Self-Perceived Health Status and Yoga-Related Perceptions among Yoga Practitioner

Aim: To determine self-perceived health status among yoga practitioners and their perceptions of yoga. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in an online yoga platform during the month of December 2017. A total of 1602 individuals logged into the website during the data collection period, of which 158 volunteered to participate in the online survey. Data were collected using a questionnaire that included the participants’ descriptive characteristics (6 questions) and their perceptions of yoga (5 questions), and the Perceived Health Status Scale. Results: In the study, 92.4% of the yoga practitioners were females between the ages of 32 and 38; 36.1% had been practicing yoga for less than 6 months. Purposes for doing yoga were for sport (39.3%), spiritual development (24.0%), personal development (22.8%), and meditation (13.9%). The most popular place to practice yoga was a yoga studio (62.6%). Circumstances that prevented yoga practice were financial limitations (32.9%), lack of spare time (30.4%), fatigue (19.0%), and yoga not being a priority (17.7%). The large majority (96.2%) of respondents stated that yoga is necessary for a healthy life. Perceived physical health was “very good” for 57.0% of the individuals. Mean perceived health score was 1.47±0.32. Perceived health score was significantly associated with duration of yoga practice (F=1.53, p<0.05) and perception of yoga as essential for a healthy life (F=2.81, p<0.05). Conclusion: The majority of yoga practitioners in our study were well-educated females between 32 and 38 years of age. More than half of the respondents rated their physical health as “very good”. Longer yoga practice was associated with greater self-perception of good physical health. Amac: Yoga yapan bireylerin saglik durum algisi ve yogaya iliskin goruslerini belirlemektir. Yontem: Tanimlayici arastirma, online bir yoga platformunda 01-30 Aralik 2017 tarihleri arasinda yurutulmustur. Evreni veri toplama surecinde internet sitesine giris yapan 1602 kisi olusturmaktadir. Orneklem secimine gidilmemis evrenin tamamina ulasmak hedeflenmistir. Arastirmaya online anketi dolduran 158 gonullu katilmistir. Veriler, katilimcilarin tanitici ozelliklerini (6 soru), yogaya iliskin goruslerini (5 soru) iceren soru formu ve Saglik Durumunu Algilama Olcegi kullanilarak toplanmistir. Bulgular: Yoga yapan bireylerin %92.4 u kadin ve 32-38 yas araligindadir. Bireylerin %36.1’i 6 aydan az suredir yoga yapmaktadir. Bireylerin yoga ile ilgili gorusleri incelendiginde; yoganin birey icin anlami sirasiyla: spor (%39.3), ruhsal gelisim (%24.0), kisisel gelisim (%22.8), meditasyon (%13.9) olarak bildirilmistir. Bireylerin en sik yoga yaptigi yer yoga studyosudur (%62.6). Yoga yapmayi aksatan durumlar; ekonomik sebepler (%32.9), zaman ayiramamak (%30.4), bedensel yorgunluk (%19.0), yoganin oncelik olmayisi (%17.7) olarak saptanmistir. Bireylerin %96.2’si saglikli yasam icin yoganin gerekli oldugunu ifade etmistir. Bireylerin %57.0’i fiziksel sagligini “cok iyi” olarak algiladigi saptanmistir. Sagligi algilama puan ortalamasi 1.47±0.32’dir. Bireylerin yoga yapma suresi (F=1.53 p<0.05), yogayi saglikli yasam icin gerekli bulma (F=2.81 p<0.05) degiskenleri ile sagligi algilama puan ortalamasi arasinda anlamli bir fark bulunmustur. Sonuc: Yoga yapan bireylerin buyuk bir kisminin 32-38 yas arasi, yuksek egitimli kadinlardan olustugu belirlenmistir. Bireylerin yarisindan fazlasinin fiziksel sagligini “cok iyi” olarak algiladigi belirlenmistir. Yoga yapma suresi arttikca bireylerin fiziksel saglik algisinin “cok iyi” yonde arttigi gosterilmistir.