Level of Happiness Before and After the Practice of Yoga: A Comparative Study from Kerala State, India

Abstract

Happiness, which is an important component of mental well-being represents an optimal state of emotional health, life satisfaction, and positive functioning. In today’s fast-paced and stress-laden society, cultivating happiness has become a global public health priority. The philosophical principle of Santosha (contentment) emphasized in yoga encourages individuals to find happiness within themselves instead of depending on external factors. The study reported in this article was undertaken in Kerala State of India among 50 yoga practitioners using a measure of happiness in order to analyze the effect of yoga on the level of happiness before and after it’s practice. The results have shown significant improvement in the happiness score after yoga practice. Even though statistically significant difference in the mean happiness scores based on the period of yoga practice is not observed, the happiness scores under different periods of yoga practice are as high as 67.0 to 71.1 % of the maximum possible score, when compared to the comparatively lower range of 35.7 to 64.3 % of the maximum possible score only before yoga practice. Statistically significant difference exists in the happiness scores after yoga practice based on the age of respondents, with elders in the age group of 61 to 70 years having comparatively higher level of happiness through yoga practice than youngsters and middle-aged people in the age groups of 25 to 49 and 51 to 59 years respectively. Overall, the study highlights yoga as a practice, which improves the level of happiness for people.