YOGA, MEDITATION, AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICE: ENHANCING CREATIVITY, PRESENCE, AND WELL-BEING

Surendra Pal Singh; Lohans Kumar Kalyani; Manju Singh; Anuj Kumar Verma; Pradeep Kumar Yadav; Bindu Rani

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i3s.2026.7319

Authors

Dr. Surendra Pal Singh Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, D.S. College, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Dr. Lohans Kumar Kalyani Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education (B.Ed.), Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Degree College, Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, India
Dr. Manju Singh Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, D.S. College, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Anuj Kumar Verma Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, D.B.S. College, Govindnagar, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Pradeep Kumar Yadav Research Scholar, Department of Education, Ishwar Saran Degree College, University of Allahabad, India
Bindu Rani Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, D.B.S. College, Govindnagar, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i3s.2026.7319

Keywords:

Yoga, Meditation, Performing Arts, Mindfulness, Creativity, Stage Presence, Performer Well-Being, Mind–Body Integration

Abstract [English]

There has been increasing research on the application of yoga and meditation to the composition of performing arts as one of the comprehensive approaches to creativity, stage performance, and well-being of the performers. Exposing the works of art to intense physical exercises, emotional outbursts, and excessive psychological stress, tend to affect the performance, as well as their health in long-term. This paper discusses yoga and meditation as mind-body practices, which assist an artist to develop and perform sustainably. The study will be based on interdisciplinary literature in the performing arts, psychology and mindfulness studies to give the contribution of meditative practices to increased physical awareness, cognitive concentration, emotional control and creative engagement. The paper proceeds to discuss the history and philosophy of yoga and meditation and how it can be applied to training in art. It also reiterates the significance of such practices as asana (poses), pranayama (breath control) and meditation to enhance alignment in the body, breathing performance and clarity of mind in the performers. These practices are particularly applicable in arts such as dance, music, theatre where the performers are required to rely on the capability to make movements of their body in coordination, expressive interpretation and focus. The mindfulness-based interventions also help reduce performance anxiety, and emotional resilience, such that the performers will be calm and in the here and now when preparing their performance and to perform on stage. Besides this, the paper also constructs a Mindfulness-Based Performance Framework which integrates yoga, breath control, meditation and creative performance practices into a model training. The framework is concerned with interdependent relationship between the physical training, mind concentration and art. These factors may be incorporated into the education of performing arts and rehearsal techniques in order to allow the artists to gain a deeper understanding of themselves, greater creativity process and confidence in the stage. The findings suggest that yoga and meditation are valuable assets of promoting the overall development of art and promoting the well-being of the involved performer.

References

Braun, V., and Clark, V. (2021). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. SAGE Publications.

Dinkar, S., Jayapriya, K., Pallerla, N., Jadhav, K. D., and Shet, A. R. (2025). Convolutional Neural Networks for The Intelligent and Automated Detection of Mango Leaf Disease to Enhance Crop Health Management. Agricultural Science Digest, 45(6), 1004. https://doi.org/10.18805/ag.DF-717 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18805/ag.DF-717

Elstad, T., Ulleberg, P., Klonteig, S., Hisdal, J., Dyrdal, G. M., and Bjorndal, A. (2020). The Effects of Yoga on Student Mental Health: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 8(1), 573–586. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2020.1843466 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2020.1843466

Forseth, B., Polfuss, M., Brondino, M., Hunter, S. D., Lawlor, M. W., Beatka, M. J., Prom, M. J., Eells, J., and Lyons, J. A. (2022). Adherence to and Changes in Mental and Physiological Health During an 8-Week Yoga Intervention: A Pilot Study. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 30, 203–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2022.01.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2022.01.004

Gunnell, K. E., Mosewich, A. D., McEwan, C. E., Eklund, R. C., and Crocker, P. R. E. (2017). Don’t be so Hard on Yourself! Changes in Self-Compassion During the First Year of University are Associated with Changes in Well-Being. Personality and Individual Differences, 107, 43–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.032 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.032

Herbert, C. (2022). Enhancing Mental Health, Well-Being and Active Lifestyles of University Students by Means of Physical Activity and Exercise Research Programs. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 849093. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.849093 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.849093

Karule, K. P., Sapkal, V., Mirajkar, G., Babajanov, M., Tajne, P., Ahire, L. K., and Qushnazarova, U. (2025). Leveraging Transfer Learning Techniques for Automated Tuberculosis Classification on Chest X-ray. Indian Journal of Tuberculosis, 72, S512–S530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijtb.2025.11.015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijtb.2025.11.015

Kinsella, E. A., Smith, K., Bhanji, S., Shepley, R., Modor, A., and Bertrim, A. (2020). Mindfulness in Allied Health and Social Care Professional Education: A Scoping Review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 42(2), 283–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2018.1496150 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2018.1496150

Kishida, M., Molenaar, P. C. M., and Elavsky, S. (2019). The Impact of Trait Mindfulness on Relational Outcomes in Novice Yoga Practitioners Participating in An Academic Yoga Course. Journal of American College Health, 67(4), 250–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2018.1469505 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2018.1469505

Lee, J. P., Kim, K. H., Webster, C. S., and Henning, M. A. (2021). The Evolution of Mindfulness from 1916 to 2019. Mindfulness, 12(8), 1849–1859. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01603-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01603-x

Pascal, F., and Marken, M. F. (2022). Developments in Qualitative Mindfulness Practice Research: A Pilot Scoping Review. Mindfulness, 13(1), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01748-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01748-9

Patil, R. V., et al. (2025). Decentralized Autonomous Organizations as Emerging Economic Entities in Accounting and Governance Frameworks. International Journal of Accounting and Economics Studies, 12(4), 166–177. https://doi.org/10.14419/1sy2j677 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14419/1sy2j677

Peters, M. D. J., Godfrey, C., McInerney, P., Munn, Z., Tricco, A. C., and Khalil, H. (2020). Scoping Reviews (2020 Version). In E. Aromataris and Z. Munn (Eds.), JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Joanna Briggs Institute.

Rashedi, R. N., and Schonert-Reichl, K. (2019). Yoga and Willful Embodiment: A New Direction for Improving Education. Educational Psychology Review, 31(3), 725–734. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09481-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09481-5

Rawandale, U. S., Ganorkar, S. R., and Kolte, M. T. (2023). VHDL-Based Design of an Efficient Hearing Aid Filter Using An Intelligent Variable-Bandwidth Filter. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2023.0140122 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2023.0140122

Richard, D. K. S. (2025). Service Quality Dimensions Relationships with Satisfaction Among Domestic and Foreign Tourists in Pondicherry. International Journal of Research in Development and Management Review, 14(2), 20–26. https://doi.org/10.65521/ijrdmr.v14i2.924 DOI: https://doi.org/10.65521/ijrdmr.v14i2.924

Simmer-Brown, J. (2018). Contemplative Teaching and Learning: Opportunities for Asian Studies. In Proceedings of the ASIANetwork Conference, Philadelphia, PA, USA, April 6–8, 2018. https://doi.org/10.16995/ane.291 DOI: https://doi.org/10.16995/ane.291

Tong, J., Qi, X., He, Z., Chen, S., Pedersen, S. J., Cooley, P. D., Spencer-Rodgers, J., He, S., and Zhu, X. (2020). The Immediate and Durable Effects of Yoga and Physical Fitness Exercises on Stress. Journal of American College Health, 69(6), 675–683. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1705840 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1705840

Vasanthan, R., and Nandhini, R. (2022). Integrating the Sub-Skills of LSRW for ESL Learners. In Contemporary ELT Strategies in Engineering Pedagogy: Theory and Practice (95–116). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003268529-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003268529-9

Venkata, S. B., Wong, C. H., Karwande, V. S., Divyaraj, G., Singh, S., and Patil, R. V. (2025). Metaheuristic-Tuned GraMNet Architecture for Enhanced Video-Based Anomaly Detection Using UCF50 Dataset. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Innovations in Intelligent Systems: Advancements in Computing, Communication, and Cybersecurity (ISAC3 2025). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISAC364032.2025.11156508 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ISAC364032.2025.11156508

Wolfe, U., and Moran, A. (2017). Integrating Brain Science Into Health Studies: An Interdisciplinary course in Contemplative Neuroscience and Yoga. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 16(2), A77–A82.