Comparison of the Effects of Yin Yoga and Iyengar Yoga Interventions on Depression, Anxiety, and Fatigue in Sedentary Women: Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the potential effects of Yin Yoga and Iyengar Yoga on psychological and physiological conditions such as depression, anxiety and fatigue in young adult females with a sedentary lifestyle. Material and Methods: The study was carried out with a randomized controlled design and was conducted between January 2024-June 2024 in sedentary young adult females with an average age of 23.08±6.05 years studying at the faculty of health sciences of a foundation university in İstanbul. Participants were randomly divided into 3 groups: the 1st group practised Yin Yoga (n=13), the 2nd group practised Iyengar Yoga (n=13) and the 3rd group served as a control group (n=13). The yoga interventions were carried out twice a week for 6 weeks. Participants depression levels were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), anxiety levels with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and fatigue levels with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) before and after the interventions. Results: After 6 weeks of yoga intervention, withingroup comparisons showed a significant reduction in BDI, BAI, FSS scores in the Yin Yoga and Iyengar Yoga groups (p<0.05), while there were no improvements in the control group. Between-group comparisons also showed significant differences between all 3 groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study shows that Yin Yoga and Iyengar Yoga can have supportive effects on psychological status and fatigue in sedentary young adult females. Yoga interventions can play an important role in improving psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, and fatigue.