An exploration of the effect of meditation on dominant leg balance — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

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Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

An exploration of the effect of meditation on dominant leg balance

Name: Taylor Sliwa
Major: Exercise Sports Science
Hometown: Mount Prospect
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project

Abstract

An exploration of the effect of meditation on dominant leg balance

Purpose: This research is designed to determine if acute meditation can improve balance.

Methods: 10 subjects in an exercise sports science class, at a division III college were selected to participate in this study and the average age for these students was 20 years old. Balance was assessed using the Stork test. Subjects followed a guided meditation for 10 minutes in a quiet area. After the meditation, participants were immediately assessed again on their balance ability.

Results: The average score for the Standing Stork test prior to meditation was 10.40 seconds (SD=3.57). The average score post meditation was 10.65 seconds (SD=5.25). A paired t-test was run to compare the means and indicated there was no significant difference t(9,-0.25)=0.40, p=.40.

Conclusion: While not statistically significant, there was a slight increase in the ability of subjects to balance on their dominant leg. For an athlete at the highest level of competition, 0.25 secs can drastically alter if one achieves in success or failure. Future research should examine if a daily meditation practice can lead to more significant improvements in balance.

Poster file