scholarly journals Beyond Scientific Mechanisms: Subjective Perceptions with Viniyoga Meditation

Author(s):  
Carrie Heeter ◽  
Marcel Allbritton ◽  
Chase Bossart

Healthcare professionals and research scientists generally recognize the potential value of mind–body practices grounded in ancient wisdom, but often have limited direct experience with such practices. Meditation participant self-reports provide a window into subjective experiences of three Viniyoga meditations and how and why those meditations could contribute to health and well-being outcomes. Each of the meditations in this analysis had a unique structure and used a different aspect of the ocean as a meditation object. Yoga philosophy and yoga anatomy models of the human system are used to help explain participants’ experiences and associated personal benefits and insights. Four aspects of the individual that can influence what happens for them in meditation are illustrated with tangible examples: (1) What is happening in generally in someone’s life; (2) the state of their system (mind, body, breath) around the time of the meditation; (3) reactions to the meditation steps and instructions; and (4) their prior experiences with the object of meditation. Summaries of the practices, and why and for whom each meditation might be beneficial are discussed. The authors’ perspectives are grounded in Viniyoga and yoga therapy.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Heeter ◽  
Marcel Allbritton ◽  
Chase Bossart

Healthcare professionals and research scientists generally recognize the potential value of mind–body practices grounded in ancient wisdom, but often have limited direct experience with such practices. Meditation participant self reports provide a window into subjective experiences of three Viniyoga meditations and how and why those meditations could contribute to health and well-being outcomes. Each of the meditations in this analysis had a unique structure and used a different aspect of the ocean as a meditation object. Yoga philosophy and yoga anatomy models of the human system are used to help explain participants’ experiences and associated personal benefits and insights. Four aspects of the individual that can influence what happens for them in meditation are illustrated with tangible examples: (1) What is happening in generally in someone’s life; (2) the state of their system (mind, body, breath) around the time of the meditation; (3) reactions to the meditation steps and instructions; and (4) their prior experiences with the object of meditation. Summaries of the practices, and why and for whom each meditation might be beneficial are discussed. The authors’ perspectives are grounded in Viniyoga and yoga therapy.


Author(s):  
Débora Godoy-Izquierdo ◽  
Raquel Lara ◽  
Adelaida Ogallar ◽  
Alejandra Rodríguez-Tadeo ◽  
María J. Ramírez ◽  
...  

This study explored intraindividual multidimensional profiles integrating psychosocial factors, namely, body image and satisfaction, weight-related self-stigma, positivity, and happiness, and behavioural-lifestyle factors, namely, adherence to a healthy diet, among Spanish adults with overweight or obesity. We further aimed to investigate the association of excess weight (i.e., measured body mass index, BMI) with the abovementioned multidimensional configurations. A convenience sample of 100 adult individuals (60% females) with excessive weight (69% overweight; 31% obesity) was recruited. They completed self-reports regarding the study variables, and their weight and height were measured. With a perspective centered on the individual, a cluster analysis was performed. Three distinct intraindividual psychosocial and diet-related profiles were identified: a group of healthy individuals with excess weight (46%); a group of individuals who were negatively affected by their excessive weight and showed the most distressed profile (18%); and a group of dysfunctional individuals who seemed to be excessively unrealistic and optimistic regarding their excessive weight and unhealthy lifestyles, but were troubled by their weight (36%). Furthermore, individuals in the affected cluster had higher obesity (mean BMI ± SD = 32.1 ± 3.7) than those in the clusters of healthy (28.0 ± 3.0) and dysfunctional individuals (28.1 ± 3.3) (p < 0.05). The results showed that there are specific psychosocial and lifestyle profiles in the adult population with excess weight and that there are relationships among psychological, behavioural, and body-composition factors. For clinical application purposes, it is important to account for the heterogeneity within individuals who are obese and to individualize the interventions, with a focus from weight change to the individual’s overall well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
B Barr

Abstract The European Health Equity Status Report makes innovative use of microdata, at the level of the individual, to decompose the relative contributions of five essential underlying conditions to inequities in health and well-being. These essential conditions comprise: (1) Health services (2) Income security and social protection (3) Living conditions (4) Social and human capital (5) Employment and working conditions. Combining microdata across over twenty sources, the work of HESRi has also produced disaggregated indicators in health, well-being, and each of the five essential conditions. In conjunction with indicators of policy performance and investment, the HESRi Health Equity Dataset of over 100 indicators is the first of its kind, as a resource for monitoring and analysing inequities across the essential conditions and policies to inform decision making and action to reduce gaps in health and well-being.


Author(s):  
Jane Wilcock ◽  
Jill Manthorpe ◽  
Jo Moriarty ◽  
Steve Iliffe

Little is known of the experiences of directly employed care workers communicating with healthcare providers about the situations of their employers. We report findings from 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with directly employed care workers in England undertaken in 2018–19. Findings relate to role content, communication with healthcare professionals and their own well-being. Directly employed care workers need to be flexible about the tasks they perform and the changing needs of those whom they support. Having to take on health liaison roles can be problematic, and the impact of care work on directly employed workers’ own health and well-being needs further investigation.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Mathias ◽  
Patrick Daigle ◽  
Kelsey Needham Dancause ◽  
Tegwen Gadais

Background: Education and health professionals from a range of disciplines seek alternatives to promote well-being through nature. Shinrin Yoku, originating from Japan, means “forest baths” or “taking in the forest atmosphere” and provides the opportunity to reconnect with nature and its benefits, with great potential in Canada. This brief review aims to highlight the potential for the use of Shinrin Yoku in the Canadian context of education and healthcare. Methods: We conducted a narrative literature review including a search of four French and English databases (Google Scholar, Pubmed, Scopus, Cairn) from 1985 to 2017. Then, we classified 26 articles according to three main categories that emerged from the first reading of the abstracts. Results: Benefits of Shinrin Yoku have been classified into physiological, psychological, and environmental categories. We synthesize key benefits of Shinrin Yoku and highlight opportunities to use this alternative intervention by educators and health professionals in Canada. Conclusion: A growing body of research suggests that Shinrin Yoku can have benefits on many aspects of an individual's health and well-being. Given the resources already available in Canada, Shinrin Yoku could be integrated into existing programs and interventions, and could provide another option to educators and healthcare professionals seeking low-risk educational and intervention alternatives for their students and patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-194
Author(s):  
Claudia Spinosa ◽  
Laura Angioletti ◽  
Michela Balconi

Within a multicultural society, healthcare professionals (HPs) need to implement specific care pathways to meet the needs of patients with different cultural backgrounds who regularly present themselves in healthcare facilities in Italy. This study intends to examine the experiences and representations lived by HPs who deal with the care and management of foreign immigrant patients living in Italy, with chronic diseases. For this goal, a survey was conducted on a sample of 54 HPs recruited in hospital and outpatient facilities. The survey was analyzed with a quantitative analysis method. The results underlined that it is necessary to provide specific training paths to work with chronic immigrant patients, standardizing the training of medical staff both in hospitals and clinics, and providing for other types of professionals specialized in relations with foreign patients, to respond to all requests from foreign users, and not just healthcare ones. This study proposes a new survey model aimed at obtaining in-depth information on the representation of HPs towards the health and well-being of chronic immigrant patients, to provide concrete answers to the needs of the foreign population, providing for the collaboration of several specialised professionals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (1132) ◽  
pp. 120.2-120
Author(s):  
Emma Barnard ◽  
Wendy French

A project is being developed between artists and researchers to identify how to reduce loneliness and isolation in the older woman which could be a model for health and well-being clinics to adapt.Regular sessions with artists and wordsmiths can help to minimise the stress caused by the menopause (add (1 or 2) reference(s) if available). Fears, anxieties and depression are symptoms often experienced with this life stage. Mid-life crisis is an expression that can be an unhelpful way to describe the natural aging of a woman’s body. Negative concepts and poor jokes can add to a woman feeling diminished around the natural process of aging. A regular group might talk and explore these feelings with an artist ready to translate words into pictures, and create with the group a positive collage of loss in this respect. We would see whether looking at poems written by women who have gone through the menopause, finding how to identify with others and their loss, and exploring whether the experiences of others help the individual to feel better about themselves. Would this collaborative approach with women help them to feel more positive about the next life stage and therefore enable them to live a healthier life?


2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-70
Author(s):  
Stephen Parker ◽  
Ashutosh Sharma

The use of touch in yoga and in yoga therapy is often overlooked. Touch is extremely important to physical, psychological, and spiritual growth across the lifespan. It is one of the prime environmental drivers of human development (Hunter & Struve, 1998). Infants can fail to thrive and even die from lack of tactile stimulation and affection (Field, et al., 1986; Harlow & Harlow, 1962; Older, 1982). Although touch is critical to health and well-being at every age and stage of life (Hunter & Struve, 1998), it is not often considered an essential tool in the yoga therapy and education process. This perspective describes the role and significance of touch in the practice of yoga.


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