Int J Yoga Therap. 2023 Oct 1;33(2023):Article 8. doi: 10.17761/2023-D-22-00015.

Kristen Ronn Weaver-Toedtman ¹, Marissa Walch ², Lindsay Kiracofe ², Alexa Bedingfield ², Lindsay Cook ², Barbara Resnick ³, Cynthia L Renn ⁴, Susan G Dorsey ⁴

Author information

¹Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina, College of Nursing, Columbia, S.C.; and University of Maryland School of Nursing; and Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore.

²Pain and Translational Symptom Science Department, University of Maryland, School of Nursing, Baltimore.

³Organizational Systems and Adult Health Department, University of Maryland, School of Nursing; and Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore.

⁴Pain and Translational Symptom Science Department, University of Maryland, School of Nursing; and Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by chronic abdominal pain that is often comorbid with psychiatric disorders and other pain-related conditions. The practice of yoga improves symptoms among patients with IBS, although the virtual delivery of yoga in this patient population remains understudied. The purpose of this article is to report feasibility and acceptability of a 6-week pilot yoga intervention among IBS and healthy control participants, which was transitioned to an online format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants attended 3 virtual study visits and received 60-minute private yoga sessions twice weekly for 6 weeks via Zoom. Sixteen females (n = 8 in IBS group, n = 8 in control group) with a mean age of 34.7 identified as White (87.5%) and Asian (12.5%). All participants attended all 3 study visits; 14 participants attended 12 yoga sessions, 1 attended 11, and 1 attended 9. At the end of the study, 81.3% of participants strongly agreed that participating in the online study was beneficial and convenient, and 87.5% strongly agreed that participating in the online yoga program was beneficial. Our online study and yoga intervention was feasible and acceptable; future studies with larger and more diverse populations will be conducted to investigate health effects among individuals with IBS.