Healthy University Bern Through Yoga - A Worksite Wellness Intervention

This study aims to research the effect of a 8-week long worksite yoga intervention on the perceived health of the University of Bern employees. Furthermore, in light of the current transition to online options, this study will compare the effects of yoga classes attended in person to those attended online.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Yoga attended in person; Behavioral: Yoga attended online

Detailed Description

After giving informed consent, the participants of the study will be randomly assigned to the intervention or waiting list control group. The intervention group will take part in a 8-week long yoga program before the christmas break, while the waiting list control group will receive the same intervention at the beginning of the new year. For both time periods the participants will be randomly assigned to the in person or the online group.

There will be four measurement times when all the participants will be asked to fill out an online questionnaire before and after both implementations of the intervention. The questionnaires include demographic data, perceived health (SF-8), perceived stress (PSS), well-being (BIT), physical activity questionaire (Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire) as well as a questionnaire concerning the satisfaction of the intervention after the participants have actively taken part in the yoga intervention.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 35
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • Bern, Switzerland, 3012
    • Institute of Sport and Sportscience, University of Bern

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Employee of the University of Bern
• Understanding German
• Ability to participate in 8 yoga classes

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention in person; The participants in this group will receive 8 weeks of yoga classes, that they attend in person.	Behavioral: Yoga attended in person; One or two weekly yoga classes taught and attended in person with a duration of 60 minutes each. The participants can chose if they want to attend one or both classes. The classes will start with a 10 minute Warm Up and a short Meditation, 10 minutes Sun Salutations, 15 minutes standing Asanas, 15 minutes sitting and lying Asanas and 10 minutes Shavasanah and Meditation.
Experimental: Intervention online; The participants in this group will receive 8 weeks of yoga classes, that they attend online via zoom.	Behavioral: Yoga attended online; One or two weekly yoga classes taught and attended online with a duration of 60 minutes each. The participants can chose if they want to attend one or both classes. The classes will start with a 10 minute Warm Up and a short Meditation, 10 minutes Sun Salutations, 15 minutes standing Asanas, 15 minutes sitting and lying Asanas and 10 minutes Shavasanah and Meditation.
Other: Waiting list control in person; The waiting list control in person group will participate in person in the same yoga classes as the intervention in person group but only after the first group has finished the intervention	Behavioral: Yoga attended in person; One or two weekly yoga classes taught and attended in person with a duration of 60 minutes each. The participants can chose if they want to attend one or both classes. The classes will start with a 10 minute Warm Up and a short Meditation, 10 minutes Sun Salutations, 15 minutes standing Asanas, 15 minutes sitting and lying Asanas and 10 minutes Shavasanah and Meditation.
Other: waiting list control online; The waiting list control online group will participate online in the same yoga classes as the intervention online group but only after the first group has finished the intervention	Behavioral: Yoga attended online; One or two weekly yoga classes taught and attended online with a duration of 60 minutes each. The participants can chose if they want to attend one or both classes. The classes will start with a 10 minute Warm Up and a short Meditation, 10 minutes Sun Salutations, 15 minutes standing Asanas, 15 minutes sitting and lying Asanas and 10 minutes Shavasanah and Meditation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in perceived health	Perceived health measured with the SF-8 before the intervention and at the end of the intervention. Questionnaire used: Short Form Health Survey, 8 Items, scores range between 0 and 100, higher score means better perceived health (= good)	8 weeks
Change in perceived stress	Perceived stress measured with the PSS before the intervention and at the end of the intervention. Questionnaire used: PSS-10, 10 items, scores range between 10 and 50, higher scores mean higher levels of stress (= bad)	8 weeks
Change in well-being	Well-being measured with the BIT before the intervention and at the end of the intervention. Questionnaire used: Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT), 10 items, scores range between 10 and 50, higher scores mean a higher level of well-being (= good)	8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stability of change in perceived health	Perceived health measured with the SF-8 before the intervention and at the end of the intervention and at the follow up. Questionnaire used: Short Form Health Survey, 8 Items, scores range between 0 and 100, higher score means better perceived health (= good)	12 weeks
Stability of change in perceived stress	Perceived stress measured with the PSS before the intervention and at the end of the intervention and at the follow up. Questionnaire used: PSS-10, 10 items, scores range between 10 and 50, higher scores mean higher levels of stress (= bad)	12 weeks
Stability of change in well-being	Well-being measured with the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT) before the intervention and at the end of the intervention and at the follow up. Questionnaire used: Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT), 10 items, scores range between 10 and 50, higher scores mean a higher level of well-being (= good)	12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Bern
• Investigators: Study Director: Claudio Nigg, Prof. Dr., Institute for Sport and Sportscience, University of Bern

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 3, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): March 12, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 14, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 19, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): November 1, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 5, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 4, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Yoga; Stress; Intervention; Well-being; Online; Wellness; Employee; Worksite; 8 week; Perceived health; In Person
• Other Study ID Numbers: Healthy UB through Yoga

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No