Abstract

The psychological construct of mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally paying attention to the present experience in a non-judgmental or evaluative way. This particular quality of awareness has been associated to several indicators of physical and psychological health, and can be developed using mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), and therefore MBIs have been successfully applied as preventive and complementary interventions and therapies in medicine and psychology. Together with quiet sitting and lying meditation practices, mindful physical exercises such as “mindful walking” and “mindful movement” are key elements in MBIs and couple muscular activity with an internally directed focus, improving interoceptive attention to bodily sensations. In addition, MBIs seem to share similar mechanisms with physical fitness (PF) by which they may influence cardiovascular responses to stress. Based on these facts, it is feasible to raise the question of whether physical training itself may induce the development of that particular quality of awareness associated with mindfulness, or if one's dispositional mindfulness (DM) (the tendency to be more mindful in daily life) could moderate the effects of exercise on cardiovascular response to stress. The role of mindfulness as a mediator or moderator of the effect of exercise training on cardiovascular responses to stress has barely been studied. In this study, we have hypothesized pathways (moderation and mediation) by which mindfulness could significantly influence the effects of PF on cardiovascular responses to stress and discussed potential practical ways to test these hypotheses.

Highlights

  • It is feasible to raise the question of whether physical training itself may induce the development of that particular quality of awareness associated with mindfulness, or if one’s dispositional mindfulness (DM) could moderate the effects of exercise on cardiovascular response to stress

  • DM can be measured by scales addressing mindfulness trait, e.g., the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) (Brown and Ryan, 2003) and the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) (Bohlmeijer et al, 2011), and it has been significantly related to several indicators of psychological and physical health including: higher levels of positive affect, improvement in personal stress management skills, and in adaptive emotional regulation (Hayes-Skelton and Graham, 2013; Khoury et al, 2013; Garcia-Campayo et al, 2014)

  • In conclusion, we have developed the hypothesis that mindfulness may both moderate and mediate the effects of physical fitness (PF) on cardiovascular response to stress

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Summary

Introduction

The psychological construct of mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally paying attention to the present experience in a non-judgmental or evaluative way This particular quality of awareness has been associated to several indicators of physical and psychological health, and can be developed using mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), and MBIs have been successfully applied as preventive and complementary interventions and therapies in medicine and psychology. A “mindful” mind brings together attentional and attitudinal features at the same time, self-regulating attention toward present-moment direct experiences and attitude in a non-judgmental tone toward internal and external phenomena (physical, affective and behavioral) This particular quality of non-evaluative awareness can improve one’s physical and psychological health status, and several approaches generally called “mindfulness-based interventions” (MBIs) have been developed and tested in the last 40 years (Cullen, 2011). MBIs have been adapted to special targeted population (Carson et al, 2006; Duncan and Bardacke, 2010; Cullen, 2011), including www.frontiersin.org

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