Associate Professor, PhD L.M. Bezhentseva
National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk

Keywords: fitness yoga, female students, physical development, physical fitness, mental/ emotional status.

Background. Pursuant to the top priority provisions of the governmental policies and to support the ongoing national projects designed to improve health standards of the nation and cultivate healthy lifestyles, an increasing attention is being given to the physical education quality improvement in the national education system [6]. It is commonly understood that there is a need for facilitating conditions for the university students’ physical and mental health protection and improvement initiatives including the physical culture and sports promotion efforts to support individual physical culture building process duly customized to the individual abilities, health conditions and motivations of the trainees [1, 4 ,5].

The existing physical education system being applied in the RF higher education system needs to be updated by the new content based on the modern educational and psychological support technologies to facilitate the students’ progress and due personality development [2, 3].

Objective of the study was to test benefits of modern fitness-yoga-based health improvement technologies in the physical education of female university students qualified for the special health groups (SHG).

Methods and structure of the study. The study was performed at National Research Tomsk State University in the academic year of 2015-16. Subject to the study were 40 female students qualified for the special health groups split up into Study Group (n=20) and Reference Group (n=20). The RG physical education process was designed as required by the valid curriculum and guidelines; and the SG physical education process was designed by the authors using fitness-yoga-based practices. A questionnaire survey was performed under the study to rate the SHG students’ motivations for the physical training and healthy lifestyles on the whole. Subject to special tests under the study were the morphological, functional and motor fitness rates of the students. Mental and emotional statuses of the students were rated using the Eysenck Personality Inventory mental tests.

Study results and discussion. The questionnaire survey under the study found most of the students qualified for the special health groups (SHG) showing serious attitudes to their own health, with 23% taking care of health on a regular basis; 39% from time to time; and 50% reported taking some care of health only when feeling unwell.

Furthermore, it is a matter of common knowledge that motor activity brings the highest benefits if it takes 6-8 hours per week. Such an activity was reported only by 16% of the respondents, whilst most of the students (84%) were found to assign only 2-4 hours per week to physical practices, including the academic physical education curricula; with 43% of the respondents reporting regular attendance of the sessions and 56% irregular attendance; and only insignificant share of the subjects reported going for unassisted physical practices. Analysis of the mental/ emotional status test rates showed the SHG students being most of all prone to personal anxiety rated by 13.3 points. Going next were the frustration rates of 12.8 points and the rigidity rates of 12.6 points. These data may be interpreted as indicative of the SHG students’ mental condition being dominated by feelings of real or imaginable obstacles on the way to their goals, with the students facing difficulties in the attempts to revise their behavioural models in the situations that require such revisions. Based on the study data and findings we have developed and implemented in the educational process the new content and practices to train the SHG students using the modern fitness-yoga-based health improvement technologies.

At the preparatory stage of each session, an emphasis was made on the due mindset for the training process, concentration on own breathing and relaxation to reach the state of internal peace. The goals were attained by Vinyasa pose sequence i.e. the dynamic sequence of asanas (dominated by Surya Namaskar or “Sun Greeting” asana) to help master and develop the right breathing skills supported by the progress facilitating movements.

The principal stage of each session was started from standing asanas to activate large muscle groups, improve the muscular tonus, reinforce the muscular corset and develop body balancing skills. The standing asanas were replaced, in the middle of the principal stage of the session, by sitting asanas. These asanas were designed to increase elasticity of the lower limb (back surface) muscles; improve flexibility of the hip, knee and ankle joints; develop the spinal column; strengthen the abdomen muscles; and release/ mitigate the overall tension. The asanas were performed at a slower and more rhythmic pace. By the end of the principal stage of the session, a set of reverse asanas was applied dominated by the pelvis-over-head asanas. It should be noted that the reverse asanas are known to be of positive effect on the cardiovascular system performance and mental status of trainees. Special attention was given to the asanas being performed without pain and breathing being smooth and calm; with these breathing qualities being developed by special breathing exercises. The exercises were rated by timekeeping (seconds, minutes) and counts of breathing cycles. On average every posture was kept for 3-7 breathing cycles i.e. for 15-35 seconds.

The final stage of each session was dominated by Shavasana (“corpse pose”) i.e. the lying relaxed posture intended to reach full relaxation, remove physical and mental fatigue and normalize the cardiovascular system activity.

It should be noted that the exercises were selected and customized with consideration for the individual contraindications and so as to avoid long breath-holding efforts and maximal speed/ strength mobilizing efforts. Top priority in the practices was given to the self-control ability development to help the SHG students use the individual sensations to control the physical training process. In the SHG students’ training process design and management, we widely applied the relevant education tools to control their anxiety/ rigidity/ frustration levels, i.e. never focused attention on the drawbacks; helped master the skills in a phased manner; switched attention; excluded leadership and negative assessments; made an emphasis on relaxation practices illustrated by slow music; and used preventive individual/ group discussions to update the students on the negative effects of tension on a human body and mind.

Table 1. Morphological and functional rates of the SG versus RG after the educational experiment,

The comparative analysis of the SG versus the RG morphological and functional test rates, as provided above in Table 1, made it possible to find significant (р<0.05) intergroup differences in the chest excursion rates, heart rates, vital capacities, breath-holding test rates and the Ruffier-Dickson indices. These findings may be interpreted as indicative of the proposed fitness-yoga-based health improvement technologies in application to the female university students being of favourable effect on their cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Table 2. Physical fitness test rates of the SG versus RG after the educational experiment,

Having analyzed the physical fitness test rates of the SG versus the RG, as provided above in Table 2, there are good reasons to consider the new practices efficient as verified by the strength endurance of the abdomen muscles and flexibility rates of the hip joints. Special attention was given to these qualities developing practices, with special sets of exercises and postures being applied to strengthen the stomach muscles and stretch the muscular-ligamentous apparatus.

Table 3. Mental/ emotional status test rates of SG versus RG after the educational experiment,

*statistically significant difference in SG versus RG data, р<0.05

The comparative analysis of the SG versus the RG mental/ emotional status rates, as provided above in Table 3, found no significant differences. However, the Table 3 data show some positive trends in the rigidity, frustration and anxiety test rates in the SG versus that in the RG. The positive trends were achieved by special educational methods and preventive discussions with the SG students.

Conclusion. The experimental health improvement technologies were found to be of positive effect on the SHG female students as verified by the positive variations in their morphological and functional test rates, physical fitness test rates and the mental/ emotional status test rates.

References

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5. Shilko V.G., Kapilevich L.V. Organizatsiya fizicheskogo vospitaniya studentov v vuzakh Sibirskogo federal'nogo okruga [Organization of physical education in universities of Siberian Federal District]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2012, no. 6, pp. 30-33.
6. Kapilevich L.V. Fiziologicheskie mekhanizmy koordinatsii dvizheniy v bezopornom polozhenii u sportsmenov [Physiological mechanisms of motor coordination in athletes in unsupported position]. Teoriya i Praktika Fizicheskoy Kultury, 2012, no. 7, p. 45-48.

Corresponding author: kapil@yandex.ru

Abstract

The study was designed to show the benefits of the fitness-yoga-based health improvement technologies in the physical education of female university students qualified for the special health groups (SHG). Experimental work under the study was performed at National Research Tomsk State University in the academic year of 2015-16. Subject to the study were 40 female students qualified for the special health groups split up into a Study Group (n=20) and a Reference Group (n=20). The RG physical education process was designed as required by the valid curriculum and guidelines; and the SG physical education process was designed by the authors using fitness-yoga-based practices. A questioning survey was performed under the study to rate the SHG students’ motivations for the physical training and healthy lifestyles on the whole. Subject to special tests under the study were the morphological, functional and motor fitness rates of the students. The experimental training method showed its benefits for the bodily conditions of the SHG students and helped optimize the morphological, functional, motor fitness and mental/ emotional fitness rates of the students.