Biomarkers Predict Mindfulness’ Effectiveness for Caregivers

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness isn’t just a technique to cope with the stress; it’s a way to fully embrace one’s role as a caretaker, living in the present moment with joy and appreciation, no matter what that moment may bring.” – Elisabeth Dykens

 

There are many characteristics that all human being have in common, but there are also huge individual differences. Virtually everything about us is to some extent unique, including experiences, and physical and psychological characteristics. There is no other face exactly like ours. There is no other brain exactly like ours. There is no other mind exactly like ours. There is no other mind exactly like ours. There is no other personality exactly like ours. These differences are wonderful and define our individuality and uniqueness. There has never been nor will there ever be anyone exactly like you.

 

This uniqueness extends to our reactions to environmental and physical events and even extends to our responses to treatments. One of the most exciting trends in modern medicine is individualized medicine. It has been realized that people respond differently to treatments. The same drug, procedure, or therapy that cures one person will have negligible effects on another, and may harm yet another. So, tailoring the treatment to the individual can maximize effectiveness. In order to do this predictors, biomarkers, are needed. These are measurable characteristic that predict that a certain treatment will be effective for that person. So cancer treatment now includes genetic analysis looking for particular genes that predict that an individual will respond to one treatment rather than another.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to be an effective treatment for a myriad of psychological and physical conditions, including the psychological and physical problems that develop while providing care for an Alzheimer’s patient. But, this effectiveness is “on average.” While many people are helped, some are not, and some even get worse. In order to improve the effectiveness of mindfulness training it would be helpful to identify who is likely to respond positively and who is not. To do this, predictors, markers, of responsiveness are needed. To date, there have been few studies that attempt to identify predictors, markers, of responsivity to mindfulness training.

 

In today’s Research News article “Biomarkers of Resilience in Stress Reduction for Caregivers of Alzheimer’s Patients.” See:

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Ho and colleagues took blood samples from non-professional adult caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients prior to and after an 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training. They found, confirming the majority of findings in the research literature, that the MBSR course produce significant increases in the mindfulness and the psychological health of the caregivers. In addition, they found that the greater then increase in mindfulness, the greater the improvements in psychological health.

 

Ho and colleagues also found considerable individual differences in the degree of improvement. They then separated the caregivers in three groups based upon the amount of benefit in psychological health obtained from the MBSR training; poor, moderate, and good responders. They used measures of gene expressions in these three groups to investigate potential predictors of responsiveness to MBSR training. They found that genes associated with the modulation of the inflammatory response, stress responses, and depression were highly expresses in caregivers who responded to MBSR training.

 

These results are not surprising as mindfulness training has been previously shown to improve the inflammatory response, stress responses, and depression. Unfortunately, these results do not demonstrate cause and effect. It is equally likely that the improved psychological health produced the changes in gene expression as it is that the changes in gene expression produced the improvements in psychological health, or that some third factor might be responsible for both.

 

To look for possible causal factors, they then looked at gene expressions present before the MBSR training in the various groups. They found that expressions of genes prior to treatment that modulate the immune system and the insulin system were predictive of positive responses to treatment. It has previously been shown that mindfulness training produces improvements in the immune system. But, it has not been previously demonstrated that the state of the immune system prior to mindfulness training would be associated with positive outcomes.

 

These are fascinating results and again demonstrate the effectiveness of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training for caregivers. But, importantly, the study identifies biomarkers, gene expressions, that predict the individual’s likelihood of having positive improvements in psychological health produced by MBSR training. Caregivers who showed heightened expressions in genes that improve the immune system were those that obtained the greatest benefit. It will require future research to identify how heightened immune system activity might be responsible for MBSR effectiveness.

 

Regardless, the study demonstrates that biomarkers predict mindfulness’ effectiveness for caregivers. This suggests that it may be possible in the future to tailor mindfulness training based upon individual differences in gene expression, maximizing the effectiveness of the therapy.

 

So,

 

“I have discovered that it isn’t so much about what I did or did not say or do that was key to pass on to professionals and family members — it was more about the way in which I was being with the persons who have dementia that seemed important to communicate. […] Each person with dementia has taught me the importance of relaxing into being in the present moment. That moment may be perceived by her to be in a different place or time, but it is her very real and present moment.” –  Nancy Pearce

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

 

Ho L, Bloom PA, Vega JG, Yemul S, Zhao W, Ward L, Savage E, Rooney R, Patel DH, Pasinetti GM. Biomarkers of Resilience in Stress Reduction for Caregivers of Alzheimer’s Patients. Neuromolecular Med. 2016 Mar 17. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26984114

 

Abstract

Caregiving for a dementia patient is associated with increased risk of psychological and physical health problems. We investigated whether a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training course for caregivers that closely models the MBSR curriculum originally established by the Center of Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts may improve the psychological resilience of non-professional caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients. Twenty adult non-professional caregivers of dementia patients participated in an 8-week MBSR training course. Caregiver stress, depression, burden, grief, and gene expression profiles of blood mononuclear cells were assessed at baseline and following MBSR. MBSR training significantly improved the psychological resilience of some of the caregivers. We identified predictive biomarkers whose expression is associated with the likelihood of caregivers to benefit from MBSR, and biomarkers whose expression is associated with MBSR psychological benefits. Our biomarker studies provide insight into the mechanisms of health benefits of MBSR and a basis for developing a personalized medicine approach for applying MBSR for promoting psychological and cognitive resilience in caregivers of dementia patients.

 

Cope with Violence Trauma with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“People with PTSD ruminate, and rumination is all about not being present. It’s all about focusing on something terrible that happened in the past or something frightening that will happen in the future, so these patients are stuck in a rut. My personal bias is that mindfulness-based therapy has a big effect on rumination, and decreasing rumination allows people to experience the present moment, which expands their awareness of different possibilities and increases their ability to pay attention to things they have avoided in the past,” – Anthony King

 

Experiencing trauma is quite common. It has been estimated that 60% of men and 50% of women will experience a significant traumatic event during their lifetime. Many, but, only a fraction will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But this still results in a frightening number of people with 7%-8% of the population developing PTSD at some point in their life.

 

PTSD can be produced by traumatic events occurring to anyone in a variety of different contexts. These include interpersonal violence (IPV). It is defined “as the intentional use of physical or sexual violence against another person within the context of a relationship. This includes physical or sexual violence committed by a family member, intimate partner, friend, or acquaintance.” A frequent form of IPV is intimate partner violence. Indeed, 27% of women and 11% of men have reported that they had been harmed by sexual or physical violence at some time during their lives.

 

PTSD involves a number of troubling symptoms including reliving the event with the same fear and horror in nightmares or with a flashback. PTSD sufferers avoid situations that remind them of the event this may include crowds, driving, movies, etc. and may avoid seeking help because it keeps them from having to think or talk about the event. They often experience negative changes in beliefs and feelings including difficulty experiencing positive or loving feelings toward other people, avoiding relationships, memory difficulties, or see the world as dangerous and no one can be trusted. Sufferers may feel hyperarousal, feeling keyed up and jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. They may experience sudden anger or irritability, may have a hard time sleeping or concentrating, may be startled by a loud noise or surprise.

 

Obviously, these are serious and troubling symptoms that need to be addressed. There are a number of therapies that have been developed to treat PTSD. One of which, mindfulness training has been found to be particularly effective. In today’s Research News article “Trauma-Informed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Female Survivors of Interpersonal Violence: Results from a Stage I RCT.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1227840437239880/?type=3&theater

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Kelly and Garland randomly assigned adult female survivors of interpersonal violence (IPV) to either an 8-week mindfulness training or wait-list control condition. The intervention was a form of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) that was modified for treatment with trauma survivors.

 

They found that the treatment produced a clinically significant decrease in PTSD symptoms to the point where a significant number of participants could no longer be classified as PTSD sufferers. The more the participant practiced the mindfulness training the greater the reduction in PTSD symptoms. There were also significant decreases in the mindfulness group in depression and anxious attachment. Anxious attachment is a symptom of PTSD that involves “vacillating between attempts to draw in significant others with endearing attention-seeking behaviors and attempts to attract attention through emotional outbursts of crying or anger.” Reducing anxious attachment allows the sufferer to conduct much healthier interpersonal relationships.

 

These are very promising results that suggest that the modified form of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a safe and effective treatment for PTSD caused by interpersonal violence (IPV). It is not known how mindfulness training could be so effective for PTSD. It can be speculated that the improvement in present moment awareness might have helped by focusing on the individual on the present rather than the past when the trauma occurred and by reducing rumination about the past. In addition, mindfulness training is known to improve emotion regulation and this may allow the PTSD sufferers to not avoid but fully experience the emotions and then respond to them in a constructive fashion. Finally, mindfulness training is known to reduce the physiological and psychological responses to stress. This lowered stress levels may reduce the intensity of their response to memories of the trauma, allowing the individual to be able to internally address the events directly.

 

Regardless of the mechanism, it is clear that mindfulness training is an effective treatment for PTSD symptoms caused by interpersonal violence (IPV). So, cope with violence trauma with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness-based stress reduction teaches individuals to attend to the present moment, to attend to what they are experiencing — their thoughts, their feelings — in a nonjudgmental, accepting manner. We think that teaching people these mindfulness skills helps them to have a different relationship with their PTSD symptoms — a willingness to let thoughts be there without trying to push them away,” -Melissa Polusny

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Kelly, A. and Garland, E. L. (2016), Trauma-Informed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Female Survivors of Interpersonal Violence: Results From a Stage I RCT. J. Clin. Psychol., 72: 311–328. doi:10.1002/jclp.22273

 

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated a novel trauma-informed model of mindfulness-based stress reduction (TI-MBSR) as a phase I trauma intervention for female survivors of interpersonal violence (IPV).

METHOD: A community-based sample of women (mean age = 41.5, standard deviation = 14.6) with a history of IPV was randomly assigned to an 8-week TI-MBSR intervention (n = 23) or a waitlist control group (n = 22). Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression as well as anxious and avoidant attachment were assessed pre- and postintervention.

RESULTS: Relative to the control group, participation in TI-MBSR was associated with statistically and clinically significant decreases in PTSD and depressive symptoms and significant reductions in anxious attachment. Retention in the intervention was high, with most participants completing at least 5 of the 8 sessions for the intervention. Minutes of mindfulness practice per week significantly predicted reductions in PTSD symptoms.

CONCLUSION: TI-MBSR appears to be a promising and feasible phase I intervention for female survivors of interpersonal trauma.

 

Recover from Work with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“All this data suggest mindfulness has real impactful changes on our minds and bodies. And it’s helped make mindfulness more kosher with the corporate world, where it might’ve previously been considered new-agey. Mindful workers report higher levels of happiness and productivity” – David Gelles

 

We spend approximately 25% of our adult lives at work. How we spend that time is immensely important for our overall well-being, including our psychological and physical health. Indeed, the work environment has even become an important part of our social lives, with friendships and leisure time activities often attached to the work environment. But, more than half of employees in the U.S. and nearly 2/3 worldwide are unhappy at work. This is primarily due to the fact that stress is epidemic in the workplace. A recent Harris poll found that 80 percent of workers feel stressed about one or more things in the workplace. This stress can lead to physical and psychological problems for managers and employees, including fatigue, sleep problems, depression, absenteeism, lower productivity, lower job satisfaction, and personal and professional burnout. Indeed, 46.4% of employees, report having psychological distress.

 

Mindfulness training of employees is a potential help with work related stress. It has been shown to reduce the psychological and physical reactions to stress overall and particularly in the workplace and to reduce burnout. A problem in implementing mindfulness programs in the workplace is the time required for the training. This makes many managers reticent to try it. So, it is important to develop programs that do not seriously impact on work time. A potential solution is to train mindfulness on-line. This is feasible as mindfulness training over the internet has been found to be effective for anxiety depression.

 

In today’s Research News article “Internet-Based Instructor-Led Mindfulness for Work-Related Rumination, Fatigue, and Sleep: Assessing Facets of Mindfulness as Mechanisms of Change. A Randomized Waitlist Control Trial.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1227139160643341/?type=3&theater

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Querstret and colleagues randomly assigned full-time working adults to either receive a 4-week internet based mindfulness training or as a wait-list control. The mindfulness training was conducted on-line interactively led by experienced mindfulness instructors and was composed of elements from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

 

They found that the mindfulness training produced a significant increase in the mindfulness facets of acting with awareness, non-judging, and describing. Recovery from work was also significantly impacted by the mindfulness training with lower levels of emotional rumination and rumination after work about work-related issues, and lower levels of acute and chronic fatigue, and higher levels of sleep quality. These improvements were maintained 3 and 6 months following the end of mindfulness training. Finally, they found that the mindfulness training had its effects by altering the acting with awareness facet of mindfulness which, in turn, affected the work recovery variables.

 

These results demonstrate that an on-line mindfulness training program can have large and sustained effects on work-related problems. The fact that the program was conducted on-line is significant as these programs can be conducted without taking time away from work. This is important to employers and makes it more likely that such a program will be adopted.

 

It is interesting that the program appeared to work by affecting acting with awareness. This suggests that working with awareness is a key. By staying focused on their work tasks in the present moment the individual may be better able to perform them and thereby reduce stress and its consequent effects on after-work psychological processes. It is also known that mindfulness programs by themselves can lower the psychological and physiological effects of stress and improve emotion regulation, allowing the worker to experience their emotions but act adaptively in response to them. All of these effects of mindfulness training may add together to markedly improve the workers’ recovery from the stress of work.

 

So, recover from work with mindfulness.

 

“In this age of constant distractions and long hours, it’s difficult to find even a few minutes of time to reflect. Yet finding that time and space can help ease the stresses of your demanding working life.” -Peter Jaret

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Querstret, D., Cropley, M., & Fife-Schaw, C. (2016, April 7). Internet-Based Instructor-Led Mindfulness for Work-Related Rumination, Fatigue, and Sleep: Assessing Facets of Mindfulness as Mechanisms of Change. A Randomized Waitlist Control Trial. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000028

 

This study aimed to extend our theoretical understanding of how mindfulness-based interventions exert their positive influence on measures of occupational health. Employing a randomized waitlist control study design, we sought to (a) assess an Internet-based instructor-led mindfulness intervention for its effect on key factors associated with “recovery from work,” specifically, work-related rumination, fatigue, and sleep quality; (b) assess different facets of mindfulness (acting with awareness, describing, nonjudging, and nonreacting) as mechanisms of change; and (c) assess whether the effect of the intervention was maintained over time by following up our participants after 3 and 6 months. Participants who completed the mindfulness intervention (n 60) reported significantly lower levels of work-related rumination and fatigue, and significantly higher levels of sleep quality, when compared with waitlist control participants (n 58). Effects of the intervention were maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-up with medium to large effect sizes. The effect of the intervention was primarily explained by increased levels of only 1 facet of mindfulness (acting with awareness). This study provides support for online mindfulness interventions to aid recovery from work and furthers our understanding with regard to how mindfulness interventions exert their positive effects.

 

Control Problem Gambling with CBT and Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Whether you bet on sports, scratch cards, roulette, poker, or slots—in a casino, at the track, or online—problem gambling can strain relationships, interfere with work, and lead to financial catastrophe. You may even do things you never thought you would, like stealing money to gamble or pay debts.”

 

People love to gamble! They wager on everything from sports, to politics, to personal achievements, to even random outcomes, like slot machines of lotteries. It can be great fun, adding zest to otherwise mundane days or routine athletic competitions. It can be part of personal bonding with friends as in an ongoing poker game. A good bet can even be used to motivate someone to stop smoking, lose weight, or support a charity. In fact, over 80% of all Americans wager on at least a yearly basis and 15% gamble every week. In and of itself there is nothing wrong with gambling.

 

But, for 3% to 5% of people who gamble, it becomes a major problem. There are about 6 million Americans who are problem gamblers. They gamble money they can ill afford to lose and it becomes an obsession and an addiction. When this happens, it can wreak havoc with a person’s life, ruining careers, relationships, families, credit, and even physical and mental health. Indeed, on average about half of people with gambling addictions commit crimes to support their addiction and the majority of people in prison have a gambling problem.

 

There are a wide variety of treatments for problem gambling including psychotherapies, 12-step programs, medication, support groups, etc. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been particularly effective. Recently, mindfulness has been added to produce Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). This has been found to be effective in treating a range of addictions.  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy attempts to teach patients to distinguish between thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviors, and to recognize irrational thinking styles and how they affect behavior. These skills are particularly pertinent to problem gambling as there’s no physical basis like in other addictions. Rather, it is entirely driven by inappropriate thought processes and emotions.

 

In today’s Research News article “Treating Problem Gambling Samples with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Clinical Trial.” See:

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McIntosh and colleagues randomly assigned problem gamblers to receive a 4-week program of either treatment as usual (TAU) which provided an individualized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), CBT using a standardized manual for gambling addiction, or Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). All groups, in addition, received an education package on problem gambling.

 

They found that all three treatments produced large and clinically significant improvements in problem gambling that persisted at 3 and 6 months after the end of treatment. They all improved patient quality of life and mindfulness, particularly the acting with awareness facet of mindfulness. They also found that the mindfulness group (MBCT) had additional improvements in rumination and thought suppression. Hence, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, whether individualized, standardized, or included mindfulness were successful in treating problem gambling. But, mindfulness training in addition to CBT had the added benefits of decreasing rumination and thought suppression, which are thought to add to the patient’s psychological distress.

 

These are exciting results. More than half of the problem gamblers no longer met the clinical standard as problem gamblers 6 months after treatment. They support the growing research evidence of the efficacy of CBT for problem gambling. They also suggest that adding mindfulness training to the package produces additional benefits that can help the gambler stop repetitively thinking about gambling (rumination) and to stop trying to suppress this thinking, rather bringing it to consciousness where it can be addressed. These two extra benefits may be helpful for preventing relapse.

 

So, control problem gambling with CBT and mindfulness.

 

“mindfulness focuses on the present and acceptance of oneself. Such an approach allows the practitioner to identify and deal with the gambling urge when it comes. Mindfulness also enables the practitioner to appreciate each moment, leaving less opportunity to think about or desire hitting the casino or racetrack.”

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

McIntosh CC, Crino RD, O’Neill K. Treating Problem Gambling Samples with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Clinical Trial. J Gambl Stud. 2016 Apr 4. [Epub ahead of print], PMID: 27040973

 

Abstract

The problem gambling (PG) intervention literature is characterised by a variety of psychological treatments and approaches, with varying levels of evidence (PGRTC in Guideline for screening, assessment and treatment in problem and pathological gambling. Monash University, Melbourne, 2011). A recent PG systematic review (Maynard et al. in Res Soc Work Pract, 2015. doi:10.1177/1049731515606977) and the success of mindfulness-based interventions to effectively treat disorders commonly comorbid with PG suggested mindfulness-based interventions may be effective for treating PG. The current study tested the effectiveness of three interventions to treat PGs: 1. case formulation driven Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT); 2. manualised CBT; and 3. mindfulness-based treatment. All three interventions tested returned large effect size improvements in PG behaviour after seven sessions (Cohen’s d range 1.46–2.01), at post-treatment and at 3 and 6-month follow-up. All of the interventions were rated as acceptable by participants at post-treatment. This study suggests that the mindfulness-based and TAU interventions used in the current study appear to be effective at reducing PG behavior and associated distress and they also appear to generalise to improvements in other measures such as quality of life-mental functioning and certain mindfulness facets more effectively than the manualised form of CBT utilised used here. Secondly, a brief mindfulness intervention delivered after psycho-education and a brief CBT intervention may be a useful supplement to traditional CBT treatments by addressing transdiagnostic processes such as rumination and thought suppression. Thirdly, CBT interventions continue to report effectiveness in reducing PG behaviour and associated distress consistent with the prevailing literature and clinical direction.

 

Help Cancer Treatment with Qigong

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Qigong is a viable and essential practice for enhancing everyday life, as well as an effective factor in mainstream health care.“ – Sifu Wong

 

Qigong has been practiced for thousands of years with benefits for health and longevity. Qigong training is designed to enhance function and regulate the activities of the body through regulated breathing, mindful concentration, and gentle movements. Only recently though have the effects of qigong practice been scrutinized with empirical research. It has been found to be effective for an array of physical and psychological issues. It appears to strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation and increase the number of cancer killing cells in the bloodstream. All of these effects suggest that Qigong may be effective for cancer survivors.

 

Modern medicine has improved markedly in treating cancer. But, the treatments themselves can be difficult on the patient and produce great discomfort and suffering. In addition, if the treatment is successful, the cancer survivor is left with a whole different set of challenges. Fatigue accompanies cancer and its treatment in from half to all cancer patients depending upon the type of cancer and treatment regimen. The fatigue can continue even after completion of successful treatment. The patient feels weak, tired, weary, or exhausted all of the time and sleep does not relieve the tiredness. Symptoms can include prolonged, extreme tiredness following an activity, arms and legs feeling heavy and hard to move, lack of engagement in normal daily activities, trouble concentrating, thinking clearly, or remembering, feeling frustrated, irritable, and upset, putting less energy into personal appearance, and spending more time in bed or sleeping. It is easy to confuse cancer-related fatigue with depression. The cause of cancer-related fatigue is unknown.

 

The best treatment for cancer-related fatigue appears to be encouragement to engage in moderate exercise along with relaxation and body awareness training. The ancient Chinese practice of Qigong has all of these properties. It’s a light exercise that produces relaxation and body awareness. So, it would seem reasonable to expect that Qigong practice would be effective in treating cancer patients.

 

In today’s Research News article “Qigong in cancer care: a systematic review and construct analysis of effective Qigong therapy.” See:

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Klein and colleagues review the published research literature on the application of Qigong for the treatment of cancer patients. They report that a significant number of controlled studies report that Qigong has positive effects on the cancer-specific quality of life, improving the overall well-being of the patients. In this regard, it is effective for reducing fatigue, which by itself will improve quality of life. Importantly for fighting cancer, Qigong improves immune function, reduces the inflammatory response, and the stress levels of individuals with cancer, as referenced by decreased cortisol levels. These latter findings suggest that Qigong can not only improve the quality of life but also help in fighting the cancer itself.

 

These findings are very exciting. They suggest that Qigong practice may be a tremendous help in treating cancer and for the patients coping with the consequences of cancer and its treatment. Qigong is a light exercise as well as a mindfulness practice. Because of its gentle nature it is appropriate for individuals weakened by disease or for the elderly. The exercise component may be essential for improving the individual’s ability to fight cancer. The mindfulness component is also important as mindfulness practices, in general, have been found to be effective in improving health and fighting disease. So, the combination of gentle exercise along with mindfulness training suggests that Qigong is a potent mixture to assist cancer patients.

 

So, help cancer treatment with qigong.

 

“Qigong is clearly not for those who would like to take a pill and wait for the next instruction from the oncologist. But for anyone who has found their diagnosis has led them to a deeper enquiry into the subtler energetic levels of health and healing, this practice has a proven track record and can provide excellent results for those with the discipline for daily practice.” – Donatus Roobeek

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Klein PJ, Schneider R, Rhoads CJ. Qigong in cancer care: a systematic review and construct analysis of effective Qigong therapy. Support Care Cancer. 2016 Apr 5. [Epub ahead of print] Review.

PMID: 27044279

 

Abstract

Purpose: This review (a) assesses the strength of evidence addressing Qigong therapy in supportive cancer care and (b) provides insights for definition of effective Qigong therapy in supportive cancer care.

Methods: This mixed-methods study includes (a) a systematic review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) following PRISMA guidelines and (b) a constant-comparative qualitative analysis of effective intervention protocols.

Results: Eleven published randomized clinical trials were reviewed. A total of 831 individuals were studied. Geographic settings include the USA, Australia, China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Qigong therapy was found to have positive effects on the cancer-specific QOL, fatigue, immune function, and cortisol levels of individuals with cancer. Qigong therapy protocols varied supporting a plurality of styles. Qualitative analyses identified common programming constructs. Content constructs included exercise (gentle, integrated, repetitious, flowing, weight-bearing movements), breath regulation, mindfulness and meditation, energy cultivation including self-massage, and emphasis on relaxation. Logistic constructs included delivery by qualified instructors, home practice, and accommodation for impaired activity tolerance.

Conclusions: There is global interest and a growing body of research providing evidence of therapeutic effect of Qigong therapy in supportive cancer care. While Qigong therapy protocols vary in style, construct commonalities do exist. Knowledge of the common constructs among effective programs revealed in this research may be used to guide future research intervention protocol and community programming design and development.

 

Mindful Motherhood

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Mindful Motherhood

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“There could not be a better time to learn mindfulness than during pregnancy and early motherhood. For one thing, this is a time when most people have a strong motivation to become the best person they can be in a relatively short period of time. When you realize the full enormity of the responsibility you have taken on by becoming a mom, the primary source of care for another whole human being, not to mention one that you love more than you thought you could ever love, there is a really high level of motivation to try your best to get yourself into the best mental and emotional shape possible.” – Cassandra Vieten

 

Mothers’ Day was basically invented and promoted by the greeting card and florist industries. But, even though its origins were crass, the idea took off, because it hit upon a truth; that we all love our mothers. As a result, Mothers’ Day has become a culturally accepted and encouraged time for the celebration of motherhood and all that it means. The deep bonds and love that virtually everyone feels for their mothers and their mothers for them fuels the celebration of the holiday.

 

Motherhood is ubiquitous. Everyone has a mother, who in turn, has had a mother, who has had a mother, etc. Many are, or want to be mothers. It plays an immensely important role in our individual and societal existence. The bond that develops between mother and child is a beautiful, virtually unbreakable, thing, perhaps the strongest bond between individuals that exists. It is essential for ensuring the nurturance that is mandatory for the life of the virtually helpless infant and the development of the child. The effectiveness, or lack thereof, of mothering has a major impact on the offspring that continue throughout their lives. It is such an important role that it seems reasonable to explore what goes into successful mothering and child rearing and what might be of assistance in improving mothering. There has accumulated a tremendous amount of scientific evidence that mindfulness, (“awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally”) can be an important asset for mothers, from conception, to pregnancy, birth, nurturing the infant, and childrearing and the mindfulness of the child can be an important asset for its development. So, on this day celebrating motherhood, we’ll explore the role of mindfulness.

 

Mothering does not occur in a vacuum. It’s been said that “It takes a village” to rear a child. Indeed, motherhood is embedded in a community. There are many people who are either directly or indirectly involved, from the father, to the extended family, the community, the medical profession, teachers, clergy, social workers, childcare workers, and even the government. So relationships become an essential part of mothering from conception, to birth, and family and social life. Mindfulness has been found to be important to becoming a mother in the first place. Mindfulness makes the individual more attractive to the opposite sex, it improves sexual relationships, it helps to relieve infertility, and it improves relationships in general. All of which underscores the importance of mindfulness in improving the likelihood that conception will occur and that childbirth will be born into a supportive social context.

 

Mindfulness continues to be helpful during pregnancy. It can help to relieve the anxiety and depression that commonly accompany pregnancy and even appears to benefit the neurocognitive development of the infant. After birth mindfulness continues to be of assistance as it improves caregiving and parenting, even in the case where the child has developmental disabilities. Mindfulness not only helps the parents deal with the stresses of childrearing, but developing mindfulness in the child can be of great assistance to helping the kids develop emotionally and cognitively, develop high level thinking, develop healthy self-concepts, develop socially, deal with stress, and cope with trauma and childhood depression. It even improves the child’s psychosocial development and academic performance and grades in school. In addition, it seems to be able to assist children through the troubled times of adolescence.

 

It should be clear that mindfulness is an important component of motherhood. Why would this be so? There are a number of reasons that mindfulness helps. It reduces the psychological and physical effects of stress on the mother and let’s face it, pregnancy, birth, caring for infants and raising children can be quite stressful. Mindfulness also improves emotion regulation making the mother better able to be in touch with her emotions yet react to them adaptively and effectively. Mindfulness helps the mother maintain her health and well-being, and to recover quicker should she become ill. After all, mothers can’t take sick leave or take vacations.

 

The essential capacity developed in mindfulness training is paying much greater attention to what’s occurring in the present moment. This can be of immense help to the mother. It makes her better attuned to her child’s and to her own needs. It reduces rumination and recriminations about past mistakes. It tends to diminish the worry and anxiety about the future. It helps her to focus on what needs to be done now, making her much more effective. And it helps her to experience the joys of motherhood to their fullest. In general, by focusing on now, she is tuned into the only time that matters for herself or her child, improving her relationship with reality, dealing with its problems and relishing its wonders.

 

Hence, mindfulness can make mothering better, both for the mother, and the child. So, on this important day of celebration of mothers, let’s adopt mindfulness and make it a part of our relationship with our mothers and our children. We may all love our mothers but we love mindful mothers even more especially when we ourselves are mindful.

 

“For me, the program gave me the freedom to be the kind of mom I wanted to be, instead of just reacting automatically. I still have difficult moments, and can get stressed out, but the mindfulness helps me stay centered and stay connected to myself and my baby.” – Cassandra Vieten

 

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Kick the Smoking Habit with Mindfulness

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Kick the Smoking Habit with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“There’s lots of self-judgment that goes on when you’re trying to do something difficult, like trying to quit smoking. Also if we judge others, that can get us riled up, which can lead to smoking. We teach it as a way to learn to concentrate more but also to let go of judgment. When people have a craving, they can notice if they’re resisting or beating themselves up.” – Judson Brewer

 

“Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year, with more than 41,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke. In addition, smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion a year. In 2013, an estimated 17.8% (42.1 million) U.S. adults were current cigarette smokers.”  (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

 

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known. But, its addictiveness is not just due to its pharmacological properties. Addiction to smoking also involves learned or conditioned factors, genetics, and social and environmental factors. This makes it easy to become addicted and very difficult to stop. To some extent this is why there still are high rates of smoking even though mostly everyone understands that it has very negative effects on health and longevity.

 

There are a wide variety of methods and strategies to quit smoking which are to some extent effective. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 40% of smokers who want to quit make a serious attempt to do so each year, but fewer than 5% actually succeed. Most people require three or four failed attempts before being successful. One problem is that after quitting if a single cigarette is smoked, going back to regular smoking is almost assured. As John Polito wrote “nicotine dependency recovery is one of the few challenges in life where being 99% successful all but assures 100% defeat.”

 

So, better methods to quit which can not only promote quitting but also prevent relapse are badly needed. Mindfulness training has been shown to be helpful in treatment for addiction and prevention of relapse after recovery. In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1224395630917694/?type=3&theater

or below

Oikonomou and colleagues review the published randomized controlled trials on the use of mindfulness training as a treatment for quitting cigarette smoking. They found, not surprising, that the training was successful in increasing mindfulness. More importantly, they found that although mindfulness training did not produce significantly different cigarette abstinence rates at 4 to 6 weeks following training, it did at 17 to 24 weeks, where 25.2% of mindfulness trained participants were abstinent while only 13.6% of usual treatment participants were.

 

These results are encouraging as the reviewed studies were high quality, well controlled, and designed trials. They suggest that mindfulness training is effective in promoting the long-term cessation of cigarette smoking. It is not known exactly what it is about mindfulness training that assists with cessation of smoking. But, it can be speculated that since quitting smoking is very stressful, mindfulness training might help because it reduces the psychological and physical responses to stress, thus making it easier for the individual to withstand the stress of nicotine withdrawal. The fact, however, that mindfulness training did not improve cessation rates at 4 weeks after treatment and it is during this time that nicotine withdrawal effects are present, that it is unlikely that this is the mechanism of action.

 

Staying abstinent from smoking over the long-term requires that the individual be able to refrain from responding to the myriad of social, environmental, and physical triggers that signal cigarette smoking. By increasing mindfulness, the training may make it easier for the individual to be aware of these triggers and thus be better able to prevent responding to them. Regardless of the mechanism, it is clear that mindfulness training is effective in promoting abstinence from cigarette smoking following successful quitting. This is an important advance in the fight against this major threat to health.

 

So, kick the smoking habit with mindfulness.

 

“evidence suggests that exercises aimed at increasing self-control, such as mindfulness meditation, can decrease the unconscious influences that motivate a person to smoke,” – Nora Volkow

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

 

Study Summary

Oikonomou MT, Arvanitis M, Sokolove RL. Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials. J Health Psychol. 2016 Apr 4. pii: 1359105316637667. [Epub ahead of print]

 

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that mindfulness training has a promising potential for smoking treatment. In order to examine the efficacy of mindfulness training in smoking cessation, we performed a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Four randomized controlled trials with 474 patients were included in our analysis. The results showed that 25.2 percent of participants remained abstinent for more than 4 months in the mindfulness group compared to 13.6 percent of those who received usual care therapy (relative risk, 1.88; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.04–3.40). Our results suggest that mindfulness training may have an important role to play in efforts to lower cigarette smoking rates.

 

Improve Thought Executive Function with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness training on focusing on the present moment may develop control of attention, or executive function. This enhances capacity for sustained attention, attention switching, and inhibition of elaborative processing, thereby increasing our mastery over the content of our thoughts and actions. . .  this amplifies our ability to self-regulate, allowing us to redirect our attention from rumination and depressogenic thoughts back to the experience of the present moment, thus decreasing negative affect and improving psychological health.” – Richard Chambers

 

Mindfulness practices such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi/qigong have been shown to have a myriad of positive benefits for the practitioner and they have been shown to alter a large variety of cognitive (thought) processes, such as attentional ability, memory, verbal fluency, critical thinking, learning, analytic thinking, mathematical ability, higher level (meta-cognitive) thinking, and cognitive reappraisal. There have not, however, been direct comparisons made between the practices to establish which may be superior for the improvement of which cognitive processes. In order to optimize the effectiveness of mindfulness practices to improve thinking it is important to determine the effective components of each practice.

 

In today’s Research News article “What Confucius practiced is good for your mind: Examining the effect of a contemplative practice in Confucian tradition on executive functions.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1223639664326624/?type=3&theater

or see below

Teng and Lien compare the effectiveness of trainings for 4-weeks, twice a week for 90 minutes each, of mindful movements, or meditation, or a no treatment control. The mindful movement practice was termed Body-Mind Axial Awareness (BMAA) practice. It is very similar to tai chi except that the movements are not precisely choreographed and programmed. Chan meditation practice was used. It is very similar to Zen meditation and emphasizes breath following. They measured mindfulness, working memory ability, response inhibition (Stroop task), sustained attention and attentional switching ability.

They found that both the meditation and the mindful movement practices produced significant increases in mindfulness, in particular the observing and acting with awareness facets of mindfulness. They also found that the mindful movement practice produced a significant increase in working memory ability and sustained attention while the meditation training produced a significant increase in attentional switching ability. The groups did not differ in response inhibition ability. Hence, meditation practice appears to improve mindfulness and the ability to switch attention while the mindful movement practice improves mindfulness and working memory.

 

Increases in mindfulness, especially with the observing and acting with awareness facets, are routinely found with all mindfulness practices. So, these findings are not surprising and do not signal a difference between practices. The mindful movement practice requires continuous sustained attention in order to produce smooth movement sequences, so it makes sense that this practice would produce better sustained attention and therefore reduce mind wandering. This may, in turn, improve working memory ability as it improves sustained attention on the contents of memory, thereby reducing loss from working memory. It is possible that the training in focusing attention in the meditation practice that requires shifting attention back to the breath after mind wandering may be responsible for the improvements in attentional switching seen with meditation practice.

 

Although the equivalence of the mindful movement practice and the meditation practice was well maintained, one difference would be impossible to make equivalent and that is effects of the practice on the cardiovascular system. Mindful movement practice would be expected to raise heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolic rate while meditation would be expected to reduce them. In addition, the no treatment control is a weak control condition and a light exercise condition practiced over equivalent periods of time would be a much better comparison condition. So, for future research it might be useful to include a light exercise (e.g. walking) control condition.

 

Regardless improve thought executive function with mindfulness.

 

“training students in mindfulness techniques improves mental focus, increases academic performance, strengthens ability to emotionally regulate, and supports positive human qualities: kindness, empathy, compassion.” – Ready for School

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

 

Study Summary

Teng SC, Lien YW. What Confucius practiced is good for your mind: Examining the effect of a contemplative practice in Confucian tradition on executive functions. Conscious Cogn. 2016 Mar 30;42:204-215. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.03.016. [Epub ahead of print]

PMID: 27038245

 

Abstract

The short-term training effects on various executive functions (EFs) by a movement-based contemplative practice (MBCP) are examined. Three aspects of EFs (working memory capacity, inhibition, switching) are assessed before and after a month-long 12-h training period using Body-Mind Axial Awareness (BMAA) principles that Confucius followers have practiced for more than 2000years. A mindfulness-based practice (Chan-meditation) and a waiting-list control group served as contrast groups. Our results showed that the BMAA group performed better on the task that measured working memory capacity than did the Chan-meditation and the waiting-list groups after training. In addition, the Chan-meditation groups outperformed the control group on attentional switching, a novel finding for this kind of practice. Our findings not only show a new effect of short-term MBCPs on EFs, but also indicate movement-based and mindfulness-based contemplative practices might benefit development of various aspects of EFs in different ways.

 

Change the Traumatized Brain with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mind-body exercise offers a low-cost approach that could be used as a complement to traditional psychotherapy or drug treatments. These self-directed practices give PTSD patients control over their own treatment and have few side effects.” – Sang H. Kim

 

Experiencing trauma is quite common. It has been estimated that 60% of men and 50% of women will experience a significant traumatic event during their lifetime. But, only a fraction will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But this still results in a frightening number of people with 7%-8% of the population developing PTSD at some point in their life. For military personnel it’s much more likely for PTSD to develop with about 11%-20% of those who have served in a war zone developing PTSD.

 

PTSD involves a number of troubling symptoms including reliving the event with the same fear and horror in nightmares or with a flashback. PTSD sufferers avoid situations that remind them of the event this may include crowds, driving, movies, etc. and may avoid seeking help because it keeps them from having to think or talk about the event. They often experience negative changes in beliefs and feelings including difficulty experiencing positive or loving feelings toward other people, avoiding relationships, memory difficulties, or see the world as dangerous and no one can be trusted. Sufferers may feel hyperarousal, feeling keyed up and jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. They may experience sudden anger or irritability, may have a hard time sleeping or concentrating, may be startled by a loud noise or surprise.

 

Obviously, these are troubling symptoms that need to be addressed. There are a number of therapies that have been developed to treat PTSD. One of which, mindfulness training has been found to be particularly effective. The nervous system is constantly changing and adapting to the environment. It will change size, activity, and connectivity in response to experience. For example, the brain area that controls the right index finger has been found to be larger in blind subjects who use braille than in sighted individuals.  Similarly, cab drivers in London who navigate the twisting streets of the city, have a larger hippocampus, which is involved in spatial navigation, than predefined route bus drivers. These changes in the brain are called neuroplasticity. Over the last decade neuroscience has been studying the effects of contemplative practices on the brain and has identified neuroplastic changes in widespread areas. This all suggests that mindfulness training would improve PTSD symptoms by producing changes to the brains of sufferers.

 

In today’s Research News article “Altered default mode network (DMN) resting state functional connectivity following a mindfulness-based exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1223008144389776/?type=3&theater

or below

King and colleagues perform functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (f-MRI) before and after a 16-week mindfulness treatment program for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans and compared the results to veterans treated with a present-centered group therapy for PTSD. They found that both groups showed improvement in PTSD symptoms, but only the mindfulness treatment produced significant improvement in total and intrusive, avoidant, and hyperarousal PTSD symptoms. This replicates previous results that mindfulness training is effective in treating PTSD symptoms.

 

King and colleagues also found that the mindfulness treatment produced changes in the nervous system. In particular, they found increased connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. These are structures included in what has been termed the Default Mode Network (DMN) which is involved in producing mind wandering and intrusive thoughts. In addition, they found that the greater the increase in connectivity of these structures the greater the improvement in PTSD symptoms. These results suggest that mindfulness training changes the nervous system in such a way as to improve the ability of the individual to shift attention away from mind wandering and intrusive thoughts. These off-task thoughts are characteristic of PTSD sufferers and are a key symptom of the disorder. By being able to shift away from these thoughts and pay attention to the present moment, the mindfulness trained individuals are better able to keep these thoughts from tormenting them and thereby improve PTSD.

 

These results demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness training for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suggest a mechanism by which the training produces these effects. It appears to alter the Default Mode Network (DMN) of the brain allowing the individual to better pay attention to the present moment and shift thinking away from the intrusive thoughts like flashbacks that are characteristic of PTSD.

 

So, change the traumatized brain with mindfulness.

 

“Very often, depression can be about the past, ruminating over and over about losses or other terrible things that happened in the past. Anxiety, meanwhile, very often involves ruminating about terrible things that you’re afraid are going to happen in the future. But in the present, very often, there’s actually nothing terrible going on, and the act of recognizing that can be helpful.” – Anthony King

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

King, A. P., Block, S. R., Sripada, R. K., Rauch, S., Giardino, N., Favorite, T., Angstadt, M., Kessler, D., Welsh, R. and Liberzon, I. (2016), Altered default mode network (DMN) resting state functional connectivity following a mindfulness-based exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq. Depress. Anxiety, 33: 289–299. doi: 10.1002/da.22481

 

Abstract

Background: Recent studies suggest that mindfulness may be an effective component for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. Mindfulness involves practice in volitional shifting of attention from “mind wandering” to present-moment attention to sensations, and cultivating acceptance. We examined potential neural correlates of mindfulness training using a novel group therapy (mindfulness-based exposure therapy (MBET)) in combat veterans with PTSD deployed to Afghanistan (OEF) and/or Iraq (OIF).

Methods: Twenty-three male OEF/OIF combat veterans with PTSD were treated with a mindfulness-based intervention (N = 14) or an active control group therapy (present-centered group therapy (PCGT), N = 9). Pre-post therapy functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, 3 T) examined resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in default mode network (DMN) using posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) seeds, and salience network (SN) with anatomical amygdala seeds. PTSD symptoms were assessed at pre- and posttherapy with Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS).

Results: Patients treated with MBET had reduced PTSD symptoms (effect size d = 0.92) but effect was not significantly different from PCGT (d = 0.46). Increased DMN rsFC (PCC seed) with dorsolateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) regions and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regions associated with executive control was seen following MBET. A group × time interaction found MBET showed increased connectivity with DLPFC and dorsal ACC following therapy; PCC–DLPFC connectivity was correlated with improvement in PTSD avoidant and hyperarousal symptoms.

Conclusions: Increased connectivity between DMN and executive control regions following mindfulness training could underlie increased capacity for volitional shifting of attention. The increased PCC–DLPFC rsFC following MBET was related to PTSD symptom improvement, pointing to a potential therapeutic mechanism of mindfulness-based therapies.

 

Improve Athletic Flexibility and Balance with Yoga

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“She was injury-free because of yoga, stretching her body into difficult positions. “I’ve never seen such an improvement in my game, the difference it makes. I’m quicker, more nimble. Instead of being tighter, I’m more relaxed, more comfortable.” – Brenna Wise

 

Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of benefits for psychological and physical health. It is a mind-body practice that stresses both mental attention to present moment movements, breath control, and flexibility, range of motion, and balance. It can be practiced by anyone from children to seniors. Recently, there have been a number of high profile athletes who have adopted a yoga practice to improve their athletic performance. But, does yoga actually help elite athletes to perform at an even higher level? The ability of yoga to improve balance would seem to be a natural help for the athlete and the improvement in flexibility could well help the athlete resist injury.

 

In today’s Research News article “Impact of 10-weeks of yoga practice on flexibility and balance of college athletes.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1222473291109928/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728955/

Polsgrove, Eggleston, and Lockyer randomly assigned male college soccer and baseball players to yoga training or control groups. Both groups received their typical athletic workouts throughout the study. But, in addition, the yoga group were trained in yoga postures twice a week in one-hour sessions.

 

The yoga group had significant improvements in both flexibility and balance. Flexibility increased 21% in tests of shoulder flexibility and sit-reach. Balance was improved 32% in the stork-stand, a common yoga pose. In contrast, the control group declined in all measures. Joint angle measurements revealed that the yoga group had significant improvement in ankle dorsiflexion, hip and knee extension, and shoulder and knee flexion. Hence, yoga training appeared to produce significant improvements in balance, flexibility, and the range of joint movement.

 

These are important changes in the physical abilities of the athletes. Although logically, these improvements would be expected to translate to improved athletic performance and lower occurrence of sports injuries, this was not investigated in the present study and remains for future research. It should be mentioned that the yoga training used emphasized the physical aspects of yoga. Mental discipline is also very important for athletic performance. It seems reasonable that future research should also include various aspects of the mental training that occurs in a typical yoga training.

 

Regardless, improve athletic flexibility and balance with yoga.

 

“I wanted my body to feel that way all the time. I became looser, and I only missed one game due to injury. It helped me remain injury-free, and helped my agility and athleticism.” – Eric Stutz

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Study Summary

Polsgrove, M. J., Eggleston, B. M., & Lockyer, R. J. (2016). Impact of 10-weeks of yoga practice on flexibility and balance of college athletes. International Journal of Yoga, 9(1), 27–34. http://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.171710

 

Abstract

Background:

With clearer evidence of its benefits, coaches, and athletes may better see that yoga has a role in optimizing performance.

Aims:

To determine the impact of yoga on male college athletes (N = 26).

Methods:

Over a 10-week period, a yoga group (YG) of athletes (n = 14) took part in biweekly yoga sessions; while a nonyoga group (NYG) of athletes (n = 12) took part in no additional yoga activity. Performance measures were obtained immediately before and after this period. Measurements of flexibility and balance, included: Sit-reach (SR), shoulder flexibility (SF), and stork stand (SS); dynamic measurements consisted of joint angles (JA) measured during the performance of three distinct yoga positions (downward dog [DD]; right foot lunge [RFL]; chair [C]).

Results:

Significant gains were observed in the YG for flexibility (SR, P = 0.01; SF, P = 0.03), and balance (SS, P = 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the NYG for flexibility and balance. Significantly, greater JA were observed in the YG for: RFL (dorsiflexion, l-ankle; P = 0.04), DD (extension, r-knee, P = 0.04; r-hip; P = 0.01; flexion, r-shoulder; P = 0.01) and C (flexion, r-knee; P = 0.01). Significant JA differences were observed in the NYG for: DD (flexion, r-knee, P = 0.01: r-hip, P = 0.05; r-shoulder, P = 0.03) and C (flexion r-knee, P = 0.01; extension, r-shoulder; P = 0.05). A between group comparison revealed the significant differences for: RFL (l-ankle; P = 0.01), DD (r-knee, P = 0.01; r-hip; P = 0.01), and C (r-shoulder, P = 0.02).

Conclusions:

Results suggest that a regular yoga practice may increase the flexibility and balance as well as whole body measures of male college athletes and therefore, may enhance athletic performances that require these characteristics.