Exercising Mind-Body

A holistic behavior change (BC) program comprised of both exercise and emotional support (EES; n = 4) for stress reduction and enhanced psychological well-being was designed. The purpose of the study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the EES BC program with a BC program that focused exclusively on exercise training (ET; n = 3). To attain this goal, a mixed-method pilot case study was adopted, comprising of a quantitative component (i.e., self-report inventories) and a qualitative component (i.e., semi-structured interviews). While the quantitative data yielded almost no significant condition differences (most likely due to low statistical power), an examination of the participants’ raw data and qualitative data indicated that, overall, in line with our hypothesis, participants in both conditions experienced reduced levels of stress and improved well-being following their participation in their prospected BC program. Under both conditions, participants reported a higher level of exercise engagement and more positive lifestyle habits after the program than at the outset. The positive effects sustained, among most of the participants, 6-week following the program. Furthermore, the in-depth qualitative data pointed to specific underlying emotional, motivational, and mental mechanisms of these effects. It also emphasized the unique value of social-emotional support during exercise for personal self-growth, enhanced meta-cognition, and exercise adherence. Nevertheless, the findings reported herein are described with sincere precaution due to several changes the study undertook following COVID-19’s research restrictions. Further empirical work must be conducted to elucidate the potential identified effects of holistic exercise training combined with emotional support.