A growing body of evidence highlights higher education years as a developmental period with various social, emotional, and academic challenges that overload students. During this period, some students leave home and must quickly acclimate to a new and unfamiliar environment, where they meet new colleagues and teachers. Additionally, students must be more independent and learn to manage and overcome new academic demands, which can influence their mental health and wellbeing (Almeida et al., 2016; Sussman and Arnett, 2014).

A considerable number of first-year university students report elevated levels of interpersonal and academic stress (Leppink et al., 2016). High self-reported levels of stress by university students have been associated with poorer quality of life and wellbeing (Ribeiro et al., 2017). Such a high level of academic stress brings negative consequences for academic performance (Bruffaerts et al., 2018; Frazier et al., 2019), and increases the risk of students experiencing mental and physical stress-related problems, such as depression (Deng et al., 2022), anxiety (Rathnayake and Ekanayaka, 2016), and sleep disorders (Waqas et al., 2015). Besides, academic stress has a significant relationship with university students' social-emotional competence, such as self-regulation (Ramli et al., 2018) and empathy (Park et al., 2015), and negatively affecting interpersonal relationships (Ofori et al., 2018).

One protective factor of students' stress-related problems is their capacity for self-regulation (Thomas and Zolkoski, 2020). Self-regulation can be defined as the ability to successfuly regulate one's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in a variety of situations to pursue goal-directed behaviors (Hofmann et al., 2012). People who can adaptively regulate their emotions, behaviors, and thoughts are more likely to develop positive interpersonal relationships (Diamond, 2012), be happier (Cheung et al., 2014), have greater career success (Diamond, 2012), and experience better wellbeing (Mascia et al., 2020). A critical foundation of self-regulation lies in the ability to recognize and understand one's emotional experiences. Emotions are not just psychological experiences but are deeply tied to the awareness of internal physiological signals, like changes in heart rate, muscle tension or temperature, a phenomenon known as interoception. Interoceptive awareness enables individuals to effectively regulate their emotions and maintain homeostasis (Barrett, 2017). Recent research suggests that increases in interoceptive awareness may improve self-regulation by helping individuals identify bodily signals linked to emotional states, enabling more adaptive regulatory responses such as controlled breathing or cognitive reappraisal (Price and Hooven, 2018; Tan et al., 2023). Improved interoception has also been associated with enhanced mood regulation, and better stress resilience (Aydemir et al., 2025; Poerio et al., 2024). This competence is crucial not only for healthy emotional functioning (Barrett, 2017; Critchley and Garfinkel, 2017), but also in social contexts, where it supports the ability to understand others' feelings and emotions, promoting positive interpersonal relationships (Arnold et al., 2019).

A growing body of evidence emphasize that body-oriented interventions are valuable approaches to promote self-regulation and interoceptive awareness, either through attention regulation (e.g., meditation, breathing exercises), or muscle tone regulation (e.g., progressive relaxation, muscle stretching) (Janjhua et al., 2020; Price and Hooven, 2018; Veiga and Marmeleira, 2018). In particular, relaxation intervention programs have been shown to effectively improve self-regulation (Bond et al., 2013; Patel et al., 2018; Shastri et al., 2017; Veiga et al., 2019) and self-compassion (Erkin and Aykar, 2021; Patel et al., 2018). To the best of our knowledge, several studies have examined the effects of relaxation programs on university students' interoceptive awareness and self-regulation, with most of this research focusing on meditation or mindfulness-based interventions (Fagioli et al., 2023; Lee et al., 2024; Loucks et al., 2021; Schuh et al., 2021). However, research specifically investigating the effects of psychomotor relaxation interventions on these outcomes remains limited.

As mentioned above, university students face numerous stressors throughout their academic journey. For students of Education Sciences, the ability to regulate stress is particularly important, as their self-regulation skills directly influence the development of self-regulation in the children they work with (Denham and Bassett, 2019; Durlak et al., 2011). Children learn by observing, listening to, and mimicking significant role models in their environment. Therefore, the teacher's self-regulated behaviors, emotions and daily interactions serve as powerful examples, shaping children's ability to become more aware of their emotions and better equipped to manage both emotions and social interactions adaptively (Denham and Bassett, 2019; Lam and Wong, 2017).

The development of body-oriented programs to improve self-regulation could be crucial for the professional development of university students, specifically for the acquisition, refinement and enhancement of specific professional skills (Nastasa and Cazan, 2013), empowering students to apply learned strategies, and effectively manage stress in the future workplace.

Considering that professional development is deeply intertwined with self-development (Nastasa and Cazan, 2013), engagement in a body-oriented program may positively influence the personal and professional growth of university students. Despite this potential, to the best of our knowledge, no study has yet examined the effects of a body-oriented program based on psychomotor relaxation, on self-regulation and professional development of university students. Addressing this gap constitutes the primary aim of the present study. More specifically, this study aimed to: (a) investigate the effects of the intervention program on students' self-regulation and personal wellbeing indicators; (b) examine students' perceptions of the influence of the intervention program on their personal development; and (c) assess students' perceptions of the potential benefits the intervention program may have on their future practice as early childhood educators.

Based on these aims, we formulated the following exploratory hypotheses: the intervention would (i) increase self-regulation, (ii) improve wellbeing indicators, including positive mood, reduced confusion, and greater sense of purpose, (iii) enhance interoceptive awareness, (iv) be perceived by students as beneficial for personal development, particularly in managing academic and emotional stress, and (v) be perceived as supportive of future professional practice, especially in applying self-regulation strategies in teaching. Given the pilot nature of the study, these hypotheses are exploratory and intended to generate preliminary insights.

Given these aims, the primary outcome of this exploratory study was self-regulation, operationalized through perceived stress and salivary cortisol. Secondary outcomes included affective states, interoceptive awareness, psychological wellbeing, and students' perceptions of personal and professional development.

The average percentage of the attendance rate to psychomotor relaxation intervention sessions was 83% (13 out of 16 sessions per participant). All participants completed the pre- and post-intervention measures, and no dropouts occurred during the study. Attendance was generally consistent across participants, with most attending at least 13 sessions. Engagement during the sessions was high, as observed by active participation in the exercises and responsiveness to instructions.

Results for the primary outcome (self-regulation, assessed through perceived stress and salivary cortisol) are presented first, followed by secondary outcomes (interoceptive awareness, affective states, psychological wellbeing) and qualitative perceptions of personal and professional development.

University students face numerous stress-inducing situations throughout their academic journey, emphasizing the need for strategies to promote mental and physical health and wellbeing. This study highlights the potential of body-oriented interventions, such as relaxation, to promote social-emotional development, health and wellbeing and support the professional development of university students. To our knowledge, this is the first mixed-methods study examining the preliminary effects of a psychomotor relaxation intervention on university students' social-emotional competence, wellbeing and health related outcomes, also amplifying their voices by considering their experiences and perspectives. Quantitative analysis showed that the 8 week psychomotor relaxation program facilitated the regulation of confusion feelings and increased interoceptive awareness among university students, particularly their ability to notice bodily sensations and recognize the emotional significance of these sensations. Moreover, the intervention program was associated with increases in students' sense of purpose in life. The improvement in purpose in life provides a preliminary indication of a possible positive trend; however, given that other wellbeing subscales did not show consistent change, and that some subscales presented low reliability, this finding should be viewed cautiously. These quantitative findings converge with the qualitative results, in which students reported having developed competencies for better stress management and actively applying the learned techniques in daily life, highlighting the practical implementation of increased interoceptive awareness and emotion regulation.

The program's high attendance may be related to its convenient location, the low time commitment (20 min per session), and hybrid format. Sessions were held either in person at the university, aligned with students' lectures schedules; while the first session of the week was held after the lecture, the second session was held before the lecture. Also, students could attend the session online if they were unable to join in person. Moreover, the ease of integrating the exercises into daily routines likely contributed to participants' sustained motivation and commitment with the program.

The findings align with previous research (Fujino, 2012; Gulsen, 2019), demonstrating that participating in a relaxation intervention program at the University increases students' ability to notice and focus on emotions and body sensations. Given that the program involved body awareness and regulation exercises, this finding was somewhat expected, as participants became progressively more aware of the tensions in their bodies and learned how to release these tensions to achieve greater relaxation and a better understanding of the relationship between their bodily sensations and emotional states. Indeed, qualitative analysis confirms this progression, revealing that students perceived the program as an opportunity to acquire competencies for more effective stress management, first by becoming aware of their tensions, and second by learning how to intentionally release those tensions. Also, most students reported using the strategies and techniques (e.g., breathing and tonus regulation, body awareness, attention regulation) learned in the intervention sessions in their daily lives.

After participating in the 8 week relaxation program there was a decrease in feelings of confusion. Possibly, having an opportunity to calm down and focus on bodily sensations may be particularly important to improve mental clarity, focus and confidence in understanding one's surroundings.

Taken together, the increase in interoceptive awareness, the reduction in feelings of confusion, and the enhanced sense of empowerment regarding self-regulation may have contributed to the improved sense of life purpose observed in participants, with students both quantitatively reporting higher life purpose scores and qualitatively acknowledging benefits for personal and professional development. In other words, the ability to better notice and understand bodily states and to connect these states to emotions, appears to enable students to live in a more focused and conscious manner. This heightened awareness facilitates better self-organization and awareness of barriers to personal and professional goals (Kreibich et al., 2020). These findings are particularly significant at this academic stage, as university students often report a lower sense of purpose in life at the beginning of their academic journey compared with graduate students (Hodges et al., 2014). Moreover, students acknowledged that the program could offer valuable benefits for their future careers as educators, such as improved stress management, stronger and more positive interpersonal relationships within the school context, and the ability to promote children's wellbeing. This recognition of their enhanced capacity to handle the challenges of their future profession may have also contributed to the observed increase in their perceived sense of life purpose.

Despite these encouraging outcomes, some anticipated improvements were not observed. Specifically, the decrease in salivary cortisol levels was not significant, and tension-anxiety feelings increased over the course of the program. It is possible that the relatively short duration of the intervention program limited the ability to detect changes in these measures. Regarding salivary cortisol, several factors may have influenced the results. First, the 20 minutes duration of each session may have been insufficient to elicit detectable physiological changes, even if improvements in subjective wellbeing were observed. Second, samples were collected in the classroom setting, which could have introduced stressors or distractions affecting cortisol levels. Third, the timing of sample collection may not have aligned with participants' natural circadian rhythms, which strongly influence cortisol secretion. Additionally, individual variability in stress responses, contextual school-related stressors, and the small sample size may have contributed to the lack of significant changes. Although significant improvements have been reported in other populations (Veiga et al., 2019), developmental and contextual factors specific to university students may have further influenced the physiological response to the intervention.

Interestingly, during the control period (from pre-test 1 to pre-test 2), tension-anxiety feelings significantly increased, likely due to this phase coinciding with the beginning and end of final exams, a time when stress levels naturally fluctuate. However, the post-test was conducted at the end of the semester, a period often associated with elevated stress and anxiety among university students (Pozos-Radillo et al., 2014; von Haaren et al., 2016). Additionally, this period coincided with the COVID-19 lockdown and associated restrictions in Portugal, which likely introduced additional stressors beyond the usual academic and personal factors, as students were experiencing confinement with its inherent limitations and anticipating a return to normality and in-person classes, which may have further elevated tension levels. Other external factors, such as personal, family, or environmental influences may also have contributed to these fluctuations.

Overall, these findings highlight the importance of cultivating body awareness, the awareness of body in relation to others, and the connection between body and emotions, early in the academic training of childhood educators. This is particularly relevant given that “teaching is more socially and emotionally demanding than it has ever been in the past” (Jennings, 2011), and that teachers' self-regulation skills play a crucial role in children's social-emotional development (Denham and Bassett, 2019; Jennings, 2011).

Because this was a single-group, non-randomized exploratory study with a small sample and multiple outcomes tested, causal inference is necessarily limited. Alternative explanations for the observed changes, such as regression to the mean, expectancy effects, maturation, or unmeasured fluctuations in students' academic and personal contexts, cannot be ruled out. Accordingly, the findings should be interpreted as preliminary and hypothesis-generating rather than conclusive. Future research should seek to replicate this study with a larger and heterogenous sample of in-service childhood educators, who have been practicing for some time, as a growing body of evidence indicates that relaxation-based interventions enhance teachers' social-emotional competence (Frank et al., 2013; Jennings et al., 2017), with these positive impacts being sustained over time (Jennings et al., 2019; Schussler et al., 2016).

This mixed-methods exploratory study explored the impact of a psychomotor relaxation program on university students' social-emotional competence, health and wellbeing, as well as their personal and professional development. The findings revealed preliminary evidence that a brief psychomotor relaxation program may be associated with improvements in specific facets of interoceptive awareness, confusion, and sense of purpose in life in a small sample of first-year female education students. Qualitative data further indicated that participants developed practical stress management skills, integrated the learned techniques into their daily routines, and recognized the relevance of these tools for their future role as childhood educators.

Despite some limitations, this study adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of body-oriented interventions in higher education. The positive outcomes observed suggest that such approaches may be an effective means of promoting emotional regulation and wellbeing during a formative stage of professional identity development.

Incorporating body-oriented practices into university wellness initiatives or teacher-training curricula could enhance students' ability to manage academic stress and support long-term personal and professional wellbeing. Furthermore, the brief session duration and flexible, hybrid delivery format suggest a potential for scalability and feasibility across diverse university settings, which should be tested as a hypothesis in larger, controlled studies.