Each year we have a fabulous presentation by Dr. Jane Kellock about Researching Mindfully. In her presentation Jane shares the methodology (hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry) she used in her PhD, which was sponsored by the Mindfulness Association, in order to explore the lived experience of those who have engaged in the long terms meditation training pathway we offer. This pathway starts with mindfulness and then continues with compassion and insight meditation training. You can download Jane’s research from the research page of our website.

As part of her presentation Jane recalls what self-compassion expert Kristin Neff said about the Mindfulness Association’s mindfulness meditation training at our 2014 conference. She referred to it as the only secular (non-Buddhist) training that engages with all four elements of ‘Big M’ Mindfulness.

But what are the four elements that fall within the ‘Big M’ Mindfulness umbrella?

            m1 – paying attention in the present moment (mindfulness)

            m2 – relating to experience without judgement or resistance (acceptance)

            m3 – relating to the experiencer with good will (compassion)

            m4 – understanding the nature of the both experience and experiencer (insight)

(Neff, 2014)

Key findings from Jane’s research are that:

• The initial motivation for following a long term path of mindfulness practice included a life-altering experience, such as a loss or death of someone close which altered the participant’s belief about the world.
• Participants had a previous interest in meditative or contemplative practice before following a long term path of mindfulness practice.
• The participant’s situational context (life circumstances) acted as an enabling or inhibiting force to their commitment to long term mindfulness practice.
• The participant’s intentions, beliefs and frame of mind altered through mindfulness meditation practice.
• Life enhancing changes were found in:
  • Family and social relationships
  • Mental and physical health
  • Psychological states of being
  • Experiences of spirituality or connection
  • Connection with the environment
• Some changes had important negative connotations, but were viewed by participants paradoxically as positive.

Many of the short-term mindfulness courses, the use of apps or other online platforms can be helpful, for example to relieve stress and enable short term periods of relative calm. They tend to focus on m1, with an element of m2 and can enable participants to experience a state of mindfulness during periods when they are actively practicing mindfulness meditation.

However, for life transformation in which one embodies the traits of mindfulness in daily life and not only during periods of mindfulness meditation practice, a more in-depth and systematic training is called for, including m1 to m4, and supported by experienced teachers and a community of practice. Such a training enables a quality of presence in daily life in which one embodies the attitudinal foundations of mindfulness: non-judging, patience, beginners mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance and letting go.

The Mindfulness Association can offer the ‘Big M’ training via it’s Level 1 Being Present Training, Level 2 Mindfulness Level 2 – Responding with Compassion and Level 3 Seeing Deeply training over three years. This training is also available in the two Masters degree courses  we offer in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen and the University of the West of Scotland.

So if you enjoy a ‘state’ of mindfulness, why not develop that into a ‘trait’ of mindfulness by joining following our long term, in depth, systematic, ‘Big M’ training in mindfulness meditation.

Kind Wishes,

Heather

Wamsler (2018) reviews and assesses current research on how mindfulness may be linked to climate adaptation and points to a lack of relevant research. Climate adaptation is described as adapting to increasing risk and climate change. Wamsler also conducted a survey to complement the literature review about how individual mindfulness is linked to climate adaptation. This survey found that levels of higher individual mindfulness correspond to increased motivation to take (or support) climate adaptation actions. The paper concludes that mindfulness has the potential to facilitate climate adaptation at all scales, individual to collective.

Stollberg & Jonas (2021) is a review of research focussing on the emotional processes of individuals and groups which explain motivated responses to the global threat of climate crisis. They propose that climate anxiety can be reduced by mindfulness, connectedness to nature and a sense of common humanity. They suggest that collective emotions of anger, guilt and ‘being moved’ can increase positive individual and collective engagement and that working in groups can help to reduce anxiety and when combined with pro-environmental norms can promote pro-environmental action.

Baudon & Jachens (2021) reviews research literature on approaches to eco-anxiety. They identified several themes across interventions including: fostering inner resilience, encouraging clients to take action, helping clients find social connection and emotional support by joining groups, and connecting clients with nature. Fostering inner resilience included self-care and cognitive, emotion-focussed and meaning-focussed interventions, including shifting from catastrophising to a more balanced perspective and fostering optimism and hope. They found that the interventions targeted different layers of an individual’s wellbeing, from inner experiences to connecting with others and connecting with the natural world. They recommend interventions that are holistic, multi-pronged and grief informed, which include eco-anxiety focussed group work.

To counter the lack of research specific to climate anxiety, there is a growing and convincing body of research, including several meta-analyses and systematic reviews that mindfulness meditation can reduce anxiety in general.

The engaged mindfulness approach we follow, based on Joanna Macy’s (2012) spiral of the Work That Reconnects, fits well with the research findings so far. This approach is based on practising mindfulness meditation and reflection together and then sharing our experiences with each other. The process begins with resourcing and nourishing ourselves with joy and gratitude, before turning mindfully towards what is difficult in the world with mindful awareness. From here we look together for a new perspective from which we can mindfully and practically go forth. To find out more or to join a course, please click here.

Written by Heather Regan-Addis

Heather Regan-Addis is a Founder Member and Director of the Mindfulness Association.

Heather delivers training for the Mindfulness Association on our two Post Graduate Master’s degree courses as well as on our regular courses in Mindfulness, Compassion, Insight and on our Teacher training programmes.

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Our Engaged Mindfulness Course begins on September 8th

We have an Introduction to Compassion Retreat weekend coming up on 23-25 September, in the wonderful peaceful Samye Ling Tibetan Centre for World Peace in the south of Scotland. Find out more about that HERE

• To help support your practice on this life journey we have a daily guided meditation practice Monday to Friday 10.30am and 7pm
• The Mindfulness Association has in place a widening access policy so we can help you attend courses if you are struggling financially, we don’t want this to prevent you from your practice.
• Try our FREE 4 WEEK email Course HERE
• Mindfulness Association Membership is also a great way to support your practice on this journey. For only £10 for a 6 month trial you can have access to fortnightly teachings, access to free recorded practices and a free members weekend packed full of teachings and opportunity to network with other mindfulness practitioners.
• Post Graduate Studies. 2 Msc. courses. 
• UPCOMING COURSES

In-Depth Mindfulness • Mindfulness Level 2 – Responding with Compassion • Insight • Wisdom • Teacher Training • 2 Post Graduate Master’s Degrees.

References

Baudon & Jachens, 2021. A Scoping Review of Interventions for the Treatment of Eco-Anxiety.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/18/9636

Macy & Johnstone, 2012 (Revised Ed. 2022). Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power.

https://www.goodreads.com/tr/book/show/13235686-active-hope

Wamsler, 2018. Mind the Gap: The role of mindfulness in adapting to increasing risk and climate change.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-017-0524-3

Stollberg & Jonas, 2021. Existential threat as a challenge for individual and collective engagement: Climate Change and the motivation to act.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X21001962

Image by NOAA on Unsplash

Firstly, research supports the view that movement practices, such as yoga, qi gong and tai chi are beneficial practices in and of themselves.

Research suggest that yoga practice is beneficial to mental health, including reducing anxiety, depression, stress, age related decline in brain function. It is also beneficial to physical health, including improving diabetes, cardiovascular function and musculoskeletal conditions. It proves useful in supporting people with diagnoses of cancer and through the process of ageing (Okonkwo & van Praag, 2019).

Research suggests that qi gong and tai chi practice provides a number of health benefits, including  bone density, chronic pain conditions, cardiopulmonary effects, falls, balance and related risk factors, quality of life, self-efficacy, immune and inflammation related responses, anxiety and depression (Jahnke et al, 2010).

Secondly, research suggests that the combination of mindfulness and movement may bring additional benefits. For example, the mindful yoga element of MBSR has been shown to have the biggest impact on changes in mindfulness, wellbeing and medical symptoms. Also, mindful yoga is correlated with decreases in negative judgement of inner experience, contributing to reduced stress and reduced depressive symptoms. Body based practices, such as yoga and tai chi improve awareness of the moving body, but when this is made explicit through mindful movement, significant possibilities for development of the mind-body system arise (Russell & Tatton-Ramos, 2014).

Some research suggests that mindfulness starts with the body and that from learning to attend mindfully to the body, follows the ability to regulate more abstract mental activity, such as thoughts, memories, images, etc. In addition, embodied learning may create a learning experience that is embedded at a deeper level. There is growing interest in health professions in body psychotherapies and somatic education methods, such as Feldenkrais and Rolfing, which anecdotally report favourable results.  Movement and the motor system provide an essential foundation for our emotional and cognitive lives. Movement and mood are intimately linked and it is clear that lack of movement impacts negatively upon us (Russell & Tatton-Ramos, 2014).

There is also the suggestion that mindful movement, as opposed to sitting mindfulness practice, may be particularly beneficial to those who experience chaotic, disorganised or distressing mental experiences, those with compromised attentional capabilities, those who find it hard to sit still and those with a diagnosis of ADHD (Russell & Arcuri, 2015).

When movement is used in mindfulness training the same brain areas are engaged as for mind wandering states, which suggests that mindful movement will help participant to be more present. Working memory load is increased when planning and executing movements, and increased use of working memory is correlated with decreased activity in the default mode brain network associated with mind wandering. In addition, the concrete physical sense of a movement, with a beginning middle and end may well provide a stronger anchor against which to detect mind wandering (Russell & Arcuri, 2015).

So, for those people who find it difficult to be in touch with body sensations and for those people who have particularly active minds and/or who find it difficult to sit still, mindful movement practice may be a good way to access the many benefits of mindfulness practice.

References

Jahnke et al (2010), A Comprehensive Review of Health Benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3085832/?fbclid=IwAR3ws_QdK04IYiuoeGYfOzfwh9PBh4cpLb22nhHl3lCRDLtBhX9KUPUHHzQ

Okonkwo & van Praag (2019), Yoga Effects on Brain Health: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature.

https://content.iospress.com/articles/brain-plasticity/bpl190084

Russell & Arcuri (2015), A neurophysiological and neuropsychological consideration of mindful movement: clinical and research implications.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00282/full

Russell & Tatton-Ramos (2014), Body in Mind Training: Mindful Movement for the Clinical Setting.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345077248_Body_in_mind_training_mindful_movement_for_the_clinical_setting

The Mindfulness Association approach to mindfulness training is unusual in that it incorporates training in self-compassion. In addition, we offer a training in compassion meditation, starting with self-compassion, for those who have completed mindfulness training.

Self-compassion as formulated by Kristin Neff (2011) has three components.

The first is to turn towards what is difficult or challenging with curiosity as opposed to avoiding or distracting ourselves from what is difficult.

The second is recognising our common humanity, which means recognising that the human condition is messy, evolved and conditioned and so many of the causes and conditions leading to a difficulty or challenge we did not choose and so we don’t have to blame ourselves. We recognise that all humans experience the same range of emotions and that this is a normal part of living a human life. This is opposed to the usual habit of self-isolation or thinking it is only us that feels bad in the face of these challenges.

The third is actively taking steps to be kind to ourselves as opposed to the usual reaction of giving ourselves a hard time. We do this by making a gesture of self-soothing towards ourselves, such as placing our hands on our hearts, by saying kind phrases to ourselves and by actively doing an act of self-kindness, such as making ourselves a cup of tea or phoning a supporting friend.

Zessin et al (2015) a meta-analysis of 79 studies, including a total of 16,416 participants highlights the importance of self-compassion for an individuals’ well-being. People who are high in self-compassion treat themselves with kindness and concern when they experience negative events and so cope better with stressful situations. In particular, people with high self-compassion tend to construe negative events in less dire terms and focus less on negative emotions. (Batts Allen & Leary, 2010).

MacBeth & Gumley (2012) a meta-analysis of fourteen studies concluded that self-compassion is an important factor underpinning mental health and resilience, in particularly depression, anxiety and stress.

Ferrari et al (2019) which is a meta-analysis of twenty seven randomised control trials concludes that cultivating self-compassion can improve eating behaviour, rumination, compassion, stress, depression, mindfulness, self-criticism and anxiety, with stronger results when self-compassion is cultivated in a group training context. This meta-analysis also suggested that the positive improvements were maintained after the intervention and that depressive symptoms continued to improve after the intervention. Results were particularly good in relation to eating behaviour, which is why self-compassion practice is a big part of our Mindfulness Based Healthy Living training.

References

Batts Allen & Leary, 2010. Self-Compassion, Stress and Coping.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2914331/

Ferrari et al, 2019. Self-Compassion Interventions and Psychosocial Outcomes: a Meta-Analysis of RCTs.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-019-01134-6

MacBeth & Gumley, 2012. Exploring Compassion: a Meta-analysis of the Association between Self-Compassion and Psychopathology.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229151837_Exploring_compassion_A_meta-analysis_of_the_association_between_self-compassion_psychopathology

Neff, 2011. Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem and Well Being.

https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/SC.SE_.Well-being.pdf

Zessin et al, 2015. The Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis.

https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Zessin.meta-analysis.pdf