CHAPTER III – Specialized research
There has been also a sociological investigation conducted by a group of of sociologists, coordinated by the sociologist Carmen Mǎrcuş, graduate of the Faculty of Sociology from Cluj – whose conclusions have been included in a work entitled „Psycho-Social Effects of Pacticing Yoga”. During this research, they have studied 800 people practicing Yoga at the M.I.S.A. courses. According to the above mentionned investigation „the yogi subjects highly appreciate the main social values of society (social and professional accomplishment, material wellfare, othodox religion faith) that play an essential part in their existence.”
As for the professional results and the social integration of the M.I.S.A. members, the above mentionned sociological study shows that 55.3% of the members consider they have acquired increased intelectual abilities, 19.4% show a larger interest for sudy and an incresed responsability, 18% have noticed increased resistance to stress and work power, 17.6% have noticed a higher professional efficiency, and 15.6% could offer relevant examples of clear results that transformed them a lot, in the good sense of the word, as compared to the period when they did not practice Yoga.
The above data were correlated to the fact that 93.1% of the interviewed subjects still have the same job, while maintaining the normal course of social evolution (from highschool student to university graduate for instance, from employee to retired person). In some case, at present, the subjects follow an ascending cuve of social mobility as compared to the moment when they first began to practice Yoga. This significant aspect proves that the Yoga practice has deeply beneficial effects upon professional performances, as the subjects are visibly interested in assimilating this aspect and a better social integration, too.
The same sociological research also highlighted the fact that 62.5% of the interviewed Yoga courses attendants belong to the Christian faith and also that practicing Yoga helped some of them (that were faithles before attending this Yoga course) to get closer to religious principles. The above mentionned data undoubtedly prove that M.I.S.A. cannot be considered a sectarian movement.
On the other hand, problems that appear ever so often among teenagers and their parents who do not practice Yoga are well known. A 1997 survey states that 57% of teenagers encounter conflicts of opinion with their parents, 48% of people between 18-35 years of age have often conflicts with their parents, and 12% of the latter have serious conflicts, leading to aggression and separation.
We have been notified of actual cases where people practicing Yoga have left the places they lived in, following family conflilcts. However, the research we have conducted proved that the above mentionned suffered fron serious abuse on the part of their family. They were victims of domestic violence (physical, psychic, financial violence). We have in this direction many documents referring to actual cases, where people have been thoroughly identified, interviewed and counciled.
