A Pre-Experimental Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Pranayama to Reduce the Level of Stress among Elderly People Residing in Selected Old Age Homes in Delhi NCR

Stress is a multidimensional phenomenon which is focused on dynamic relationship between the individual and the environment. It is both physically and psychologically challenging. There are various methods recommended to control or reduce the stress. Pranayama is a systematic therapy for managing stress and achieving a deep state of relaxation. The research design adopted for the present study is pre experimental one group pre & post-test design. After obtaining Permission the final study was conducted from 1st to 31st December 2018. Convenient sampling technique was used for selecting 30 samples. Perceived stress scale was used to assess the level of stress before & after administering Pranayama. The Pranayama is given for 30 days in the morning session. The duration of giving Pranayama is 15 minutes. In Pre-test Majority 18 (60 %) of elderly people had high perceived stress, 8 (26.66 %) had moderate stress, and 4 (13.33 %) had low stress, and in Post-test: Majority 24 (80 %) of elderly people had moderate stress, 6 (20 %) had low stress and 0 (0 %) had high perceived stress. The results show that after taking Pranayama the elderly people shifted from high stress to moderate stress.