Moving Mindfully: The Role of Mindfulness Practice in Physical Activity and Health Behaviours.

Dev Roychowdhury

doi:10.3390/jfmk6010019

Abstract

Participation in regular physical activity yields numerous psychological and physical health benefits. Despite this, a large proportion of the global population is increasingly becoming inactive and sedentary, which has been linked to various causes of morbidity and mortality. One practice that has been found to encourage healthy participation in physical activity and associated health behaviours is mindfulness. Mindfulness practices have been consistently linked to higher levels of physical activity participation. However, the relationship between mindfulness practices and physical activity remains ambiguous. This present paper comments on the role of mindfulness practice in physical activity and health behaviours. Implications for future research and practice have also been addressed.

Highlights

The purpose of this paper is to briefly describe mindfulness and examine its relationship with physical activity (PA) and health behaviours
The profoundly positive effect of mindfulness on a range of PA and health behaviours is widely documented in the literature (e.g., [30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39])
It is evident that individuals with higher scores on mindfulness measures tend to engage in adaptive and healthy behaviours and report better physical and psychological functioning (e.g., [30,31,32])

Summary

Introduction

Practice in Physical Activity and Health Behaviours. J. Research indicates that lifestyle interventions that were intended to increase the levels of PA only resulted in ordinary changes in marked behaviours [15,16,17,18], along with limited longterm outcomes [19,20,21]. Such interventions were found to have low adherence and high dropout rates in the short [22] and long term [23,24]. The purpose of this paper is to briefly describe mindfulness and examine its relationship with PA and health behaviours

Mindfulness conditions of the Creative Commons

Discussion