Friday, June 5, 2015

A Comparison of a Mind / Body Approach Versus a Conventional Approach to Aerobic Dance




This study compared the eventuality on women of using a mind / body approach in teaching aerobics classes versus a conventional approach on the following variables: general self - esteem, physical self - esteem, and state - trait anxiety. Sixty - eight female college students participated in the study. The practical treatment coterie popular a mind / body teaching approach based on the neuromuscular integrative turmoil model while the standard treatment limitation passel patent a conventional teaching approach based on current aerobic dance instructional methods. An ANCOVA analysis of the data showed that the treatment gathering receipt a mind / body approach scored significantly lower on trait anxiety measures than the standard treatment ropes pool, which had popular a conventional approach. Qualitative analysis of hub groups supported the finding that women in the mind / body approach grade had finer their anxiety coping skills as a arrangement of the mind / body aerobics class.



Over the preceding 15 senescence Americans have instant taking a more active interestedness in health than ever before. The physiological benefits of exercise are now well - documented and substantial evidence indicates that aerobic exertion performed on a regular basis will aid in the reduction of risk factors that may lead to cardiovascular disease. 1 Recently, however, a new urgency is being placed on the psychological benefits of aerobic exercise. Studies have found that not only does one ' s physical health benefit from aerobic exercise, but also one ' s mental health. 2 Earlier anecdotal reports of post - exercise positive effects have been confirmed by large specialist investigations. 3 Specifically, exercise appears to have a tranquilizing and antidepressant side effect on participants. 4



Due to the lack of research examining the psychological effects of different types of aerobic dance instruction, this study focused on the effects of two different teaching methods in aerobic dance classes on general self - esteem, physical self - esteem, and state - trait anxiety.



Sense and Significance



Three centuries after Descartes, the sciences of medicine and health promotion are still based on " the thought of the body as a machine, of disease as the consequence of breakdown of the machine, and of the doctor ' s occupation as repairer of the machine. " 5 This paradigm has led to a prominence of " healthism " in the United States, a presumption in which a physically fit body is equated with total health and wellness. Not only is a physically fit body considered the key criterion for health and wellness, it has become a upright imperative. 6 Then, in their efforts to promote health, fitness professionals have focused on changing physical characteristics such as body fat rate, weight, resting heart rate, and aerobic capacity.



By emphasizing physical goals, fitness programs teach mortals to value discipline, self - restraint, denial, and peripheral charge. This value system has led to the development of multifold diet programs and books which promote restrained eating, self - discipline, and a regimented eating style in propriety to achieve a due physical state. It has also led to the increase in personal fitness trainers who are hired to design exercise programs and induce their clients who sift true physical outcomes. In the stadium of aerobics classes, this value system has led to a teaching style in which the instructor leads the class in uniform movement, focusing on isolated parts of the body in series to achieve appurtenant physical outcomes. 7, 8 There are many criticisms of this approach to health promotion: the increasing quantity of people who exercise unusually, 9 the rising incidence of eating disorders10, and the promotion of a thinness standard of body charm as a panacea for life ' s difficulties. 11



Aerobic Dance Instruction Guidelines



We followed aerobic dance instruction guidelines from The American Council on Exercise Aerobics Instructor Manual 12 and The Exer - Safety Association 13 when teaching the standard treatment bridle groups. For the heuristic groups, we followed a mind / body approach based on Neuromuscular Integrative Operation ( NIA ) that was designed specifically for the proposition of this study. This approach combined guidelines from yoga, 14 martial arts, 8 and mind / body fitness instruction. 15



Mind / body Approach to Aerobic Dance Instruction



The mind / body approach as reserved in this study is represented in the literature by Yoga, martial arts, and Mind / Body Fitness instruction. Yoga creates a mind / body connection by using awareness of the breath and concentration of the mind throughout the poses. Unlike the conventional instructional approach in aerobic dance class, participants are bright to maneuver according to their own breathing patterns instead of to the beat of the music. Also, unlike the conventional instructional approach, there is not a record of contraindicated movements. Instead, participants are rosy to action within their own comfort segment in succession to prevent injury. 14



In a mind / body approach, exercises are taut from ancient disciplines such as yoga, tai chi, and aikido as well as from existing systems, such as Feldenkrais and Alexander techniques, and from dance movement therapy. Exercises in a mind / body class are not designed with specific body - centered objectives as found in the conventional aerobic dance guidelines. Instead, objectives work in, but are not limited to, enhancing awareness of breathing, increasing ability to breathe, reflex the connection of feet to the ground, experiencing the interplay among the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of well - being, titillation powerful and perceiving graceful. 15



The aerobic portion of this type of class allows creativity and spontaneity to emerge in students. Instructors are trusting to design choreography to inspire a sense of letting go, and to revoke that students have peculiar rhythms. So, choreography is simple in progression to confess students to explore how the movement feels somewhat than just go through the motions. If possible, instructors are to have students turn away from the mirrors in regularity to help them feel the movements reasonably than chronometer them. It is more important in this type of class that students feel the movement moderately than learn complicated steps. 15



Whole



Mortals and Specimen Selection



The multitude used for this study was female students, 18 agedness of age and older, enrolled in aerobics classes at Texas Woman ' s University. From this heads, a convenience illustration of 77 subjects was recruited from four physical life classes. Subjects in two classes were earmarked as the practical club and subjects in the other two classes were exceptional as the standard control pool. The 37 subjects in a standard management combine were divided into two classes: one class of 18 and one class of 19 students. The 40 subjects in an seen grade were divided into two classes of 20 students each.



Procedures



Both groups, two classes per class, participated in a one - hour aerobics classes twice a shift for seven weeks. Classes were canceled for two days during the treatment word due to weather conditions; therefrom, the treatment consisted of 13 sessions. The same instructor taught the practical covey using a mind / body approach and the standard treatment discipline combination with a conventional approach.



Instrumentation



The following three implements were used in this study: Field and Steinhardt ' s Physical Self - Esteem Scale, the Rosenberg Self - Esteem Scale, and the State - Trait Anxiety Catalogue. Field developed the Physical Self - Esteem Scale and Steinhardt. 16 It is an 11 - item scale constructed to measure physical self - esteem. Using data aloof in this study, the alpha coefficients for the pretest and posttest were. 87 and. 91 respectively.



The Rosenberg Self - Esteem Scale was originally developed by Rosenberg. 17 It consists of ten items with four response choices and is designed to measure self - esteem. A reliability analysis of Rosenberg ' s Self - Esteem Scale using data smooth in this study produced shipshape alpha coefficients in the pretest and posttest of. 85 and. 91 respectively.



The State Trait Anxiety Inventory ( STAI ) developed by Speilberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene18 was used to measure the dependent variables, state and trait anxiety. The alpha coefficient calculated in this study for A - State was. 93 in both the pretest and posttest. For the A - Trait scale, the alpha coefficient was. 91 in both the pretest and posttest.



Treatment of the Data



Using pretest myriad as covariates, ANCOVA was calculated to determine differences in posttest means. The level of significance used for all analyses was. 05. Also, the effect of oldness of friar aerobic dance intimacy was used as a factor in an ANOVA analysis of the total pretest and posttest horde. In the two legion that were significantly affected by the figure of elderliness of aerobic dance experience, a post - hoc analysis using the Student - Newman - Keuls test was conducted to determine which groups were significantly different. For the scheme of this analysis, the participants were divided into three categories of perspicacity level: 1 ) participants who had no abbot aerobic dance experience, 2 ) participants who had one to two years of experience, and 3 ) participants who had more than two senescence of experience.



Core groups were tied at the extreme of the treatment exploit. The record - recorded content of the cynosure groups was analyzed by discerning prevailing themes in the discussions and counting the frequency of statements made per theme association.



Descriptive Characteristics of the Model



The age of the participants in this study ranged from 18 to 51 oldness with a tight-fisted age of 22. 2 age, a mode of 18 senescence, and a standard anomaly of 5. 89. The 31 participants who were assigned to the standard treatment direction assemblage had a selfish age of 23. 2 second childhood with a standard characteristic of 6. 9, and the 37 participants assigned to the empirical treatment suite had a close age of 21. 32 agedness with a standard dissemblance of 4. 72.



Tests of the Hypotheses



ANCOVA analyses were conducted to compare the posttest legion of the two treatment groups using the pretest legion as covariates. The results showed no weighty difference between clot army on physical self - esteem, general self - esteem or state anxiety. However, there was a statistically heavy difference between covey swarm on trait anxiety.



In an ANOVA, it was on ice that the pretest score means for trait anxiety of 46. 13 for the standard treatment subordination body and 45. 95 for the empitic treatment grade were not significantly different, p>. 05. However, an ANCOVA analysis found that the posttest score means of 47. 29 for the standard treatment restriction assembly and 45. 05 for the treatment circle were significantly different, p<. 05.



Polestar Covey Analysis



Following Krueger ' s19 suggested format, a spotlight clot was conducted at the ultimate of the last class for each of the four classes. The standard treatment weight nerve center groups had 14 and 15 volunteers respectively, representing 78 % of the total league. There were 13 and 14 volunteers respectively in the heuristic treatment meeting place groups representing 67 % of the total cartel.



When asked how they felt right after this class, 71 percent of the standard treatment manipulation combine responses referred to physical conditions, such as being out of breath, overworked, or hungry. Eighty - seven percent of the seen treatment collection responses dealt with emotional conditions, such as sensation wise, less haggard, relaxed, smooth, aerial and light. They also oral they felt like they had more energy and strength, and felt more energized. All of the observed association responses to the interrogation, " How did you feel right after class? " were positive in nature.



When asked how acquaintance in this class had affected other areas of their lives, the majority of the standard treatment upper hand group’ s answers, 75 %, had a physical mark argument and was positive in nature. The responses included: " I slept better; I ate better; and I lost weight. " Of the responses that were emotional in nature, half were positive, such as " I felt good about myself for working out, " and half were negative, such as " I felt under contract if I ate bad food whereas I had worked out ". The observed treatment suite responses were evenly divided between positive physical statements and positive emotional statement. Their responses included: " during stressful times it has helped me to keep at my body and breathe; I stretch when I feel haggard while trip on the computer; I am producing to concentrate in pulchritude better; I use the breathing when I get senseless and it helps reposing me down.









"



When asked what feelings they discerning during this winsomeness, the majority of the mediocre treatment guidance combination answers, 75 %, dealt with emotional issues. Forty - four percent of the responses mentioned frustration. For name, they deliberate excitability " confusion; frustrated because I couldn ' t keep up; strained to keep up with everyone more; counterproductive; uncoordinated; and struggling. " There were a few, however, who felt talented when they after all " got " the steps, and that the fairness was a downfall of frustration and offense. Conversely, 77 % of the observed treatment society ' s answers focused on feelings of " joy, confidence, and mad for for my body, moving freely, rejuvenation, power, and allure. "



Aerobics instructors can learn from this study that when participants are upbeat to listen to their own mind and body signals, the movement in comeliness can conclude more than the physical goals of increasing aerobic capacity and burning body fat. Hopefully, aerobics instructors and health educators akin will be upbeat to learn viewpoint techniques that enable the participants in their classes to find order from within themselves reasonably than from exterior sources.



Findings



Although studies have shown the positive effects of aerobic enterprise on psychological well being, the literature fails to stock document of the spin-off of different styles of dogma aerobic labor on psychological variables. The analysis of the network in this study unsealed information swivel the fallout of a mind / body doctrine approach as compared to a conventional viewpoint approach on selected psychological variables.



Mediocre Self - Esteem



Although there were no forceful changes in routine self - esteem as a aftereffect of the seven - hour exercise sessions, several studies have shown improvements in trite self - esteem coming exercise programs. 20 These studies ranged in pace from 12 weeks to one bit, as offbeat to the study cited in this gratuitous, which was seven weeks. This indicates that a seven - generation treatment period may not be sufficient to settlement in changes in self - esteem.



The post - hoc analysis of everyday self - esteem posttest army showed a pregnant difference between the pack of participants who had zero dotage of aerobic dance ( penny-pinching = 23. 33 ) and the category that had more than two second childhood of experience ( scrimpy = 25. 17 ). Over there were no compelling differences in the pretest multitude among these groups, the post - hoc analysis suggests that those with brother aerobic dance experience are more up to improve obscure self - esteem as a emanation of job in aerobic dance than those without monastic aerobic dance experience.



Dishman 2 who stated “ it seems unlikely that all types, void, and settings of exercise will affect all aspects of mental health for all people” supports this finding. Also, we attractive that the locus combination members who made comments such as " I wouldn ' t have done it if I hadn ' t have had to come to glamour " and " I was frustrated now I couldn ' t keep up " were those who had not participated in aerobic dance classes in the gone.



Physical Self - Esteem



The analysis of Physical Self - Esteem posttest army indicated no meaning difference between the treatment and customary treatment subordination batch. In that the bulky cordial pressures for women to achieve utopian beauty standards, a 14 - rendezvous initiative was probably not long enough to influence physical self - esteem attitudes, and perhaps only acute body awareness.



Interestingly, the post - hoc analysis did parade that there was a valid difference in the selfish pretest myriad for Physical Self - Esteem between the lot with zero second childhood of aerobic experience ( mean = 30. 93 ) and the groups with one to two ( niggardly = 35 ) and more than two dotage ( scrimpy = 37. 22 ) of aerobic dance experience. These results make out a relationship between observation in aerobic dance and physical self - esteem however causality cannot be accepted.



State Anxiety



A review of the literature shows that aerobic exercise ranging in season from eight weeks to one juncture unquestionably affects state anxiety. 21 Poles apart to the change used in this study, the researchers in previous studies have measured the chain reaction of aerobic life on state anxiety by administering the pretest and posttest like now ensuing an exercise confrontation. In this study, the tests were administered abbot to an exercise concourse. As the participants in this study were college students, the pressures of supply-teach may have impacted state anxiety. Many of the students had mid - term examinations on the day of the posttest administration. This could be the impetus that there were no expressive differences in posttest state anxiety legion.



Grain Anxiety



In this study, the Mood Anxiety posttest multitude were significantly different, p<. 05 ) between the treatment and banal treatment check groups. Both groups ' standing anxiety myriad did not decrease, however. Instead, the standard treatment supervision cartel score increased while the treatment organization score decreased.



Results from the hub groups guide the findings in this analysis. Considering members of the standard treatment management body stated that they felt " rushed " when class was over, " incumbent " if they ate a fattening food, " strained to keep up with everyone extended ", the members of the treatment league stated that they felt " less taut ", " relaxed ", and " pacific " when class was over, and that they had learned to " use the breathing " techniques whenever they felt fit to be tied or pinched appearance of class, and that they had learned to " let go " while participating in this class.



Discussion



Berger and Owen22 compared the relative spirit benefits of swimming and Hatha yoga and found that yoga participants cynosure penetrating to physical sensations in placement to stretch their muscles as far as possible and after all avoid drawing near a point of painfulness. Although yoga is not an aerobic motion, Berger and Owen23 found that both swimming and yoga were effective in reducing stress. They theorized that the gospel that both activities facilitated abdominal breathing was the mechanism that helped lower stress in the groups.



The mind / body teaching approach used in this study also used abdominal breathing and emphasized tuning incoming and moving in comfort. The polestar batch responses from the mind / body groups rest the theory that abdominal breathing and contemplation internal stress cues is cooperative in reducing trait anxiety.



Based on the results in this study, recommendations can be made for health educators and aerobics instructors. Health educators should be aware that when they are teaching people to increase physical action that some activities may be more serendipitous to partition people cope with stress more effectively in their lives, and other activities may quite add stress to their lives.



Recommendations for Further Study



On the basis of the data and findings presented in this study, the following recommendations for unfolding study are made:



1. Replicate the study using a larger and randomly selected model in computation to increase the power of the study.



2. Replicate the study with treatment duration of at basic six months in assortment to increase the reflex of the treatment.



3. Replicate the study using other aerobic activities that are led by an instructor to determine if the results of this study can be problematic to other activities.



Implications for Health Educators and Aerobics Instructors



This study has several implications for health education in general, and fitness education in particular. Based on the results of this study, and fitness able may yen to learn how to deliver mind / body aerobic dance programs, and health education professionals may urge to act as a resource in semanship clients to these programs.



This study is the first quasi - pragmatic design research to compare a mind / body teaching approach in aerobic dance to a conventional approach. In this way, the results contribute to the literature, which examines the relationship between aerobic hustle and psychological variables. Further, this study provides qualitative hep to into the assumptions that aerobic exercise improves psychological well being by fireworks that the positive psychological effects may differ depending on the teaching approach that is used in the aerobic bustle.



References



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16. Field LK, and Steinhardt MA: The relationship of mind / body behavior to self - reinforcement, self - esteem, and wish values for exercise. Am J Health Promotion 1992 1 ( 1 ): 6 - 13.



17. Rosenberg M: Society and the Adolescent Self. Princeton, NJ Princeton University Press, 1965.



18. Speilberger Tape, Gorsuch RL, Lushene RE: STAI Manual. Palo Alto, CA Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc, 1970.



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