Psychologists’ Perception of the Influence of a Regular Yoga Regimen on their Professional Lives

Gabriela Hirsch
Robert Brager, Psy.D, Chair
Dissertation Abstract


This study explored the perceptions and experiences of a regular yoga regimen on psychologists’ personal and professional lives, in order to understand the benefits of yoga as a self care strategy. Method: This study utilized qualitative methodology with a semi-structured interview. Twelve psychologists who had a regular yoga regimen of at least 30 minutes per week, and who had been licensed for at least one year, participated in this study. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the Constant Comparative Method described by Maykut & Morehouse (1994). The Maslach Burnout Inventory –Human Service Survey (Maslach et al., 1996), a self-report measure was utilized to measure participants’ burnout. Findings: The MBI-HSS scores of the psychologists who participated in this study reflected the following: high degree of personal accomplishment, low depersonalization, and low emotional exhaustion. Participants regarded self care as a unique need for psychologists, specifying physical and mental health and self-awareness as important aspects of their personal and professional lives. Regarding coping strategies, psychologists stated that talking to colleagues and/or friends, striving for balance between personal and professional responsibilities, and having a regular yoga regimen were helpful in their coping with stress. A regular yoga regimen provided psychologists with personal and professional benefits. These benefits included: an improvement in their self-awareness, a constructive relationship to themselves, positive utilization of breath, and an enhancement of their “sense of connectedness” between body, mind, and spirit. Furthermore, psychologists asserted that their regular yoga regimen was helpful in regards to their being empathic, compassionate, and “present” with their clients. Also, greater humility was discussed as a result of the participants’ regular yoga regimen, which contributed to a more accepting and non-judgmental stance towards themselves and others. Some additional benefits discussed by the participants were linked to self-reported resilience such as insight, willingness, flexibility, motivation, and spirituality.