The CRAFT Program: Mindfulness and Yoga for Enhancing the Well-being and Academic Experience of Higher Education Student Musicians

Abstract

The Consciousness, Relaxation, Attention, Fulfillment, and Transcendence (CRAFT) program, based on yoga, mindfulness, positive psychology, and emotional intelligence, was conceived as a neuroeducational method for self-actualization, happiness, and well-being. Previous quantitative research suggests the CRAFT program is a feasible intervention to improve student musicians’ health and well-being. The current study was devised to capture a wider understanding of student musicians’ experiences and perceived benefits from following the CRAFT program and how this exposure may affect their well-being and academic life. Participants were higher education student musicians (n = 37) who had received CRAFT instruction at a conservatory of music as part of their curriculum, once a week for 1 hr, during the academic years 2017 to 2019. They completed an evaluation survey, comprising 36 5-point Likert-type items and one open-ended question. Descriptive statistics from participants’ Likert-type item evaluations supported the potential of the program to bestow numerous hypothesized benefits related to its five elements and viability. A content analysis conducted on participants’ responses to the open-ended question confirmed, clarified, and expanded these findings revealing additional benefits and insights across humanistic, educational, well-being, and music dimensions. This study rendered further supporting evidence for the CRAFT program as a viable intervention for promoting student musicians’ well-being and academic careers with relevant implications to other educational contexts, settings, and populations. Large mixed-methods investigations are needed to comprehensively understand and ascertain the efficacy and effectiveness of the CRAFT program to enhance the well-being and academic experience of student musicians.