A comparison between beginner and advanced yoga practitioners in mindfulness and stress level / Adam Harith Abdul Wahab

The purpose of this study is to compare the mindfulness and stress level between beginner and advanced yoga practitioners. Fifty-two beginner and advanced yoga practitioners (N=52) from YogaOneThatIWant Studio were given a questionnaire consist of three section which is demographic data, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen et al., 2008). Beginner practitioners identifies by I to 5 years of experience (M=2.35) and advanced practitioners were identifies from 5 years of experience and above (M=8.42). Independent Sample T-Test and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation were used in this study to analyze the data of the subjects. Results from two
independent-samples t-tests shows that beginner participants scored significantly higher in stress level but significantly lower in mindfulness compared to advanced practitioners. There is also a significant negative correlation (r=-.327, P=.018) between level of experience and stress levels. This shows that practising Yoga can increase mindfulness and lowering stress level at the same time.