Yoga Interventions Used Within Occupational Therapy Practice: A Scoping Review

Speakers:

• Tania Shearon DHSc, OTR/L, C-IAYT
• Heidi Carpenter, OTD, OTR/L, MLS
• Julia Graham, OTD, MFA, OTR/L, BCPR

Learner Outcomes:

1. Describe the research questions guiding our scoping review
2. Explain the process for conducting a scoping review including protocol development and registration, search strategy, and use of the Covidence platform for initial text screening through data extraction of included manuscripts.
3. Outline our study results and implications for OT practice
4. Demonstrate how OTPs can apply yoga interventions into OT practice across the lifespan

Abstract:

The purpose of this scoping review was to explore how OTPs are using yoga as an intervention in professional practice. Specifically, the review aimed to describe how yoga is being used by OTPs as an OT intervention, identify potential applications of yoga interventions to occupational therapy practice, and illuminate gaps in knowledge that future research can address. Our scoping review was guided by the research questions: (a) what is the current evidence of occupational therapy practitioners implementing, designing, and prescribing yoga-based interventions to support client outcomes across practice settings; and (b) what outcome measures are reported in these studies?

In our results, we were able to illustrate the baseline population characteristics, settings, and intervention characteristics of the included studies. We were also able to organize the outcome measures used in the included studies in alignment with the OTPF-4 domains: (a) client factors; (b) performance skills; and (c) performance patterns. We designed an outcome measure table meant to provide a map for evidencebased client assessment and treatment planning. The array of outcome measures, arranged in this way,
provide OTPs with the tool necessary to incorporate yoga as a trackable and evidence-based occupational therapy intervention.

This presentation will include an experiential component connecting scholarship to practice. The authors have compiled a series of yoga interventions from the included studies that are the most applicable to the everyday practitioner. We will lead participants in a series of yoga practices that include breathwork, physical postures, and meditation. The yoga demonstrated is designed to provide attending OTPs with tools for utilizing yoga as an adaptive and client-centered intervention across the lifespan.

 

 

Biography of Speaker(s):

Tania Shearon, DHSc, OTR/L, C-IAYT.
Dr. Shearon is an OT, yoga therapist, and full-time faculty member at A.T. Still University. She began her yoga journey more than 20 years ago and is certified through the International Association of yoga Therapists. Her clinical background is in adult physical rehab and hand therapy where she utilized yoga as an OT intervention in practice.

Heidi Carpenter, OTD, OTR/L, MLS
Dr. Heidi Carpenter is an OT, educator, and researcher who has been practicing yoga for more than 20 years. She serves as an Associate Professor and Doctoral Capstone Coordinator at Huntington University Arizona. Her scholarly interests include the evidence-informed integration of yoga into occupational therapy practice.

Julia Graham, OTD, MFA, OTR/L, BCPR
Dr. Graham is an Assistant Professor and Director of Student Affairs for Hawai’i Pacific University’s developing OTD Las Vegas program. Her clinical background is working with adults in the acute care setting. Research interests include exploring the incorporation of dance and yoga into occupational therapy practice and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

 

References to Support Evidence-Based Practice:

Agarwal, R. P., & Maroko-Afek, A. (2018). Yoga into cancer care: A review of the evidence-based research. International Journal of Yoga, 11(1), 3-29. http://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_42_17

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001

Andrews, A. P., Atler, K. E., Portz, J. D., VanPuymbroeck, M., Rose, C. M., & Schmid, A. A. (2020). Occupational therapists’ use of yoga in post-stroke care: A descriptive qualitative study. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 84(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022620910371

Ban, M., Yue, X., Dou, P., & Zhang, P. (2021). The effects of yoga on patients with Parkinson’s disease: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Behavioral Neurology, 2021, Article 5582488. http://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5582488

Chugh-Gupta, N., Baldassarre, F. G., & Vrkljan, B. H. (2013). A systematic review of yoga for state anxiety: Considerations for occupational therapy. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 80(3), 150-170. https://doi.org;10.1177/0008417413500930

Domingues, R. B. (2018). Modern postural yoga as a mental health promoting tool: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 31(2018), 248-255. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.03.002

Graham, J., & Plummer, T. (2018). Perceptions of occupational therapists and yoga practitioners of the effects of yoga on health and wellness. Annals of International Occupational Therapy, 1(3), 127-138. https://doi.org/10.3928/24761222-20180620-01

Green, E., Huynh, A., Broussard, L., Zunker, B., Matthews, J., Hilton, C. L., & Aranha, K. (2019). Systematic review of yoga and balance: Effect on adults with neuromuscular impairment. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.028944

Lack, S., Brown, R., & Kinser, P. A. (2020). An integrative review of yoga and mindfulness-based approaches for children and adolescents with asthma. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 52, 76-81. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2020.03.006

Schmid, A. A., VanPuymbroeck, M., Portz, J. D., Atler, K. E., & Fruhauf, C. A. (2016). "Merging Yoga and Occupational Therapy (MY-OT): A feasibility and pilot study". Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 28, 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2016.08.003

Sovik, R., Bhavanani, A. B., & Newcombe, S. (2025). History, philosophy, and practice of yoga. In S. B. S. Khalsa, L. Cohen, S. Telles, H. Cramer, & T. McCall (Eds.), The principles and practice of yoga in health care (pp. 49-64). Handspring.

Stephens, J. A., VanPuymbroeck, M., Sample, P. L., & Schmid, A. A. (2020). Yoga improves balance, mobility, and perceived occupational performance in adults with chronic brain injury: A preliminary investigation. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2020.101172

Wieland, L. S., Skoetz, N., Pilkington, K., Harbin, S., Vempati, R., & Berman, B. M. (2022). Yoga for chronic non-specific low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2022(11), Article CD010671. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010671.pub3