Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the perception and views of yoga trainers (YT) on yoga in a purposeful sample in Turkey.
Materials and Methods: Nineteen YT agreed and gave verbal consent to participate. Participants were purposefully selected (purposive sample) from the community of YT. The survey included ten questions (five closed-ended and five open-ended) and was divided into two parts. The study was piloted with five YT, and the results of the pilot questionnaire were not included in the final dataset. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics.
Results: The mean age was 38.7 (SD:14.41; range: 22-73); 15 (88%) were female; ten (55%) were single, seven (39%) were married, and one (6%) divorced/widowed. Seven (44%) were employed in the public sector, and nine (56%) in the private sector. The participants practiced yoga for four years (range: 1-10). They defined themselves as a novice (5; 29%) and intermediate level (71; 29%) practitioners. The reason for participating in yoga was as follows: to get happy (12; 63%), to get healthy (6; 32%), and to stay healthy (16; 79%). The belief concerning the reason for participating in yoga was to invest for later life (2; 17%), to strengthen their muscles (2; 17%), and to enhance their concentration (2; 17%). The perceived benefits of yoga to health were mental health (2; 13%), good posture (6; 40%), and good respiration (6; 40%).
Conclusion: Findings of our study revealed that YT was, similar to the literature, mostly at the middle-age, female, single, private sector employed, and graduate from universities. YT mainly practiced yoga to stay healthy, get happy, and to get fit.

Key words: Yoga, Athletes, Health, Training