Stretching the Mind: The Effect of Yoga on Children's Imagination and Creative Thinking

Background: This study was conducted to examine the effect of a yoga-based intervention program on children's imagination and creative thinking. Methods: The study was conducted using a randomized controlled experimental design. A total of 60 eighth-grade middle school students participated in the study, with 30 assigned to the experimental group and 30 to the control group. The experimental group received structured yoga sessions twice a week for eight weeks (45 minutes per session), while the control group received no yoga-based intervention and continued routine educational activities. The Dual Facet Imagination Scale (DFIS) and the Creative Thinking Tendencies Scale (CTTS) were used as data collection instruments. Pre-test and post-test assessments were conducted in both groups. Data were analyzed using independent-samples and paired-samples t-tests and repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) to evaluate changes in imagination and creative thinking outcomes. Keywords: Yoga, Creativity, Mindfulness, Imagination, Mental Flexibility