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Relationship Between Regular Yoga Practice and Workplace Mental Resilience: A Controlled Cohort Study

Research articleOpen accessVol. 15, Issue 8, July 2026

  • Dr. Sweta KumariTGT Yoga Teacher, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sec 24, Noida, Orcid id: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7378-1613
Published
31 July 2026
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CC BY 4.0
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Abstract

— Workplace stress is a persistent driver of burnout, absenteeism and turnover, yet resilience — the capacity to adapt to occupational adversity — remains under-served by conventional wellness programmes. This study examined whether regular yoga practice is associated with greater workplace mental resilience among office-based employees. A twelve-week controlled study enrolled 214 employees allocated to a structured yoga programme or a wait-list control, with resilience, perceived stress, emotional exhaustion and heart rate variability (HRV) measured at baseline and endpoint. The yoga group gained 9.7 points on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) against 2.1 for controls (mean difference 7.6, 95% CI 5.8–9.4, p < .001), while perceived stress fell by 6.4 points versus 1.2. Practice frequency predicted resilience gain independent of group, and endpoint resilience correlated with reduced emotional exhaustion (r = −0.54) and higher HRV. Regular yoga practice appears to strengthen a measurable, physiologically grounded resilience capacity rather than merely lowering momentary stress.

Keywords: — yoga; workplace resilience; occupational stress; emotional exhaustion; heart rate variability; employee wellbeing

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How to cite

Dr. Sweta Kumari (2026). Relationship Between Regular Yoga Practice and Workplace Mental Resilience: A Controlled Cohort Study. International Journal for Research in Management & Pharmacy, 15(8).

Licence

This article is open access, published under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Copyright remains with the authors.