A current, widespread review of undergraduate college students revealed that a majority experienced more than average levels of stress in the past year (ACHA-NCHA, 2017). Specifically, psychosocial stress is a top concern, as college students must forge interpersonal relationships with peers, roommates, romantic partners and faculty members, leaving students susceptible to detrimental effects on their well-being (Powers, Laurent, Gunlicks-Stoessel, Balban, & Bent, 2016; Lee & Jang, 2015; Lewandowski, Mattingly & Pedreiro, 2014; Zhang, 2012).

Despite the availability of on-campus counseling and student support services, many students do not obtain the skills necessary to manage stress. Research suggests that the ability to self-regulate and respond empathetically can mitigate psychosocial stress (Pepping et al., 2014; Taylor et al., 2013). Moreover, research has shown that that mindfulness is a countering agent to emotional dysregulation (Pepping et al., 2014).

There has been increasing evidence that yoga and yogic practice are highly influential in the facilitation of self-regulation (Sauer-Zavala, Walsh, Eisenlohr-Moul, & Lykins, 2013). Furthermore, it is believed that yoga-based mindfulness can assist in effectively managing stress and in yielding positive effects on one’s ability to self-regulate (Morone et al., 2012; Keng & Tong, 2016; Friese & Hofmann, 2016).

The purpose of this study is to garner a greater understanding of yoga’s role in facilitating self-regulation and to explore effectiveness of yoga-based mindfulness on reducing the levels of psychosocial stress in college students. Following an experimental study the relationships between psychosocial stress, self-regulation, mindfulness, empathy and yoga will be examined.