Mind Body Intervention Flashcards
Mind-body interventions
focus on a communication system between the mind and body, in an attempt to affect the mind’s ability to improve health status
○ mental, emotional, spiritual, social, sexual, and physical domains
T or F: Eastern AND Western medical practitioners have come to the realization that this communication system is powerful and promotes self-healing
T
Healing does not always mean the cessation of physical symptoms, but it indicates the power to ______
“make whole”
Many mind-body practices originate out of ______ or ______ medicine
Chinese or Ayurvedic
Placebo theory
may cause a placebo effect that tends to modify cognitive and body responses in a positive way by changing physiology
positive responses are thought to boost the body’s immune system
Pelletier’s 6 Basic Principles of Mind-Body Interventions
- The mind, body, and spirit are connected with one another and environmental influences
- Stress and depression contribute to the development of and hinder recovery from chronic diseases because they create measurable hormonal imbalances
- Psychoneuroimmunology explains how mental functioning provokes physical and biochemical changes that weaken immunity
- Overall health improves when people are optimistic and have a positive outlook on life
- The Placebo Effect confirms the importance of mind–body medicine and is a valuable intervention
- Social support from family, friends, coworkers, classmates, or organized self-help groups boosts the effectiveness of traditional and CAM therapies
Meditation
state in which the body is consciously relaxed, the mind is allowed to become calm and focused, and deep feelings of well-being are experienced
T or F: meditation is not a collection of techniques but is a way of being, a way of seeing and even a way of loving
T
Meditation Facilitates Growth in 3 Main Areas
- Getting to know the mind
- So that a person can carefully study his/her feelings, thoughts, emotions, various mental states - Training the mind
- Developing awareness, concentration, serenity; all necessary for well-being - Freeing the mind
- Not easy, yet necessary to diminish negative tendencies that decrease a sense of inner peace and harmony
Forms of Meditation
- Vipassana
- Transcendental
- Zen
- Taoist
- Buddhist
- Mindfulness
Vipassana Meditation
“Insight meditation”
- Buddha believed cause of suffering could be erased if people could see their true nature
Uses mindfulness - being present in moment
- observe our own body and our mind in a nonjudgmental and unbiased way
Watchful of breath as it comes and goes
- don’t control breathe, let it be
“easiest” meditation technique
Transcendental Meditation
Founded by guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Transcendental consciousness of our most inner self
- helps people to see or transcend beyond their thoughts and to experience the source of their thoughts
State of ‘restful alertness’
Does not require person to concentrate or contemplate
May be used by everyone (even those w hectic lives)
Zen Meditation
AKA Zazen Meditation = “study of self”
Gradually goes to absolute stillness and emptiness
Mind, body, and breath come together as one
Position used is the pyramid structure
Taoist Meditation
Fundamental principle is to generate and circulate internal energy → “dehchee”
1st Primary Guideline: be quiet, still, and calm
2nd Guideline: Concentrate and focus
breathing with the nostrils and expanding and contracting the abdomen
Buddhist Meditation
Brings mind, body, and soul to tranquil balance
Uses one-pointedness (focus on one point)
Disciplined practice
- must become habit to benefit our minds, bodies, and souls effectively
Mindfulness Meditation
Focuses on the present
- Heart of most meditation forms lie in mindfulness
Become aware of physical, mental, and emotional states
Purposely paying attention to your experience in the moment
any state of mind can be a meditative state (anger, sadness, enthusiasm, delight) and is much more valuable than a blank mind or one that is out of touch
- Awareness of emotions = opportunity to learn about ourselves
Seated Meditation Positions
= allow stillness and quietness
- Burmese position: like pyramid of seated Buddha
- Sit on floor and use a pillow so your knees can touch the ground
- 360-degree stability - Full lotus position: stable and symmetrical
- Both legs are placed on opposite thigh
Movement meditation positions
Walking meditation
martial arts: zen archery, tai chi, qigong
sufi dancing:
- dance of universal peace
- uses music, poetry recital, singing, and dance
- bring participants to a mystical experience
** Dervish dancers:
- dance to the rhythm of the cosmos or the universe as they seem to represent the solar system and the planets that revolve around the sun
- seem to be in a trance-like state as they begin to understand the possibility of the eternity of the soul
Gurdjieff Sacred Dancing:
- use well-defined movements in which different parts of the body seem not to be related with each other
purpose of the dance is to train the dancers to be in the present moment with no thoughts of the past or future
Meditation Techniques
- Concentration and Visualization Techniques
- Insight Techniques
- Sound Techniques
- Emotion, Feeling, and Thought Techniques
Concentration and Visualization Techniques
CONCENTRATION
- Focus on an external object
- Help develop focus, self-knowledge, and calmness, and be aware of our consciousness
- Allows for greater awareness and clarity to emerge
VISUALIZATION
- Moving awareness to various parts of the body
- Imagining internal flows of light or energy
- Visualize images of places
Insight Techniques
WHO AM I?
- negating our false self so that we can realize our true nature or enlightenment
- start looking for the self and go deeper and deeper, the real Self is waiting there to take you in
Koan Meditation Technique
- break down an ordinary pattern of thinking
- Includes a story, question, or statement that cannot be understood by rational thinking but can be solved through intuition
Contemplation Meditation Technique
- use introspection, self-study, and reflection
- Help us gain a deeper understanding of some aspect of reality
- “meditation of the corpse” - imagine your own death, butial of body, body’s decomposition = helps us face reality
Silent Mind Meditation
- directly perceiving and feeling the world around us by focusing on how we are thinking
- being sensitive of the senses, the movement of the mind, the emotions, and to others
Empty Mind Meditation
- “awareness without object,” an emptying of all thoughts from your mind
- sitting still, often in a full lotus or cross-legged position, and letting our mind go silent on its own
mantra
Word or phrase that is repeated during meditation
Sound Techniques
mantra
- Helps people tune into energy field
- Helps with concentration
- Purify the heart and mind
Rhythm and Song Methods
- Combination of rhythm, chanting, music, and breath
- Many religious dominations use song
Emotion, Feeling, and Thought Techniques
Used independently - can be combined
Osho 3 steps to enlightenment:
○ Developed meditation that advocated letting go of all attachments of the past, future, and ego
○ Recommended laughter and tears in order to become enlightened
○ Said there were 3 steps to enlightenment
- Laugh without reason; you’ll see something repressed in you
- Tears - tears have been repressed even more deeply - cleanse eyes and heart - biological strategy to keep you clean and unburdened
- Silence - just watching, listening ,sensitive …
Mandala
completion or circle
Physiological Meditation Benefits
Increase:
- seratonin
- airflow to lungs
- blood flow
- resistance to wrinkles
Decrease:
- metabolic rate
cortisol
cholesterol
heart disease
blood lactates
Psychological Meditation Benefits
increase:
learning ability and memory
happiness and emotional stability
energy, strength, vigor
self confidence
creativity
decrease:
depression
irritability
anxiety
moodniess
stress
Meditation reduces activity of the _____________ and increases activity of the ___________, which is responsible for causing heart rate and breathing to slow down, blood vessels to dilate, and digestive juices to increase
sympathetic nervous system
parasympathetic nervous system
*Sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “fight-or-flight” response (produces during stress)
NCCIH meditation advice
Do not use as a replacement for conventional care/ as a reason to postpone seeing a doctor
Ask about the training and experience
Look for published research studies on meditation for the health condition in which you are interested
Tell all your healthcare providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use
yoga
comes from the Sanskrit word meaning union
promoting harmony of body, mind, and spirit, which requires correct breathing, posture, and meditation
7000 BCE to 1500 AD
YOGA
major purpose was to attain the highest spiritual goals: self-realization, enlightenment, and the liberation of the soul
- way of life, a culture, and a lifestyle
- included eating and bathing habits, prayer, work, and social interaction
1500 AD onwards
YOGA
teachers began to focus more on the practices of Hatha Yoga
- include asanas (postures), pranayama (breath control), and dhyana (meditation)
- High spiritual aims began to be overlooked
Today’s primary goals
Physical fitness, enhanced sexuality, and personal achievement
believed to increase the body’s store of prana or vital energy and, due to better posture, facilitate energy flow
- Pranayama
- Asanas
- Dhyana
- breathing
- posture
- meditation
Yoga benefits
- develops strength, balance, and flexibility of the mind, posture
back pain to pain management, respiratory problems, arthritis, weight management, stress, depression, mental performance, heart disorders, and hypertension
Prana stages
PRANA: taking air into lungs and breathing it out (1st and last stages)
After air is taken in, the 2nd form of energy occurs = SAMANA = oxygen is transported to your cells
○ balancing energy, the digestive breath
VYANA = 3rd form of prana = energy that governs the circulatory system and makes sure that oxygen reaches all cells in our bodies
○ awaken us emotionally
APANA = cleansing breathe
○ eliminates stale air from our lungs each time we breathe out
○ energies we have taken in are returned to the external environment
UDANA = “air that flies upward”
○ energy that starts in our solar plexus and gains strength as it rises upwards toward the throat and mouth
Hypnosis
Mind-body technique that focuses on awareness and attention to internal stimuli
T or F: hypnosis often produces a trancelike state wherein the participant is highly responsive to suggestion
T -not always
____ ____ remains intact with hypnosis – deeply relaxed but highly focused state of mind
Free will
hypnosis myth
hypnosis causes people to lose consciousness and to lose memory of what happened during the hypnotic state (amnesia)
- small %, most remember everything
hypnosis history
Part of shamanic traditions since the beginning of humankind
Shaman travels between many states of consciousness, healing people, prophesize the future, retrieve lost souls, and gain the ability to use any energies encountered
2 hyponosis philosophies
- Neodissociation Model
○ Hypnosis activates a subsystem of both psychological and physiologic parts
○ results in an altered state of consciousness - Social Psychological Model
Altered state of consciousness does not occur – instead explained by suggestibility, positive attitudes, and expectations
Undetermined which types of brain waves affected, believe ____
Theta
4 Stages of Hypnosis
- Absorption
○ Become very relaxed
○ gain the capacity to deeply contemplate a selected theme or focal point
○ helps the person to become deeply engaged in the words or images that the hypnotherapist presents - Dissociation
○ participant can let go of critical thoughts and gain the capacity to compartmentalize his or her experience - Responding
○ responding to or complying with a hypnotherapist’s suggestion - Reflection
participant returns to usual awareness and reflects on the experience
Hypnosis as a Therapeutic Treatment
- used to gain access to the deeper levels of the mind so that a change in thinking and behavior will occur
- Used to modify feelings of pain, fear, or anxiety
Used in conjunction with conventional methods like surgery
hypnosis safety
considered safe when conducted under the care of a trained therapist
Adverse reactions are rare; they could include
- headache
- dizziness
- nausea
- anxiety
- panic
- creation of false memories
The Alexander Technique
Process used to release muscular tension by moving mindfully
Method of rediscovering natural balance by monitoring our coordination during activities to reduce strain
what area does The Alexander Technique focus on
neck and back
How the Alexander Technique Works
Technique that helps people achieve core stability without specific muscle strengthening exercises
Walk and move around while the teacher observes your posture and movement patterns
Learn to think about your own movement and breathing techniques and be motivated to effectively change habits
T or F: the alexander technique occasionally involved exercise and psychotherapy
F: does not involve exercises, medical therapy or treatment, psychotherapy, or spiritual healing technique
the Alexander Technique
Benefits
- freer and more comfortable movement
- relief from muscle strain and chronic tension
- better posture
- easier and healthier breathing
- increased strength
- increased vitality
Biofeedback
a mind-body intervention used to train people to improve their health by using their own body’s electrical signals from the muscles or brain
1960s
scientists thought they could train research subjects to alter brain activity, blood pressure, heart rate, and other bodily functions
Research showed that we do have more control over involuntary body functions than we thought possible, but it also showed the limitations
How biofeedback works
biofeedback practitioner will initiate a visual or auditory signal to stimulate stress responses
devices are used to monitor responses = brain wave activity (electroencephalography, or EEG), skin temperature (thermal feedback), muscle tension (electromyography, or EMG
Patients see the displayed responses and are then taught to ________
consciously control their own body responses
aim is for the patient to control the stress response when not connected to the machine
Types of Biofeedback
EMG Feedback
Neurofeedback
GSR Feedback
who may provide biofeedback training
Psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, dentists, physicians, physical therapists, exercise scientists, and health educators
Prayer for Healing
- spiritual beliefs are said to be powerful enough to help them regain a sense of well-being
Most controversial healing method
Distant healing
= praying for and healing others great distances away (sometimes without the ill person knowing it)
