Effect of Yoga Based Relaxation Technique on Clinical and Psychological Health among Jail Warder:Three Arm Control Study

Jail warders are the most important assets for any correctional agency. Research on correctional officers has found that stress has a great influence on their general health. To evaluate the effect of yoga based relaxation technique on general health among Jail Warder. One hundred and fifteen Jail Warder were recruited for the study from six Jails at different cities in Kerala. We used a three arm randomized control between subject's design. Participants were counterbalanced randomly into two different experimental conditions (Mind Sound Resonance Technique & Deep Relaxation Technique) and control condition. Participants were given questionnaire packets including demographic details, General and Health Questionnaire. Further clinical parameters such as Blood Pressure, Pulse rate and Respiration rate were measured. Outcomes were examined at two points in time: baseline and at the end of the one month. Paired sample t-tests showed a significant enhancement in general health questionnaire after MSRT (p=0.01) and DRT (p=0.01), while the control group did not show any significant change. Further result showed a significant normalization in systolic (p=0.01) and diastolic (p=0.01) pressure after MSRT. While DRT group shown only normalization at systolic pressure (p=0.01), the control group did not show any significant change. Further result showed a significant normalization in pulse rate (p=0.05) and reduction in respiratory rate (p=0.01). No changes/differences were observed after DRT and control groups on pulse rate and respiratory rate. Result has shown significant enhancement of the general health following yoga based mind sound relaxation technique.