Center, Light, and Sound: The Psychological Benefits of Three Distinct Meditative Practices

Gutiérrez, Daniel; Fox, Jesse; Wood, Andrew W.

doi:10.1002/cvj.12016

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…An advantage is that the method is simple without involvement outside meditation, whereas other techniques may involve some time for training in daily life outside meditation. An overview of different meditation techniques, including Acem Meditation, concluded that an exploration of effects using self-report questionnaires is warranted, as a supplement to fMRI studies (Gutierrez, Fox, & Wood, 2015). The present study is a contribution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Nondirective meditation used in stress management

2018

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Aims:The present field study investigated the difference between practicing a nondirective relaxation technique -Acem Meditation -for stress relief and merely learning about stress and stress management in a population of active, working professionals. Methods: A six-months follow-up of an intervention group (N = 73) and a control group (N = 47) recruited from six large Norwegian companies. Results: The findings revealed significant improvements in the intervention group on all outcome variables -comprising mental distress (GHQ-12), worries and nervousness (EPQ-N), sleep problems (BIS) and musculoskeletal pain. In the control group, there were no changes. The differences between the intervention group and control group were significant, regarding EPQ-N, GHQ-12 and musculoskeletal pain. Conclusion: A nondirective meditation technique promoted specific bodily and psychological benefits for active working professionals: less pain and sleep problems, and a personal style less characterized by worries and nervousness. Acem Meditation used as a stress management technique may be a positive supplement to other measures a company puts forward, both to reduce negative health impacts of stress and to improve the capacity to cope with the stressors at work and in daily life. Replications of this study with an RCT design are warranted.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Nondirective meditation used in stress management

2018

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“…It is important to explore how the effects of centering meditation differ or align with meditations in its categories. The literature has three common categories: devotional, focused, or mindfulness meditations (Gutierrez et al, 2015 ). Centering is in a way both devotional and focused.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of a Centering Meditation Intervention on College Stress and Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Dorais

Gutiérrez

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Background: Mental health concerns are climbing steadily on college campuses, and universities do not have the staffing and financial resources to address the overwhelming needs of students seeking counseling services. College counselors generally must place students on waitlists or refer them to external resources. Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, university counselors have been working tirelessly to treat students through online formats. Alternative, online, evidence-based interventions offer college counselors a significant advantage in effectively treating their students. We seek to expand the empirical evidence for mindfulness interventions through online formats for the college population. We registered the study (ISRCTN13587045) at www.isrctn.com.Objective: We examined the effectiveness of a unique online centering meditation and its impact on stress and trait mindfulness in the college population.Methods: Through a randomized controlled trial, the treatment group participated in a 4-week intervention of centering for 10 min each morning and night. We measured stress and mindfulness in both groups through the Perceived Stress Scale and Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised at baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks.Results: The centering meditation treatment had a statistically significant positive impact on stress and mindfulness compared to a waitlist control group. The meditation group had an average of 64% adherence rate.Conclusion: The study findings indicate that individuals who participate in a 4-week online centering intervention showed improved levels of stress and trait mindfulness over time.Clinical Trial Registration: WHO International Clinical Registry Platform, identifier: ISRCTN13587045.

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“…It is of interest that participants described experiencing spiritual benefits to practicing meditation. The spiritual and cultural aspects of meditation often go unexplored in research (see Gutierrez et al, ; Walsh & Shapiro, ). However, the majority of participants in our study described meditation as helping them to develop a sense of spiritual fulfillment and a deeper connection to the sacred, noting that the spiritual aspects of their experience were important to them.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…JM was selected as an appropriate meditation practice to analyze in this study because of the experimental research demonstrating its effectiveness with counselors and because it was a unique practice to which none of the participants had previously been exposed. Additionally, we believe it is important that the counseling literature expand its focus on meditation and include practices that might be more culturally appropriate for various populations (see Gutierrez, Fox, & Wood, ). JM fits this criterion because it does not specify a specific religious orientation but allows the meditator to identify a word or phrase or mantra consistent with the individual's own worldview.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of Student Counselors' Experiences With Meditation

Gutiérrez¹,

Merrill

Conley³

et al. 2019

Counseling and Values

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The positive effects of meditation have been shown to be helpful to a variety of client populations and counselors in practice. Researchers analyzed the journals of 60 counselor education students who volunteered to learn Jyoti meditation (JM) over a 6-week period. Analysis revealed 5 major themes: (a) the scheduling of time for meditation, (b) issues with concentrating, (c) environment for meditation, (d) effects on wellness, and (e) adherence to daily practice. These themes suggest avenues for how counselor educators and supervisors can help student counselors integrate JM as a self-care strategy.

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Center, Light, and Sound: The Psychological Benefits of Three Distinct Meditative Practices

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Nondirective meditation used in stress management

Nondirective meditation used in stress management

The Effectiveness of a Centering Meditation Intervention on College Stress and Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Trial

A Study of Student Counselors' Experiences With Meditation

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