BACKGROUND: Most clinical investigations involving yoga lack adequate description of the specific yoga elements, including physical postures. Few studies have measured self-efficacy regarding the performance of yoga postures or assessed observed success in performing postures. METHODS: We developed and piloted several tools to evaluate self-efficacy and observed success in practicing yoga in the context of a randomized feasibility trial of an Iyengar-based yoga intervention for urinary incontinence in ambulatory women ≥50 years. At the end of the 12-week yoga intervention involving twice weekly group yoga classes and once weekly home practice, participants rated their self-efficacy in performing each of the included 15 yoga postures on a 5-point Likert scale. During the 12th week, an expert yoga consultant observed participants and rated their competency in performing postures on a 5-point scale. Participants completed a questionnaire about self-efficacy in adhering to home yoga practice. We examined the distribution of and correlations between scores on the above measures. RESULTS: Among 27 participants (mean age 65 years), the range of means for self-efficacy ratings for individual postures was 3.6 to 4.5. The range of means for observed competency ratings for individual postures was 3.3 to 5.0. Mean self-efficacy rating for confidence in adhering to the assigned once-weekly home yoga practice was 2.8 (range 1 to 5). Posture self-efficacy was inversely correlated with participant age (p = 0.01) and positively correlated with self-reported physical function (p = 0.03) and mobility (p = 0.01). No significant correlations were found between posture self-efficacy scale scores and expert-observed yoga competency ratings or practice adherence self-efficacy scores. CONCLUSIONS: These measures hold promise for advancing yoga research and practice by describing methods to: 1) measure self-efficacy in performing specific yoga postures; 2) use an expert observer to assess participants competence in performing yoga postures; and 3) measure self-efficacy in adhering to home practice. These proposed measures can be used to describe specific components of yoga interventions, to assess whether study participants are able to learn to practice physical aspects of yoga and/or maintain this practice over time, as well as to investigate relationships between self-efficacy and competency in performing yoga postures to achieve specific health outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02342678, January 21, 2015.

Objective

To develop a group-based therapeutic yoga program for women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and explore the effects of this program on pain severity, sexual function, and well-being.

Methods

A yoga therapy program for CPP was developed by a multidisciplinary panel of clinicians, researchers, and yoga consultants. Women reporting moderate to severe pelvic pain for at least six months were recruited into a single-arm trial. Participants attended twice weekly group classes focusing on Iyengar-based yoga techniques and were instructed to practice yoga at home an hour a week for six weeks. Participants self-rated the severity of their pelvic pain using daily logs. The impact of participants' pain on everyday activities, emotional well-being, and sexual function was assessed using an Impact of Pelvic Pain (IPP) questionnaire. Sexual function was further assessed using the Sexual Health Outcomes in Women Questionnaire (SHOW-Q).

Results

Among the 16 participants (age range = 31-64 years), average ratings of the severity of pain "at its worst," "at its best," and "on average" decreased by 29%, 32%, and 34%, respectively, from start to six weeks (P < 0.05 for all). Women demonstrated improvements in scores on IPP subscales for daily activities (1.8 ± 0.7 to 0.9 ± 0.7, P < 0.001), emotional well-being (1.7 ± 0.9 to 0.9 ± 0.7, P = 0.005), and sexual function (1.9 ± 1.1 to 1.0 ± 0.9, P = 0.04). Scores on the SHOW-Q "pelvic problem interference" scale also improved over six weeks (53 ± 23 to 27 ± 23, P = 0.002).

Conclusions

Findings provide preliminary evidence of the feasibility of teaching women with CPP to practice yoga to self-manage pain and improve quality of life and sexual function.