Mind-Body Practices in Integrative Medicine
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2012, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
Mind-Body practices have become increasingly popular as components of psychotherapeutic and behavior medicine interventions. They comprise an array of different methods and techniques that use some sort of mental-behavioral training and involve the modulation of states of consciousness in order to influence bodily processes towards greater health, well-being and better functioning. Mind-body practices may thus be interpreted as the salutogenetic mirror image of psychosomatic medicine, where psychophysiological and health consequences of specific psychological states are studied, such as stress arousal, psychological trauma or depression. This contribution examines the empirical evidence of the most common mind-body techniques with regard to their salutogenetic potential. We concisely discuss some aspects of the mind-body problem, before we consider some historical aspects and achievements of psychosomatic medicine. We then turn to some prominent mind-body practices and their application, as well as the empirical database for them.
Authors and Affiliations
Harald Walach, Marie-Louise Gander Ferrari, Sebastian Sauer and Niko Kohls
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25229
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel3010050
- Views 354
- Downloads 14
Buddhist Mind and Matter
Classic Buddhist thought understands the mind as arising in dependence on the body. This causal dependence may be fashioned as a kind of “Buddhist materialism”. However, this should not be confused with any variety of...
Evil and Human Suffering in Islamic Thought—Towards a Mystical Theodicy
This paper sheds light on the treatment of the ‘problem of evil’ and human suffering from an Islamic perspective. I begin by providing an overview of the term ‘evil’ in the Qur’an to highlight its multidimensional mean...
The Crossroads of Plastination and Pilgrimage
At the Singapore Science Centre in 2010, I went to Body Worlds, an exhibit set up by the Institute for Plastination, founded by Gunther von Hagens. As I later learned, he pioneered plastination—the art, science, and te...
Into the Grey: The Left, Progressivism, and Christian Rock in Uptown Chicago
Founded in 1972, Jesus People USA (JPUSA) is an evangelical ―intentional community‖ located in Chicago‘s Uptown neighborhood. Living out of a common purse arrangement, this inner-city commune strives to counter much of...
The Catholic Church and Technological Progress: Past, Present, and Future
Over 2000 years the Catholic Church has slowly developed a posture towards technology which is predominantly techno-optimist and techno-progressive, and yet the Church does not have this reputation today. Concomitantly...