Effect of Trataka and Combination of Trataka and Vipassana on Anxiety of College Students

Abstract

The purpose of the present study the 30 male students were selected randomly as subjects from the B.P.Ed. class of Government College of Physical Education, Bhubaneswar, Odisha within the age group of 21 to 30 years of age. Anxiety was selected as the dependent variable for the study. Total subjects were divided into three groups (two experimental groups and one control group) equally having 10 numbers of subject in each group. A randomized group design was applied for the study. It is inferred that, though significant decrease in anxiety was recorded between pre and post test scores in both experimental groups, no difference was obtained among the three post test scores as there was initial numerical differences in pretest scores. This might have happened due to less number of subjects in the sample. Keeping in view of the present experimentation and analysis of results it can be concluded that, though a trend of effect was realised in the present study on the effect of experiment A and B group, a more robust inference or conclusion can be made with more number of subjects and differential duration and combination of experimental factors.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

College students are subjects to a massive input of stresses which require successful and ever-changing coping strategies. These stresses include inside and outside pressures by the world to  succeed, financial worries, concerns about uncertain futures, social problems and opportunities since college is often the meeting place for future mates, and homework and tests in multiple and complex subjects requiring preparation and focus with often conflicting priorities. Unsuccessful coping often results in anxiety, heavy drinking, depression and a host of other mental health problems (Mery V. Landow -2006).

Anxiety is a dominant psychological variable. Growth initiate the passage for anxiety as both physical and physiological aspects along with psychological status makes a leap in every stages of life till reaching adulthood. There are many activities which indicate that anxiety resembles with acquiring a better skill, performing in competitions.  There are many of activities which cannot be specified about their presence in the human being and is depicted on one’s behaviour. These are mannerisms, sporting gestures and many more. This learning continues throughout life.

Trataka is a method of meditation which involves alternately gazing at an object or point without blinking eye’s, then closing the eyes and visualizing the object in the mind’s eye. Vipassana, is one of an India’s oldest technique of meditation, enabling an individual to be aware of the things as they are. Vipassana is a process helping in self-change by self-observation, the object is to eventually reach a state of inner and outer calmness and balance of mind. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the “Effect of Trataka and Combination of Trataka and Vipassana on Anxiety of College Students”.

For the purpose of the present study the 30 male students were selected randomly as subjects from the B.P.Ed. class of Government College of Physical Education, Bhubaneswar, Odisha within the age group of 21 to 30 years of age. Anxiety was selected as the dependent variable for the study. Total subjects were divided into three groups (two experimental groups and one control group) equally having 10 numbers of subject in each group. A randomized group design was applied for the study.

1. Group-A: Experimental Group A (N= 10) Received Trataka & Vipassana Practice for 6 weeks.
2. Group-B: Experimental Group B (N= 10) Received Trataka Practice for 6 weeks. 
3. Group-C: Control Group (N=10) did not receive any treatment, served as a Control.
4. Independent variables:  Jyoti trataka & ii. Vipassana                                                                          
5. Criterion measures: The anxiety of the subjects were measured through a questionnaire developed by (Sarkar & Das 2000).

In the present study the instruments used were: a.Candle, b.Candle stand and c.Yoga mat. The data was collected in two phases before and after administration of the eight (8) weeks experimental programme. Subjects performed the practice of trataka & vipassana as per following details under the guidance of instructor.

a. The trataka practice scheduled was prepared and applied with consulting of supervisor and Yoga experts. b. The trataka and vipasana practice was employed thrice a week for the duration of eight weeks to the experimental group. c. The practice was started every alternative day after the sunset.

Table 1. Mean±SE of anxiety for all the groups

* Significant (p<0.05), ‘t’ 0.05 (9) = 2.262

Table 2. Analysis of variance in anxiety across groups

N = 30, B = Between group variance, W = Within group variance

II. FINDINGS

The pretest means of anxiety under experimental group A and B were 9.00±0.45 and 7.80±1.03, respectively. Respective posttest estimates were 5.10±0.57 and 5.50±0.72, respectively. The two experimental groups yielded ‘t’ ratio of 6.882 and 3.737, respectively in comparing pretest and posttest estimates and registered significant (p<0.05) decline over initial estimates, whereas, control group could not achieve significant decrease on anxiety of subjects with estimated ‘t’ value of 1.922 comparing the pre and posttest means. The‘t’ value needed for significance at p<0.05 with 9 degree of freedom was 2.262. The experimental groups under study registered significant decrease in anxiety after 6 weeks experimentation.

ANOVA for anxiety revealed that non-significant ‘F’ ratio of 0.310 was obtained in comparison of average pretest scores of three groups. This justifies the randomization of subjects in three groups. Corresponding estimate for scores after experiment period was 0.465, showing its non-significance too. However, numerically higher estimate of anxiety was recorded in control group than both the experimental groups. Critical ‘F’ ratio for significance at p<0.05 (df 2, 27) was 3.35.

Conclusion

Thus, it is inferred that, though significant decrease in anxiety was recorded between pre and post test scores in both experimental groups, no difference was obtained among the three post test scores as there was initial numerical differences in pretest scores. This might have happened due to less number of subjects in the sample. Keeping in view of the present experimentation and analysis of results it can be concluded that, though a trend of effect was realised in the present study on the effect of experiment A and B group, a more robust inference or conclusion can be made with more number of subjects and differential duration and combination of experimental factors.

Copyright

Copyright © 2024 Ms. Sangeeta Rani Toppo, Ms. Patrapuspa Mohanty, Ms. Chitrangada Patnaik, Prof. (Dr.) Sakti Ranjan Mishra. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.