Hartnoll Susannah H, Punt T David
University of Birmingham.
Int J Yoga Therap. 2017 Nov;27(1):81-86. doi: 10.17761/1531-2054-27.1.81.
Yoga is an activity that aims to integrate physical, mental and spiritual elements and is an increasingly popular approach to enhancing physical fitness. The integration of imagery within yoga practice is considered an important component and may be critical in contributing to the benefits of yoga that have been reported. In this study, we tested whether individuals who practice yoga demonstrate superior performance on an objective measure of implicit motor imagery. Thirty-six participants (18 yoga, 18 non-yoga) matched for age, sex and handedness, undertook the hand laterality recognition task; an objective measure of implicit motor imagery performance. Accuracy and response times were gathered and analysed to determine any group differences as well as any differences relating to the typical hallmarks of imagery (i.e. dominance and awkwardness effects) on the task. Response Times (RTs) in the yoga group were significantly faster than controls (p < 0.05) and there was also a trend towards greater accuracy for the Yoga group (p = 0.073). Dominance effects (faster responses to images corresponding with the dominant limb) and Awkwardness effects (faster responses to images corresponding with natural compared with awkward postures) were evident across groups, supporting the participants' use of motor imagery in undertaking the task. Additionally, a Group × Awkwardness interaction (p < 0.05) revealed that the enhanced imagery performance for the yoga group was most pronounced for awkward postures. This is the first study to show that yoga practice is associated with superior motor imagery performance; an association that may be important in explaining the established rehabilitative value of yoga for chronic pain.
瑜伽是一项旨在融合身体、心理和精神元素的活动，并且是一种越来越流行的增强体质的方法。在瑜伽练习中融入意象被认为是一个重要组成部分，并且可能对于产生已报道的瑜伽益处至关重要。在本研究中，我们测试了练习瑜伽的个体在客观测量的内隐运动意象方面是否表现更优。36名年龄、性别和利手相匹配的参与者（18名瑜伽练习者，18名非瑜伽练习者）进行了手偏侧性识别任务，这是对内隐运动意象表现的一种客观测量。收集并分析了准确率和反应时间，以确定任何组间差异以及与该任务中意象的典型特征（即优势效应和笨拙效应）相关的任何差异。瑜伽组的反应时间显著快于对照组（p < 0.05），并且瑜伽组在准确率上也有更高的趋势（p = 0.073）。优势效应（对与优势肢体相对应的图像反应更快）和笨拙效应（对与自然姿势相比笨拙姿势相对应的图像反应更快）在各组中均很明显，这支持了参与者在执行任务时使用了运动意象。此外，一个组×笨拙效应的交互作用（p < 0.05）表明，瑜伽组增强的意象表现对于笨拙姿势最为显著。这是第一项表明瑜伽练习与更优的运动意象表现相关的研究；这种关联可能对于解释瑜伽对慢性疼痛既定的康复价值很重要。
