Abstract
To accomplish the purpose of this study, sixty college women basketball players from affiliated colleges of the University of Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, were selected as subjects. Their ages ranged from 18 to 21 years and they were randomly assigned into three groups, a yogic practices group, an aerobic exercises group and a control group. The experimental groups underwent their respective training programmed for a period of six weeks, while the control group continued only with their regular routine and did not receive any special training.
Anxiety levels of the subjects were assessed using a standardized questionnaire before and after the six-week training period. The differences between the pre-test and post-test scores were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results revealed that both experimental groups showed a significant reduction in anxiety levels when compared to the control group. Furthermore, the yogic practices group demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in anxiety than the aerobic exercises group.
It was concluded that yogic practices were more effective than aerobic exercises in reducing anxiety among college women basketball players.
Keywords: Yogic practices, aerobic exercises, anxiety, basketball players
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