Mind-body medicine (MBM) is a field of medicine concerned with the ways that the mind and emotions influence the body and physical health. It may be more accurate to think of mind/body as a single entity, with the health of one part necessarily influencing that of the other. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines MBM techniques (MBT) as interventions that use a variety of techniques designed to facilitate the mind's capacity to affect bodily functions and symptoms. MBT offers patients with greater control in their treatment, cheaper alternatives, effective options for managing chronic conditions, and methods for maintaining wellness. Mind-body approaches include guided imagery, meditation, hypnosis, and movement therapies such as dance, tai chi, chi gong, and yoga as well as music and chanting. Such approaches are as old as traditional oriental healing systems and as widespread as seen in Chinese, Indian, and East Asians. Modern Western medicine is now beginning to give MBTs recognition in its importance as well as efficacy. This article reviews the medical literatures on the techniques that have been studied the most: relaxation therapy, meditation, hypnosis, cognitive-behavioral therapy guided imagery, and biofeedback.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Biofeedback, Psychology ; Humans ; Hypnosis ; Imagery (Psychotherapy) ; Integrative Medicine ; Meditation ; Mind-Body Therapies ; Music ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Relaxation Therapy ; Singing ; Tai Ji ; Yoga

OBJECTIVES: Emotional support and a stress management program should be simultaneously provided to clients as effective preventive services for healthy behavioral change. This study was conducted to review various relaxation and meditation intervention methods and their applicability for a preventive service program. METHODS AND RESULTS: The author of this paper tried to find various relaxation and meditation programs through a literature review and program searching and to introduce them. The 'Relaxation Response' and 'Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)' are the most the widely used meditative programs in mainstream medical systems. Abdominal breathing, Progressive Musclular Relaxation (PMR), Relaxative Imagery, Autogenic Training (AT) and Biofeedback are other well-known techniques for relaxation and stress management. I have developed and implemented some programs using these methods. Relaxation and meditation classes for cancer patients and a meditation based stress coping workshop are examples of this program. CONCLUSIONS: Relaxation and meditation seem to be good and effective methods for primary, secondary and tertiary preventive service programs. Program development and standardization and further study are needed for more and wider use of the mind-body approach in the preventive service area of medicine.
Biofeedback, Psychology ; Humans ; *Meditation ; *Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical ; Mind-Body Therapies ; *Preventive Health Services ; Primary Prevention ; *Relaxation Therapy ; Secondary Prevention ; Stress, Psychological/prevention & control/*therapy ; Tertiary Prevention

Stress management is important and various stress management methods are required in the area of clinical preventive services. Although defining stress is somewhat complicated, stress can usually be divided into two concepts, stressors and the stress reaction. Stressors are stimuli that arouse the stress reaction. Examples are disasters, life events requiring changes, and everyday hassles. The stress reaction is often called the 'fight or flight reaction' and is mediated by the sympathetic nervous system and various hormones, including cortisol and catecholamine. Stress is closely related with health behaviors and several chronic diseases. Stress is measured using biological tests or self report, including questionnaires and interviews. Psychosocial Wellbeing Index-Short Form, Brief Ecounter PsychoSocial Instrument-Korean version, Global Assessment of Recent Stress Scale, and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised are examples of questionnaires that are widely used in Korea. Stress coping methods are categorized into stimuli-oriented methods, cognitive-behavioral methods, and mind-body interventions. Relaxation and meditation are widely used mind-body medical interventions. Relaxation Response and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction are two of the most widely used meditative programs in the Western mainstream medical system. Abdominal breathing, Progressive Muscular Relaxation, relaxing imagery, Autogenic Training, and biofeedback are other well-known techniques for relaxation and stress management. Relaxation and meditation are effective in improving health behaviors and quality of life, and complement the treatment methods of various chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders and cancer. Relaxation and meditation also seem to be effective methods for use in clinical preventive services. Program development, standardization, and further study are necessary for more widespread use of mind-body interventions in the area of clinical preventive services.
Autogenic Training ; Biofeedback, Psychology ; Chronic Disease ; Complement System Proteins ; Disasters ; Health Behavior ; Hydrocortisone ; Korea ; Meditation ; Mind-Body Therapies ; Program Development ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Relaxation ; Respiration ; Self Report ; Stress, Psychological ; Sympathetic Nervous System

Complementary Therapy for Improvement of Quality of Life in Cancer Patients. As a results of reviews of database for effects of complementary therapies for improvement of Quality of Life on cancer patients, there were 8 mind-body therapies, 2 manual based therapies, 17 biologic based therapies(3 vitamin or minerals, 6 health nutrient products, 8 herbs). There were relative much more proportional studies of mind-body therapies and manual based therapies for quality of life of cancer. It were reported much more positive results in cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation, art therapy, music therapy, yoga included to mind-body therapies also it were reported much more positive result in massage & acupressure included to manual based therapies. And then these findings can be considered to us clinical application of these therapies by additional studies. On the other hand, the amount of study for quality of life of cancer in biologic based therapies was relatively more smaller than mind-body therapies and the results were contrary to each other. The mistletoe, one of the biological therapeutic products, can be considered to relatively useful material as a results of this review and its seems like to have positive value for further study, materials such as honey, ginseng or heat-treated ginseng, AHCCR, selenium. The others of biologic based therapies were inconclusive due to relatively small amounts of studies or revealed negative conclusion or negative tendency by their studies. The high usual rate of complementary therapy in cancer patients in Korea is applying the screw to us study for complementary medicine and is producing needs of complementary closed co-works or cooperation between the citizens, the government, medical doctors for high quality study.
Acupressure ; Art Therapy ; Cognitive Therapy ; Complementary Therapies ; Hand ; Honey ; Humans ; Korea ; Massage ; Meditation ; Mind-Body Therapies ; Minerals ; Mistletoe ; Music Therapy ; Panax ; Quality of Life ; Selenium ; Vitamins ; Yoga

Psychophysiology

Majority of cancer patients used CAM modalities during and even after cancer treatment. Main reasons for CAM use are to improve immunity, with expectation of fewer recurrences, and to have better quality of life. Still many patients did not reveal precise detailed information of CAM use to their physicians. Due to possible interaction between herbs and cancer drugs, it is essential for physicians to know whether their patients use CAM modalities or not and to have interest in existing evidence. This article will provide the lists of evidence and references on supplements and life styles including diet and exercise. Mind body medicine is not commonly used in Korea but there is increasing evidence on meditation and usefulness with relaxation even in supportive care.
Diet ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Korea ; Life Style ; Meditation ; Mind-Body Therapies ; Quality of Life ; Recurrence ; Relaxation

No abstract available.
Mind-Body Therapies*

OBJECTIVES: There has been an increase in the use of mind-body therapies to control cardiovascular risk factors recently. This trial was designed to determine whether the 'jeol'(Korean Buddhists' prostration) meditation program, as a new mind-body intervention, was effective in managing stress, depression and controlling cardiovascular risk factors in women working at a geriatric hospital. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether the 'jeol' meditation program could improve stress, anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular risk factors in women. We randomly assigned 57 participants to the intervention(29 participants) or control(28 participants) group. The subjects in the intervention group participated in a group Jeol meditation program once weekly, and practiced at home. The following variables were assessed: stress(Psychosocial Wellbeing Index), depression(Beck's Depression Inventory), body mass index(BMI), waist circumference, hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c), homeostasis model assessment(HOMA), low-density lipoprotein(LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein(HDL) cholesterol, and triglyceride were assessed. RESULTS: After the 8-week program, 2 participants from the intervention group and 1 from the control group dropped out. The subjects in the intervention group exhibited decreased scores for stress(t=5.102, p<0.01), depression(t=5.259, p<0.01), BMI(t=2.942, p=0.007), and waist circumference(t=2.582, p=0.016); however these scores did not demonstrate a significant decrease in participants of the control group. The other variables showed no significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: The 'jeol' meditation program evidently reduced stress, anxiety, depression, body weight, and waist circumference in women, which suggests that this program could be employed as a mind-body therapies.
Anxiety ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Complementary Therapies ; Depression* ; Exercise Movement Techniques ; Female ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Meditation* ; Mind-Body Therapies ; Risk Factors* ; Triglycerides ; Waist Circumference

PURPOSE: This study was done to investigate the effect of Tai Chi Qigong exercise program on insulin resistance and blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHOD: This was a quasi-experimental study used a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Participants included 39 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (ages between 40-70)(experimental group, 19, control group, 20). The Tai Chi Qigong exercise program consisted of 5 minute warming up, 30-minute main exercise, and 5 minute cooling down, and was conducted twice a week for 10 weeks. The outcome variables were insulin resistance (proinsulin, C-peptide, insulin, insulin sensitivity index) and blood glucose (fasting, post prandial 2hr, HbA1c). Data was analyzed using ANCOVA, with pre-test values as covariates, to examine difference between pre and post measures between the two groups. RESULTS: The Tai Chi Qigong was effective in lowering postprandial 2hr blood glucose. CONCLUSION: Twice a week 10 week-Tai Chi Qigong exercise seems to be too short to improve insulin excretion or resistance, and fasting blood sugar and HbA1C in patients with type 2 DM. A Tai Chi Qigong program at least 3 times per week or longer is recommended.
Blood Glucose* ; C-Peptide ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Fasting ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance* ; Insulin* ; Qigong ; Tai Ji

Biomedical Research ; Humans ; Tai Ji