Deep Relaxation Experience with Complementary Urban Zen Integrative Therapy: Qualitative Thematic Analysis

Complementary Health Approaches (CHAs) are used as adjunctive therapy for managing symptoms associated with chronic conditions. Little evidence exists about how patients with pulmonary hypertension use or experience CHA. We explored patients’ relaxation experience during Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT) and present qualitative thematic analysis results of 32 focused-debriefing-interviews. Thirteen community-dwelling adults received six individual weekly sessions that included essential oil, gentle-body movement, restorative pose, body-awareness meditation, and Reiki. Two themes, “Relaxation” and “In-between state,” were subjected to dimensional analysis and detailed description. We identified conditions or phenomena contributing to these themes across the following contextual sub-categories: time/temporal, associated elements, what the experience felt like, and asleep state. Deep relaxation experience was achieved when participants lost the sense of time, primarily during body-awareness meditation, and while they were “drifting” into an asleep state. These elements provide clarity for the future development of therapeutic endpoints of patients’ experience of CHA. ClinicalTrial.gov # NCT03194438