A brief mindfulness and yoga intervention with an entire NCAA Division I athletic team: An initial investigation.

Abstract

Whereas traditional sports psychology interventions emphasize controlling or reducing distress, mindfulness-based interventions teach tolerance and acceptance of negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions. In the present pilot study, an entire men’s Division I athletic team (n 13) provided voluntary consent and participated in a brief mindfulness-based intervention. Over 5 weeks, the team attended eight 90-min group intervention sessions immediately followed by 1-hr Hatha yoga sessions. Completer analyses showed that following the intervention, participants reported greater mindfulness, greater goal-directed energy, and less perceived stress than before the intervention. Compared with a nonrandomized control group (student athletes from various club sports; n 13), intervention participants reported greater goal-directed energy and mindfulness. We also explored written feedback from players to identify ways to improve the intervention. Implications for practitioners for improving mindfulnessbased interventions are discussed.