The Effects of a Brief Yoga Intervention on Psychologic and Physiologic Measures in Women Recovering from Substance Abuse Disorders

Women are the fastest-growing population experiencing substance use disorders (SUDs) in the United States. Multiple barriers e.g., mental health disorders, reduced self-efficacy, lack of social support have been identified and negatively impact acute and sustainable recovery efforts. The aim of this project was to evaluate the effects of yoga on mood status, biometrics, and self-efficacy toward yoga in a cohort at The Next Door, a substance abuse treatment center for women only. This was a quasi-experimental research approach with 14 women completing a total of 8 weekly yoga sessions over a ten-week period. Appropriate demographic data was collected. Measurements were obtained with a pretest/posttest method using validated tools. All participants reported co-occurring mental health disorders and addiction to alcohol, illicit drugs, or both. Statistically significant improvements were noted in mood status, self-efficacy, and diastolic blood pressure measurements. Findings from this project substantiate results from similar studies and may offer insight into future research. Improving mood states and self-efficacy through yoga addresses identified barriers to treatment and may promote sustainable recovery efforts. More research is needed to identify which yoga parameters are most beneficial for this population e.g., phase of recovery, frequency of participation, type of yoga practice. Keywords: women, addiction, recovery, yoga, barriers, depression, anxiety, self-efficac