Originally, mindfulness is a legacy of meditative traditions. It is a question of welcoming the present moment as it is, without judgment. Breathe. To feel. Observe his thoughts. Without trying to modify them. Formerly perceived as a spiritual practice, she knew how to gain legitimacy in the therapeutic field. And for good reason, it has demonstrated its effectiveness against anxiety and stress.
But mindfulness does not act in the same way in everyone. So why does it work better in some? And above all, how to adapt this practice to everyone? This is the subject of a study published in the review Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. Its authors propose to adjust the forms of meditation according to the type of anxiety felt.
The results are based on solid data and confirm what many feel without always being able to explain it. “”Mindfulness has proven its effectiveness to reduce anxious symptoms“, Recalls Resh Gupta, a postdoctoral researcher within the Mindfulness Science and Practice Cluster at Washington University in Saint-Louis and the study co-authority, in a press release.”Anxiety is a universal experience, but it manifests itself in a variety of ways. It is a difficult phenomenon to identify“.
A practice that adapts to everyone
To see more clearly, the researchers explored the functioning of the brain, especially what is called cognitive control. This function helps us to stay concentrated, to resist distractions, to make choices aligned with our intentions. Now anxiety blurs this mechanism. It invades the mind, turns up the priorities and complicates decision -making. Conversely, mindfulness could strengthen this capacity to keep the course.
Some techniques are more suitable depending on the profiles. Focalized attention meditation, for example, would allow people invaded by anxious thoughts to return to an anchor such as breathing. “”You constantly bring your attention to this anchoring whenever your mind is getting lost. Instead of focusing on concern, you focus on the experience of the present moment“Explains Ms. Gupta.
Other people live anxiety in a more physical way. Palpitations, tensions, feeling of oppression … For them, open observation seems more beneficial. It consists in welcoming everything that arises, without judgment or rejection. A way of making peace with its inner agitation rather than fighting it.
These works are part of a broader dynamic, carried by the cluster Mindfulness Science and Practicewhich also organizes events open to all. “”Our ambition is to make mindfulness tools accessible, both in terms of scientific and practical“Insists Resh Gupta.
For Todd Braver, professor of psychological and neurological sciences at the University of Washington and co -author of the study, offering various options is essential. “”People have the choice between different options, and it is therefore easier to find the one that best corresponds to your temperament, its concerns or its current situation“He explains.
No more unique model. The future of mindfulness looks more flexible, more personalized. An approach to everyone, to transform a millennial practice into a daily tool. What if that was what we needed today?