Mindful Meditation Practiceand

Scientific TheoryPart 1

Sharon M. Theroux, PhD

Disclosures

Sharon M. Theroux, PhD

Licensed Psychologist

Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist

Certified MBSR instructor

Mindful Eating Teacher

Board member, TCME

Program Director, International Seminars Group (ISG)

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Learning Objectives

Part 1: • Describe the Body Scan meditation practice

• Summarize the benefits of a body scan meditation in enhancing mindful eating behaviors

Part 2:• Describe a Mindful Sitting Meditation Practice

• Summarize the neurological underpinnings of the sitting meditation that can enhance mindful eating

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William James, 1842-1910Father of American Psychology

“The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. An education to improve this faculty would be THE education, par excellence. But it is easier to define this idea, then to teach it.”

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Mindfulness

The awareness that arises when we pay attention:

• on purpose,

• in the present moment,

• and non-judgmentally.

Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn

Founder

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program

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Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Created in 1979 by JKZ as an outpatient program to help patients with chronic pain

8-week program (2.5 hours weekly) found in hospitals and private clinical practices worldwide

Formal meditation practices

Mindful eating

Body Scan

Mindful Walking

Sitting meditation

All day silent retreat

Medical Conditions

➢ · chronic pain➢ · high blood pressure➢ · fibromyalgia ➢ · cancer➢ · heart disease➢ · asthma➢ · GI distress➢ · skin disorders (Psoriasis)➢ · Autoimmune disorders

Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have

been found effective in treating the following:

Psychological Conditions

• anxiety • panic• depression• fatigue• sleep disturbance

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Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have

been found effective in treating the following:

Stress

• work, school, and family stressors• financial• Illness and aging• grief• uncertainty about the future.

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Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have

been found effective in treating the following:

Prevention and Wellness:

• Learning how to take good care of yourself

• Feeling a greater sense of balance

• Boosting creativity

Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have

been found effective in treating the following:

Disordered eating:

• Meta-Analysis of 13 mindfulness-based interventions for problematic eating

• MBIs helped to reduce• Binge eating behaviors

• Emotional Eating Behaviors

Katterman et al, 2014

Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have

been found effective in treating the following:

Typical Meditation practices used in Mindfulness-Based Interventions

• Body Scan

• Mindful Eating

• Gentle stretching yoga

• Mindful Walking

• Sitting meditation

Body Scan

• Attention is sequentially guided through the entire body,

• Observing with nonjudgmental awareness the sensations in each region,

• Ending with an awareness of the body “as a complete whole”.

Practice

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Inquiry

What did you notice?

How does the Body Scan

Affect your brain?

Neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield

Surgeries of patients with intractable epilepsy

Stimulation of certain parts of the motor strip always elicited movement of a particular body part

Mapped the motor, and then sensory strip of the brain

Size of various regions of the body is related to number of sensory or motor neurons devoted to it

Penfield et al (1950), The Cerebral Cortex of Man.

1950

Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Examined brains of volunteers practicing the piano for 2 hours daily X 5 days

After practice, the motor cortex devoted to fingers “stretched” to surrounding brain regions

Another group merely thought about practicing

Mere thought can alter the physical structure and function of our brain

1995

Pascual-Leone et al, (1995)SMT

Neuroplasticity

The brain’s ability to adapt and change in response to

thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and our

environment

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The Body Scan and Mindful Breathing Among Veterans with PTSD: Type of Intervention

Moderates the Relationship Between Changes in Mindfulness and Post-Treatment Depression

102 Veterans with PTSD

Randomly assigned to 4 groups• Body scan meditation• Mindful Breathing• Slow Breathing• Sitting Quietly

Groups met weekly for 6 weeks for 20-minute practice

Daily home practice recommended

2016

Colgan, et al, 2016SMT

Measures

3 Self-report questionnaires given pre and post treatment

• Beck Depression Inventory II

• PTSD checklist

• Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire

Baer, et al (2008), “Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and non Meditating Samples”. Assessment, 15 (3), 329-342

Results:

1. Those in Body Scan and Mindful Breathing groups were less depressed post treatment, compared to Slow Breathing or Sitting Quietly groups.

2. Reductions in depression in the Body Scan group was associated with increases in the “Acting with Awareness” facet of FFMQ

3. Reductions in depression in the Body scan group was predicted by the “Observing” facet of FFMQ

Colgan, et al, 2016

Can the Body Scan help with Mindful Eating?

Body Scan may reduce

depressive symptoms that lead

to emotional eating

Colgan, et al, 2016

• “I am easily distracted”

• “I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present”

• “I rush through activities without being really attentive to them”

Body Scan may reduce depressive symptoms by increasing our ability to

Act with Awareness

• “When I’m walking, I deliberately notice the sensations of my body moving”

• “When I take a shower or bath, I stay alert to the sensations of water on my body”

• “I notice how foods and drinks affect my thoughts, bodily sensations, and emotions”

Body Scan may reduce depressive symptoms by increasing our ability to

Observe our Surroundings

Home Practice:

Body Scan Meditation

12-minutes daily

Thank you!

Bibliography

• Baer, et al (2008), “Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and non Meditating Samples”. Assessment, 15 (3), 329-342

• Bush, H., Rossy, L., Mintz, L., & Schopp, L. (2014). Eat for Life: A work site feasibility study of a Novel Mindfulness-Based Intuitive Eating Intervention. American Journal of Health Promotion, 28 (6), 380-388.

• Colgan, D. D., Christopher, M., Michael, P., & Wahbeh, H (2016). The Body Scan and Mindful Breathing Among Veterans with PTSD: Type of Intervention Moderates the Relationship Between Changes in Mindfulness and Post-Treatment Depression, Mindfulness, 4, 372-383.

• Katterman, S.N., Kleinman, B.M., Hood, M.M., Nackers, L.M., Corsica, J. (2014). Mindfulness Meditation as an intervention for binge eating, emotional eating and weight loss: A systematic review. Eating Behaviors, 15, 197-204.

• Pascual-Leone, A., Nguyet, D., Cohen, L. G., Brasil-Neto, J. P., Cammarota, A., Hallett, M. (1995). Modulation of muscle responses evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation during the acquisition of new fine motor skills. Journal of Neurophysiology, 74 (3), 1037-1045.

• Penfield, W. & Rasmussen, T. (1950). The cerebral cortex of man : a clinical study of localization of function. New York : Macmillan.