The Effects of Vision and Internal and External Focus of Attention on Balance in a Yoga Pose

This research study attempted to find the effects of internal and external focus of attention (FOA), with vision and without vision, on a subject’s balance. The experiment consisted of six testing conditions with each condition consisting of three ten-second trials each, a total of eighteen trials per subject. The subject participated in each condition: control with vision and without vision (n=20), internal FOA with vision and without vision (n=20), and external FOA with vision and without vision (n=20). Subjects assumed an intermediate level yoga pose, tree pose, on a Wii Balance Board throughout the experiment, while force in kilograms from each of the board’s four sensors was collected. The level of performance was measured by the standard deviation of COPx and COPy calculated by the data recorded from the board’s four sensors, as well as the standard deviation of COP distance from the center in the x-direction and y-direction in centimeters. The subject being off centered resulted in a larger variation in the four measurements whereas a smaller variation in the four measurements was measured in subjects who had superior balance. The findings showed that there was a significant effect of vision on balance providing evidence that visual input is an important factor in postural stability. However, there was no significant effect of FOA on balance, providing no evidence for the constrained action hypothesis. Though there was no significant effect of FOA on balance, this is a relatively new area of research and additional studies are required before a conclusion may be made