Mindfulness Training Has Elements Common to Other Techniques

Abstract

This article presents the argument that mindfulness-based meditation (MM) techniques are beneficial and share many of the same outcomes as similar mind-centered practices such as transcendental meditation, prayer, imagery, and visualization and body-centered practices such as progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), autogenic training (AT), and yoga. For example, many standardized mind-body techniques such as mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (a) are associated with a reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression, (b) can be mastered in relatively brief time frames, and (c) are relatively cost-effective. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies suggest that MM, along with other mind-body techniques, can influence brain centers that regulate stress reactions (e.g., eliciting increased activity in cerebral areas related to attention and emotion regulation). Furthermore, MM and other mind-body techniques may provide benefit by mediating breathing processes that in turn regulate gamma aminobutyric acid, a major inhibitory neurotransmitter, which can quiet the overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system. This article compares the efficacy of mindfulness-based techniques to that of other self-regulation techniques and identifies components shared between mindfulness-based techniques and several previous self-regulation techniques, including PMR, AT, and transcendental meditation. The authors conclude that most of the commonly used self-regulation strategies have comparable efficacy and share many elements. The authors propose that additional research is needed to explore shared mechanisms among the self-regulation techniques and to identify any factors that might favor using one technique over another.