Integrating mindfulness in fitness classes: self-compassion and mental health outcomes in a pilot study featuring longitudinal mediational analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mental health concerns are becoming increasingly commonplace in society, and demand for services consistently outweighs the availability of such services. In light of this discrepancy and other barriers associated with pursuing mental health services, it is important to explore innovative, cost-effective avenues to increase accessibility of programs that promote mental health and build psychological resilience. This research examines the longitudinal effect of such a program, that combines two burgeoning fields of research in mental health: self-compassion and physical activity. In this naturalistic study, we explored how participation in a physical fitness program integrating mindfulness affected levels of self-compassion and perceived mental health in a sample of 39 women in Toronto, Canada. Mindfulness levels were also measured to determine whether mindfulness mediates the relationship between physical activity and self-compassion. Participants attending fitness classes over two months completed self-report questionnaires. Analyses involved multilevel modeling. Self-compassion was found to increase over time as a function of fitness class attendance, but this relationship was not mediated by mindfulness. We discuss other possible explanatory mechanisms in the relationship between exercise and self-compassion, and findings of perceived mental health, with implications for using fitness classes incorporating mindfulness as a mental health promotion strategy.