variables were identified as trait anxiety, tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, and confusion. Body awareness variables were measured by the self-awareness questionnaire as well as by the physical emotional management questionnaire, both of which were designed for this study. The body awareness components included posture, breathing patterns, hand gestures, and facial movements. These components were based on three approaches: the relationship between specific motor behaviors and internal states identified by Ekman (1969), physiological intervention strategies for athletes (Loehr, 1990), and the effects of Eastern exercises, such as yoga and t'ai chi (Patel, 1991). Five different exercise programs (yoga, stretching, t'ai chi, aerobics, and NIA) were used. The data analysis used was the within subjects methodology as reviewed in Hunter and Schmidt (1990). The mean changes in mood for the five programs studied were compared to meta-analysis findings for strenuous programs. In regard to mood components, the findings from this study for the strenuous programs were largely consistent with the average meta-analysis results across many studies. For all mood variables, t'ai chi produced improvements that were very close to those produced by strenuous programs. Yoga and stretching were just as effective as the other programs for expression and worked better than the other programs for anxiety and general mood. Thus nontraditional exercise programs are just as successful as strenuous exercise and may even work better. In regard to body awareness components, the critical finding was that for the strenuous programs, there was considerable improvement in mood but no increase in any of the three measures of awareness. Thus the strenuous program results show that there can be improvement in mood without improvement of awareness. For t'ai chi, yoga, and stretching there were large increases in awareness on all three awareness dimensions. For the nonstrenuous programs, the increase in awareness was considerably larger than the improvement in mood. The results of this study support the theory that Eastern exercises increase the awareness of body and mood states because the participants can learn how to use various physical tactics to become conscious of mood states and kinesthetic movements. By learning these tactics, by becoming aware, and by increasing experience and practice, people can improve mood states and become more conscious of both body and mind for the mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) |