AnxietyNCT07816861
Y Yoga Works: Effects of Acute Yoga on Anxiety, Affect, & Cognition
A study testing Integrated Yoga, Yoga Postures and Breathwork/Meditation in people with Anxiety and Cognition, run by University of Illinois at Chicago at 2 sites in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this research is to determine what components of an integrated yoga practice that influence anxiety, cognition, and affect among highly anxious college females. Participants will go through four sessions and will experience all parts of a yoga practice. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 17 years and older, women only
- What is being tested?
- Integrated Yoga, Yoga Postures and Breathwork/Meditation
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 60 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesUnited States
- Study dates
- 15 May 2025to 25 Mar 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 17 years and older
- Women only
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- college student
- study over 14 hours
- highly anxious
- must identify as a female
Who cannot join
- is not a college student
- does not study 14 hours or more
- is not highly anxious
- identifies as a male
- is under the age of 17
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States2 sites
UIC Disability, Health, and Social Policy Building
Chicago, Illinois, 60608
UIC Physical Education Building
Chicago, Illinois, 60612
About this study
Official title: "Y Yoga Works" An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Acute Yoga on Anxiety, Affect, & Cognition
The goal of this research is to determine what components of an integrated yoga practice that influence anxiety, cognition, and affect among highly anxious college females. Participants will go through four sessions and will experience all parts of a yoga practice.
Read the detailed description
The goal of this research is to determine what components of an integrated yoga practice that influence anxiety, cognition, and affect. Anxiety disorders are the most common class of mental disorders, affecting about 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. (Kessler et al., 2005). Additionally, females are significantly more likely than males to develop an anxiety disorder throughout the lifespan (Bruce et al., 2005). Yoga in general has been shown to have a substantial number of benefits on mental health and cognition. However, there is little to no research on what parts of yoga are working to achieve positive effects. A total of 60 highly anxious female college students will experience all the following conditions: integrated yoga (a combination of postures, breathwork, and meditation), yoga postures only, breathwork/meditation only, watching a yoga documentary. Before and after each session, we will assess the effects of all conditions on anxiety, cognition, and affect.
- Being tested
- Integrated Yoga, Yoga Postures, Breathwork/Meditation, Documentary
- Medical subject headings
- Anxiety Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Integrated YogaBehavioural
Participants will complete breathwork, meditation, and yoga postures.
Yoga PosturesBehavioural
Participants will complete yoga postures.
Breathwork/MeditationBehavioural
Participants will complete breathwork and meditation.
DocumentaryBehavioural
Participants will watch a yoga documentary.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated Yoga | Experimental | Participants will do a session of integrated yoga. Receives: Behavioral: Integrated Yoga |
| Yoga Postures | Experimental | Participants will do a session of only yoga postures. Receives: Behavioral: Yoga Postures |
| Breathwork/Meditation | Experimental | Participants will do a session of guided breathwork and meditation Receives: Behavioral: Breathwork/Meditation |
| Documentary | Experimental | Participants will watch a documentary. Receives: Behavioral: Documentary |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Anxiety
State Anxiety will be measured by the state portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Index.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each of four study sessions, completed over either 2 or 4 weeks.
Secondary outcomes (3)
Cognition - Inhibition
Inhibition will be measured by the Flanker Task.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each of four study sessions, completed over either 2 or 4 weeks.
Affect
Affect will be measured by the Activation Deactivation Adjective Checklist.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each of four study sessions, completed over either 2 or 4 weeks.
Cognition - Working Memory
Working memory will be measured by the Digit Symbol Substitution Test.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each of four study sessions, completed over either 2 or 4 weeks.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 Sep 2026
- Study start15 May 2025
- Primary completion15 Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion25 Mar 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for AnxietyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Eduardo E Bustmante, PhD, Study chair, University of Illinois at Chicago
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07816861
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- STUDY2024-1427
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 11 Sep 2025
- Last updated
- 14 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No