Active Mindfulness

“Paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”

Jon Kabat-zinn

Recently, I decided to try something different with my own mindfulness practice. An approach called active mindfulness draws movement into mindfulness, offering a mindful experience to those of us who may struggle with sitting still. New to this approach, I set down my laptop, wiggled into my leggings, and gave it a go.

Before I go too far, let’s dive into the term, “mindfulness.” The modern understanding of mindfulness is described by Jon Kabat-Zinn as “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (Chiesa & Malinowski, 2011). This curious attention to the present can be implemented in a variety of ways, including meditation, body scanning, listening to music, among others.

Ultimately, I found it helpful to adapt my mindfulness practice to what already worked for me. A podcast I recently listened to suggested that a key to success with new habits is to create a supportive environment for engagement (Kaufman, 2020) . Since I had a pretty good idea that perfect stillness was not my thing, I decided to use a more active approach in the form of mindful yoga. I found that incorporating movement helped to keep my mind and body engaged. I could focus on my breathing and align my movements with my breath, giving my mind something to do other than wander. Furthermore, the movements demanded a mixture of strength and relaxation that made my body feel more balanced than my prior approach to exercise. The resulting physical and mental refreshment that I felt made me wonder how mindful yoga compares to traditional workout programs.

It turns out that research supports the findings of my own experience with mindful yoga. In a study done by J. Kwok, et al. (2019), participants with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) were separated into two categories. One group completed an 8-week program in mindful yoga, while the other group engaged in stretching and resistance training exercise (SRTE). The findings showed that both programs showed similar results in physical improvement. Furthermore, the mindful yoga group displayed significant improvements in anxiety and depression that was not experienced by the SRTE group. I would, however, like to point out that this study was conducted with older PD patients. Because of this, a physical fitness disparity between interventions may become more apparent in younger, physically fit individuals lifting more weight as part of a SRTE program. However, the results suggest that incorporating mindful yoga into a fitness routine would be beneficial for overall health.

Have you been thinking of incorporating mindfulness more into your daily routine? A resource that I found helpful was Cat Meffan’s YouTube channel, which contains a plethora of yoga and meditation videos to get you started. Try it out and see if it’s helpful to use a little movement to find that stillness!

References:

Chiesa, A., & Malinowski, P. (2011). Mindfulness‐based approaches: Are they all the same?. Journal of clinical psychology, 67(4), 404-424.

Kaufman, S.B. (Host). (2020, May 20). Wendy Wood on how to make positive changes that stick (No. 196)[Audio podcast episode]. In The psychology podcast. https://scottbarrykaufman.com/podcast/wendy-wood-on-how-to-make-positive-changes-that-stick.

Kwok JYY, Kwan JCY, Auyeung M, et al. Effects of Mindfulness Yoga vs Stretching and Resistance Training Exercises on Anxiety and Depression for People With Parkinson Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Neurol. 2019;76(7):755–763. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.0534