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BackgroundMindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a cost-effective psychosocial prevention programme that helps people with recurrent depression stay well in the long term. It was singled out in the 2009 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Depression Guideline as a key priority for implementation. Despite good evidence and guideline recommendations, its roll-out and accessibility across the UK appears to be limited and inequitably distributed. The study aims to describe the current state of MBCT accessibility and implementation across the UK, develop an explanatory framework of what is hindering and facilitating its progress in different areas, and develop an Implementation Plan and related resources to promote better and more equitable availability and use of MBCT within the UK National Health Service.
Methods/Design
This project is a two-phase qualitative, exploratory and explanatory research study, using an interview survey and in-depth case studies theoretically underpinned by the Promoting Action on Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework. Interviews will be conducted with stakeholders involved in commissioning, managing and implementing MBCT services in each of the four UK countries, and will include areas where MBCT services are being implemented successfully and where implementation is not working well. In-depth case studies will be undertaken on a range of MBCT services to develop a detailed understanding of the barriers and facilitators to implementation. Guided by the study’s conceptual framework, data will be synthesized across Phase 1 and Phase 2 to develop a fit for purpose implementation plan.
Discussion
Promoting the uptake of evidence-based treatments into routine practice and understanding what influences these processes has the potential to support the adoption and spread of nationally recommended interventions like MBCT. This study could inform a larger scale implementation trial and feed into future implementation of MBCT with other long-term conditions and associated co-morbidities. It could also inform the implementation of interventions that are acceptable and effective, but are not widely accessible or implemented.
Hamilton’s theory of inclusive fitness showed how natural selection could lead to behaviors that decrease the relative fitness of the actor and also either benefit (altruism) or harm (spite) other individuals. However, several fundamental issues in the evolution of altruism and spite have remained contentious. Here, we show how recent work has resolved three key debates, helping clarify how Hamilton’s theoretical overview links to real-world examples, in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans: Is the evolution of extreme altruism, represented by the sterile workers of social insects, driven by genetics or ecology? Does spite really exist in nature? And, can altruism be favored between individuals who are not close kin but share a “greenbeard” gene for altruism?
Raised in the tumult of Japan's industrial powerhouse, the eleven men and women profiled in this book have all made the transition to sustainable, fulfilling lives. They are today artists, philosophers, and farmers who reside deep in the mountains of rural Japan. Their lives may be simple, yet they are surrounded by the luxuries of nature, art, contemplation, delicious food, and an abundance of time. For example: Atsuko Watanabe is an environmentalist and home-schooler who explores Christian mysticism while raising her two daughters in an old farmhouseAkira Ito is an ex-petroleum engineer who has become a painter and children's book illustrator and explores the role of "chi" (life energy) in the universe through art and musicKogan Murata grows rice and crafts elegant bamboo flutes that he plays for alms in the surrounding villagesJinko Kaneko is a fine artist and fabric dyer who runs a Himalayan-style curry restaurant in the Japan AlpsBy presenting the journeys of these ordinary--yet exceptional--people, Andy Couturier shows how we too can travel a meaningful path of living simply, with respect for our communities and our natural resources. When we leave behind the tremendous burdens of wage labor, debt, stress, and daily busyness, we grow rich in a whole new way. These Japanese are pioneers in a sense; drawing on traditional Eastern spiritual wisdom, they have forged a new style of modernity, and in their success is a lesson for us all: live a life that matters.Andy Couturier is an essayist, poet, and writing teacher. He lived in Japan for four years where he taught, was a journalist, and worked on environmental causes. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Raised in the tumult of Japan's industrial powerhouse, the eleven men and women profiled in this book have all made the transition to sustainable, fulfilling lives. They are today artists, philosophers, and farmers who reside deep in the mountains of rural Japan. Their lives may be simple, yet they are surrounded by the luxuries of nature, art, contemplation, delicious food, and an abundance of time. For example: Atsuko Watanabe is an environmentalist and home-schooler who explores Christian mysticism while raising her two daughters in an old farmhouseAkira Ito is an ex-petroleum engineer who has become a painter and children's book illustrator and explores the role of "chi" (life energy) in the universe through art and musicKogan Murata grows rice and crafts elegant bamboo flutes that he plays for alms in the surrounding villagesJinko Kaneko is a fine artist and fabric dyer who runs a Himalayan-style curry restaurant in the Japan AlpsBy presenting the journeys of these ordinary--yet exceptional--people, Andy Couturier shows how we too can travel a meaningful path of living simply, with respect for our communities and our natural resources. When we leave behind the tremendous burdens of wage labor, debt, stress, and daily busyness, we grow rich in a whole new way. These Japanese are pioneers in a sense; drawing on traditional Eastern spiritual wisdom, they have forged a new style of modernity, and in their success is a lesson for us all: live a life that matters.Andy Couturier is an essayist, poet, and writing teacher. He lived in Japan for four years where he taught, was a journalist, and worked on environmental causes. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
BackgroundMindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an 8-week course developed for patients with relapsing depression that integrates mindfulness meditation practices and cognitive theory. Previous studies have demonstrated that non-depressed participants with a history of relapsing depression are protected from relapse by participating in the course. This exploratory study examined the acceptability and effectiveness of MBCT for patients in primary care with active symptoms of depression and anxiety
Methods
13 patients with recurrent depression or recurrent depression and anxiety were recruited to take part in the study. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted three months after completing the MBCT programme. A framework approach was used to analyse the data. Beck depression inventories (BDI-II) and Beck anxiety inventories (BAI) provided quantitative data and were administered before and three months after the intervention.
Results
The qualitative data indicated that mindfulness training was both acceptable and beneficial to the majority of patients. For many of the participants, being in a group was an important normalising and validating experience. However most of the group believed the course was too short and thought that some form of follow up was essential. More than half the patients continued to apply mindfulness techniques three months after the course had ended. A minority of patients continued to experience significant levels of psychological distress, particularly anxiety.
Statistically significant reductions in mean depression and anxiety scores were observed; the mean pre-course depression score was 35.7 and post-course score was 17.8 (p = 0.001). A similar reduction was noted for anxiety with a mean pre-course anxiety score of 32.0 and mean post course score of 20.5 (p = 0.039). Overall 8/11 (72%) patients showed improvements in BDI and 7/11 (63%) patients showed improvements in BAI. In general the results of the qualitative analysis agreed well with the quantitative changes in depression and anxiety reported.
Conclusion
The results of this exploratory mixed methods study suggest that mindfulness based cognitive therapy may have a role to play in treating active depression and anxiety in primary care.
Yoga helps children learn how to focus, relax, and both self-monitor and self-soothe. Good Morning Yoga instills these four skills and more, enabling children to jumpstart the day with energy and excitement and meet the adventures that come with mindfulness and perspective. Good Morning Yoga weaves gentle exercises with a heartwarming narrative and wonderful illustrations to empower children to manage the energies that visit throughout the day from the fiery volcano to the mountain quiet and still. Good Morning Yoga concludes with a visualization for kids to set intentions for the day.
Shows traditionally trained Ladakhi medical doctors (Amchis) in their indigenous environment compounding medicines and diagnosing and treating patients.
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of a six-week Vinyasa yoga (VY) intervention on caregivers' overall quality of life (QOL) and psychological distress.DESIGN: A single-group, pre- and post-test pilot study.
SETTING: University public recreational facility.
SAMPLE: 12 informal caregivers for patients with cancer.
METHODS: Caregivers participated in a six-week VY intervention and completed measures of QOL and psychological distress pre- and postintervention. Program satisfaction was measured with open-ended survey questions.
MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: QOL, psychological distress, and program satisfaction.
FINDINGS: Significant improvements were found in the mental component score of overall QOL and in overall psychological distress. Several subdomains of QOL and psychological distress were also improved significantly. Open-ended survey question responses revealed participants perceived physical and mental benefit from the intervention, highlighting improvements in flexibility, core and upper-body strength, balance, breathing, and energy.
CONCLUSIONS: Informal caregivers may benefit mentally and physically from participating in VY.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Caregivers of patients with cancer characterize a group worthy of attention, research, and interventions focusing on their healthcare needs.
Over the past decade, training in mindfulness—the intentional cultivation of moment-by-moment non-judgmental focused attention and awareness—has spread from its initial western applications in medicine to other fields, including education. This paper reviews research and curricula pertaining to the integration of mindfulness training into K-12 education, both indirectly by training teachers and through direct teaching of students. Research on the neurobiology of mindfulness in adults suggests that sustained mindfulness practice can enhance attentional and emotional self-regulation and promote flexibility, pointing toward significant potential benefits for both teachers and students. Early research results on three illustrative mindfulness-based teacher training initiatives suggest that personal training in mindfulness skills can increase teachers’ sense of well-being and teaching self-efficacy, as well as their ability to manage classroom behavior and establish and maintain supportive relationships with students. Since 2005, 14 studies of programs that directly train students in mindfulness have collectively demonstrated a range of cognitive, social, and psychological benefits to both elementary (six studies) and high school (eight studies) students. These include improvements in working memory, attention, academic skills, social skills, emotional regulation, and self-esteem, as well as self-reported improvements in mood and decreases in anxiety, stress, and fatigue. The educational goals, target population, and core features of ten established mindfulness-based curricula are described. Finally, the need for more rigorous scientific evidence of the benefits of mindfulness-based interventions in K-12 education is discussed, along with suggestions of specific process, outcome, and research-design questions remaining to be answered.
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Over the past decade, training in mindfulness—the intentional cultivation of moment-by-moment non-judgmental focused attention and awareness—has spread from its initial western applications in medicine to other fields, including education. This paper reviews research and curricula pertaining to the integration of mindfulness training into K-12 education, both indirectly by training teachers and through direct teaching of students. Research on the neurobiology of mindfulness in adults suggests that sustained mindfulness practice can enhance attentional and emotional self-regulation and promote flexibility, pointing toward significant potential benefits for both teachers and students. Early research results on three illustrative mindfulness-based teacher training initiatives suggest that personal training in mindfulness skills can increase teachers’ sense of well-being and teaching self-efficacy, as well as their ability to manage classroom behavior and establish and maintain supportive relationships with students. Since 2005, 14 studies of programs that directly train students in mindfulness have collectively demonstrated a range of cognitive, social, and psychological benefits to both elementary (six studies) and high school (eight studies) students. These include improvements in working memory, attention, academic skills, social skills, emotional regulation, and self-esteem, as well as self-reported improvements in mood and decreases in anxiety, stress, and fatigue. The educational goals, target population, and core features of ten established mindfulness-based curricula are described. Finally, the need for more rigorous scientific evidence of the benefits of mindfulness-based interventions in K-12 education is discussed, along with suggestions of specific process, outcome, and research-design questions remaining to be answered.
Mindfulness is everywhere these days. While the contemplative practice has its roots in several of the world's major belief systems, subscribing to any particular religion or philosophy is not required to experience mindfulness. We live in a time where we can be present for so many moments we once could not, yet, what about the moments unfolding right in front of us? Have you ever been somewhere, while not really being there? Have you ever been doing something, while not really doing it? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. Being mindful and living mindfully takes practice and training-it is not magical-it is just mental training; exercise for the mind. If you are the kind of person whose immediate reaction to mindfulness is an insistence that you cannot slow down or your mind works too quickly, you are precisely the kind of person who may benefit from mind-body techniques. Though being mindful in the real world is not always easy, even just getting a little better at it can benefit us in crucial ways. Several mindfulness techniques exist to help us get centered and be more present. In this article, you will learn about mindfulness and the three most popular mindfulness-based techniques: yoga, tai chi, and meditation.
"Take a Deep Breath." "Just breathe." These are common calming mantras, but what do they really mean? Though every second of life is governed by breath, few people pay heed to this important facet of good health. The Miracle of the Breath explores the importance of breath not only to physical well-being but also as a powerful conduit of divine energy. Replete with stories and case studies of people healed from asthma, arthritis, anxiety attacks, and other physical and mental traumas through proper breath work, the book also examines the concept of breath as a spiritual life force. Drawing on methods of observing and controlling the breath developed by ancient masters in India, China, and Tibet, it includes meditations and practice techniques to help readers improve their emotional and spiritual health.
Is there precedence in Earth history for the rapid release of carbon dioxide (CO2) by fossil fuel burning and its environmental consequences? Proxy evidence indicates that atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher during long warm intervals in the geologic past, and that these conditions did not prevent the precipitation and accumulation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as limestone; accumulation of alkalinity brought to the ocean by rivers kept surface waters supersaturated. But these were steady states, not perturbations. More rapid additions of carbon dioxide during extreme events in Earth history, including the end-Permian mass extinction (251 million years ago) and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 56 million years ago) may have driven surface waters to undersaturation, although the evidence supporting this assertion is weak. Nevertheless, observations and modeling clearly show that during the PETM the deep ocean, at least, became highly corrosive to CaCO3. These same models applied to modern fossil fuel release project a substantial decline in surface water saturation state in the next century. So, there may be no precedent in Earth history for the type of disruption we might expect from the phenomenally rapid rate of carbon addition associated with fossil fuel burning.
Publisher's description: This book teaches us how to fully connect with the visual richness of our ordinary, daily experience. Photography is not just a mechanical process; it requires learning how to see. As you develop your ability to look and see, you will open, more and more, to the natural inspiration of your surroundings. Filled with practical exercises, photographic assignments, and techniques for working with texture, light, and color, this book offers a system of training that draws on both Buddhist mindfulness practice and the insights of master photographers such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, and Henri Cartier-Bresson.
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This book teaches us how to fully connect with the visual richness of our ordinary, daily experience. Photography is not just a mechanical process; it requires learning how to see. As you develop your ability to look and see, you will open, more and more, to the natural inspiration of your surroundings.Filled with practical exercises, photographic assignments, and techniques for working with texture, light, and color, this book offers a system of training that draws on both Buddhist mindfulness practice and the insights of master photographers such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, and Henri Cartier-Bresson.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Qigong and Tai Chi are two increasingly popular mind-body interventions with the potential to address the multifaceted needs of cancer survivors. The aim of this updated review and meta-analysis was to quantitatively evaluate the treatment effects of Qigong/Tai Chi on cancer survivors since 2014.RECENT FINDINGS: There were statistically significant and clinically meaningful effects in favor of Qigong/Tai Chi interventions for symptoms of fatigue and sleep quality. There were positive trends, but not statistically significant effects, observed for anxiety, stress, depressive symptoms, and overall quality of life (QOL). Cancer-related cognitive impairment is a common complaint among cancer survivors that has received increasing attention in this area in recent years. Qigong/Tai Chi in cancer care shows great promise with short-term effects in treating many cancer-related symptoms. Further methodologically sound trials with longer follow-up periods and more active control conditions are required, before definitive conclusions can be recommended for cancer patients.
ObjectivesThere is growing evidence that mindfulness has positive consequences for both psychological and physical health in both clinical and non-clinical populations. The potential benefits of mindfulness underpin a range of therapeutic intervention approaches designed to increase mindfulness in both clinical and community contexts. Self-guided mindfulness-based interventions may be a way to increase access to the benefits of mindfulness. This study explored whether a brief, online, mindfulness-based intervention can increase mindfulness and reduce perceived stress and anxiety/depression symptoms within a student population.
Method
One hundred and four students were randomly allocated to either immediately start a two-week, self-guided, online, mindfulness-based intervention or a wait-list control. Measures of mindfulness, perceived stress and anxiety/depression were administered before and after the intervention period.
Results
Intention to treat analysis identified significant group by time interactions for mindfulness skills, perceived stress and anxiety/depression symptoms. Participation in the intervention was associated with significant improvements in all measured domains, where no significant changes on these measures were found for the control group.
Conclusions
This provides evidence in support of the feasibility and effectiveness of shorter self-guided mindfulness-based interventions. The limitations and implications of this study for clinical practice are discussed.
ObjectivesThere is growing evidence that mindfulness has positive consequences for both psychological and physical health in both clinical and non-clinical populations. The potential benefits of mindfulness underpin a range of therapeutic intervention approaches designed to increase mindfulness in both clinical and community contexts. Self-guided mindfulness-based interventions may be a way to increase access to the benefits of mindfulness. This study explored whether a brief, online, mindfulness-based intervention can increase mindfulness and reduce perceived stress and anxiety/depression symptoms within a student population.
Method
One hundred and four students were randomly allocated to either immediately start a two-week, self-guided, online, mindfulness-based intervention or a wait-list control. Measures of mindfulness, perceived stress and anxiety/depression were administered before and after the intervention period.
Results
Intention to treat analysis identified significant group by time interactions for mindfulness skills, perceived stress and anxiety/depression symptoms. Participation in the intervention was associated with significant improvements in all measured domains, where no significant changes on these measures were found for the control group.
Conclusions
This provides evidence in support of the feasibility and effectiveness of shorter self-guided mindfulness-based interventions. The limitations and implications of this study for clinical practice are discussed.
Far-reaching changes to the structure and function of the Earth's natural systemsrepresent a growing threat to human health. And yet, global health has mainly improved
as these changes have gathered pace. What is the explanation? As a Commission, we
are deeply concerned that the explanation is straightforward and sobering: we have
been mortgaging the health of future generations to realise economic and development
gains in the present. By unsustainably exploiting nature's resources, human civilisation
has flourished but now risks substantial health effects from the degradation of nature's
life support systems in the future.
Far-reaching changes to the structure and function of the Earth's natural systemsrepresent a growing threat to human health. And yet, global health has mainly improved
as these changes have gathered pace. What is the explanation? As a Commission, we
are deeply concerned that the explanation is straightforward and sobering: we have
been mortgaging the health of future generations to realise economic and development
gains in the present. By unsustainably exploiting nature's resources, human civilisation
has flourished but now risks substantial health effects from the degradation of nature's
life support systems in the future.
The occurrence of cooperation poses a problem for the biological and social sciences. However, many aspects of the biological and social science literatures on this subject have developed relatively independently, with a lack of interaction. This has led to a number of misunderstandings with regard to how natural selection operates and the conditions under which cooperation can be favoured. Our aim here is to provide an accessible overview of social evolution theory and the evolutionary work on cooperation, emphasising common misconceptions.
AbstractOur understanding of the social lives of microbes has been revolutionized over the past 20 years. It used to be assumed that bacteria and other microorganisms lived relatively independent unicellular lives, without the cooperative behaviors that have provoked so much interest in mammals, birds, and insects. However, a rapidly expanding body of research has completely overturned this idea, showing that microbes indulge in a variety of social behaviors involving complex systems of cooperation, communication, and synchronization. Work in this area has already provided some elegant experimental tests of social evolutionary theory, demonstrating the importance of factors such as relatedness, kin discrimination, competition between relatives, and enforcement of cooperation. Our aim here is to review these social behaviors, emphasizing the unique opportunities they offer for testing existing evolutionary theory as well as highlighting the novel theoretical problems that they pose.