Yoga Among Children in Malaysia: An Explorative Review of Current Evidence, Challenges, and Future Directions

Abstract

Yoga has emerged as one of the most widely practised complementary mind–body interventions for promoting physical, psychological, cognitive, and social well-being among children. While extensive research has documented the benefits of yoga in countries such as India, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, evidence from Malaysia remains comparatively limited despite growing public interest and increasing concerns regarding childhood stress, sedentary lifestyles, obesity, and mental health. This explorative review critically synthesises the current evidence regarding yoga among children in Malaysia while integrating international findings to provide a comprehensive understanding of its effectiveness, implementation challenges, and future research priorities. A narrative review methodology was employed through systematic searches of Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, ERIC, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and relevant government publications. Studies published primarily between 2015 and 2026 were examined together with seminal theoretical literature. The review demonstrates that yoga contributes positively to children's physical fitness, flexibility, balance, emotional regulation, attention, executive functioning, self-esteem, resilience, classroom behaviour, and social competence. Malaysian evidence, although limited, suggests that yoga may reduce stress and anxiety while enhancing children's psychological well-being. However, several barriers continue to hinder broader implementation, including limited school-based programmes, insufficient teacher training, lack of nationally standardised curricula, cultural misconceptions, and a shortage of high-quality longitudinal research. The review concludes that yoga represents a feasible and culturally adaptable complementary intervention that can support holistic child development in Malaysia. Future research should prioritise multicentre intervention studies, culturally appropriate programme development, and policy initiatives to facilitate the integration of yoga into school health and educational programmes. Existing reviews also recommend stronger Malaysian evidence and suggest that appropriately designed school-based yoga programmes could benefit students' mental health and well-being.