Abstract:Study Aim: The study aims to investigate the effects of a 12-week yogic practice program on gross motor abilities, specifically focusing on muscular strength, muscular power, and flexibility among university-level female students.
Materials and Methods: A total of 120 female students from the Department of Physical Education at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, were purposively selected and divided into two groups: an experimental group (N1=60) that participated in the yogic practice program and a control group (N2=60) that did not. The participants' age ranged from 21 to 26 years (Mean ± SD: age = 23.98 ± 1.13 years). Measurements for muscular strength, muscular power, and flexibility were taken before and after the 12-week intervention.
Statistical techniques: The normality of data was checked by using the Shapiro-Wilk test of normality. The Paired-Samples t-test was included in the present study. The statistical techniques were used to analyze the data on Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26.0. The level of significance was set at 0.05.
Results: The experimental group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in muscular strength (t-value = 5.2048, P<0.05), muscular power (t-value = 2.9385, P<0.05), and flexibility (t-value = 9.0311, P<0.05) compared to the control group. The control group showed minimal or no significant changes in these variables.
Conclusions: The 12-week yogic practice program significantly enhanced gross motor abilities, including muscular strength, muscular power, and flexibility, in university-level female students. These findings suggest that incorporating regular yogic practices can be beneficial in improving key physical performance metrics.