Mental Fitness

Unit 5 ProjectChancey S. SennKaplan University

HW420-03 - Creating Wellness - Psychosocial & Spiritual Aspects of Healing

Instructor: Susan Stewart, Ph.D.March 30, 2010

Introduction

• Benefits of mental fitness

• Research studies demonstrating healing qualities of mental and spiritual focus

• Examples of exercises or practices to improve mental fitness

• Summary

Benefits of Mental Fitness• Increased general health

– Decrease in pain levels– Decrease frequency of headaches– Decreased blood pressure and pulse– Decrease in skin temperature– Slows bowel and bladder motility

• Improved mental health– Decrease in depression, anxiety, and stress levels– Increase in compassion and love– Improve concentration and sleep quality– Decrease fatigue– Reduces anger and frustration– Increases the confidence levels

Research StudiesRelaxation Training and Written Emotional

Disclosure for Tension and Migraine Headaches: A Randomized, Controlled Study (D’Souza, P.J., Lumley, M.A., Kraft, C.A., and Dooley, J.A., 2008)

• Study was performed to compare relaxation training (RT) and written emotional disclosure (WED)

• Participants were 141 college students with tension or migraine headaches– Tension and Migraine groups were divided into 3

subgroups: RT, WED, and time management control

Research Studies Cont.• Interventions

– 4 sessions over 2 weeks

– WED• Wrote about a trauma or stressful experience that was significant

in their life

– RT• Placed in a private room in a comfortable chair and listened to

relaxation audiotapes• Session 1: taught active relaxation training for 14 muscle groups

and applied relaxation• Session 2: taught deep breathing and autogenic procedures• Session 3: continued with autogenic relaxation using imagery and

emphasized breathing techniques with cued release only and differential relaxation skills

• Session 4: integrated all skills taught

Research Studies Cont.– Time management control

• Wrote about control expectations, number of sessions, effort, and attention from lab personnel received by both groups

• Session 1: activities or actions for the past week

• Session 2: activities or actions for the past 24 hours

• Session 3: planned activities for the next 24 hours

• Session 4: planned activities for the next week

Research Studies Cont.• Results

– RT• Tension

– Increased calmness and improved headache frequency and disability

• Migraine– Improved pain severity

– WED• Tension

– Increase in negative mood, no effect on frequency or disability• Migraine

– No effect on pain levels

– Time Management Control• Tension

– No effect on frequency or disability• Migraine

– Slightly improvement of pain severity

Research Studies Cont.The Unique Effects of Forgiveness on Health: An

Explanation of Pathways (Lawler, K.A., Younger, J.W., Piferi, R.L., Jobe, R.L., Edmondson, K.A., and Warren, W.H., 2005)

• Study was about the relationship of state and trait forgiveness to health

• Participants– 81 adults, age 27 – 72

• Interventions– Questionnaires for measurements of forgiveness, social

skills, spirituality, stress, and health– Lab visit for interview

• Measurements of blood pressure and heart rate for 10 minutes while watching a tropical fish video

Research Studies Cont.– Interview cont.

• Questions consisted of 6 questions related to an event where they had been hurt by a close friend or partner and 10 questions about the offender

• 5 minute interval followed the betrayal narrative

• Results

– State and trait forgiveness relative to physical health• Includes symptom checklist, number of medications taken, and self

reports of sleep quality, fatigue, and somatic complaints• Trait was less than state

– Mediating roles of spirituality, social skills, negative affect, and stress either partially met or fully met as reflected in physical symptom check list

Research Studies Cont.Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Physical and Mental

Health of College Students (Wang, Y.T., Taylor, L., Pearl, M., and Chang, L., 2004)

• Study to find the effects of a body-mind harmony exercise (Tai Chi) on college students’ perceptions of their physical and mental health

• Participants– 30 college students– All students were healthy, denied low back pain or

pathological disease that might negatively impact performance

– All signed approved human subject consent forms

Research Studies Cont.

• Interventions– 3 month class of Tai Chi exercise with 1 hour classes

twice a week• Each class consisted of 10 minutes of breathing and

stretching followed by 50 minutes of Tai Chi Quan 24 form practice

• Physical and mental health survey questionnaires were filled out pre and post study

• Results– Physical and mental health improved significantly– Mental health change was greatest– Beneficial due to mediating emotional and psychological

stresses

Examples of practices

Mantra Meditation

HEALING PRACTICEMantra Meditation Practice (Malloy, J., 2009)• Derived from ancient Indian text that dates back

about 5,000 years• The practice quiets the mind and connects one

with their inner self, core self, or inner spirit• Mantra: a word or phrase that has the power to

catalyze a shift to a deeper, peaceful state of awareness– Example: “Aum”– “Aum”: vibration of the universe – Repeated quietly out loud for beginners and silently with

more the more experienced– Do not try to hard to focus on the mantra, let your mind

descend to the deeper level of thought giving the mind space to drift

Mantra Practice Cont.• Instructions

– Sit comfortably with eyes closed and spine straight– Repeat the mantra gently in your mind at a tempo that

feels natural and comfortable– Allow the mantra to arise more faintly in the mind,

repeating with a minimum effort– Allow whatever happens, including drifting into a sleep

or dream like state– If you notice that your attention has drifted, gently begin

repeating the mantra again to bring you back to focus– If you are in a deep relaxation state, enjoy the

experience instead of returning back to the mantra– After 10 - 15 minutes come out of the meditation slowly

ExercisesTai Chi (Everyday Tai Chi, 2010)

• Derived from traditional Chinese medicine form• Has many forms, but we will be discussing the 24

form exercise• Tai Chi is gentle, flowing movements to treat the

whole body• Benefits

– Cool, calming feeling – Feeling of refreshment and reenergizing– Clears and relaxes the mind– Promotes personal energy– Improves sleep quality and the ability to deal

with stressful situations

Tai Chi cont.• Benefits cont.

– Increases stamina, muscle control, blood flow, and lubricant in the joints

– Improves body posture and spinal alignment, and balance

– Strengthens muscles, ligaments, and tendons– Decreases stiffness throughout the body

• Instructions (Stewart, A. J., N.D.)– Start with elbows bent at waist line, while bringing right

foot around to turn left and bring up right arm to shoulder level. Repeat arm repetition 3 times (Parting the wild horse)

– Bring right arm back down and left arm up brushing the knee with the right arms upward to shoulder level slightly bent, then moving right leg in front and left arm back. Repeat 4 times (Playing the guitar)

Tai Chi Cont.• Instructions cont.

– Turn back around forward facing moving right foot and bringing down left arm (Holding the ball)

– Bring out left foot on heel, lunging forward on left leg and pushing arms outward

– Repeat last 4 steps going right– With left leg still slightly bent and lunging, move right

arm around and left arm down (Single whip)– Right arm comes up to mouth and left arm swings down

in front of the body (Cloud hands, left)– Perform Single whip again– Bring right leg down after kicking it outward and lunge

forward on right leg, move both arms up straight just above shoulder level (Carry the tiger over the mountain)

Tai Chi Cont.• Instructions Cont.

– Turning backward bringing arms down– Kick left heel out and bring down and lunge all the way

down on the right leg leaving the left leg out to the side and straight (Creeps through the grass)

– Stand back up and stand on left leg with right knee bent up, moving right arm up with right leg, then repeat on right side

– When bringing left leg down, lunge back on it moving arm up and then back down (Shuttle back and forth)

– Move left leg back up on tip toe even with right leg and bringing the arms back up (Needle at the bottom of the sea)

– Lunge forward on left leg and circle right arm around backwards (Fan through back)

– Turn backward again moving arms to right with elbows bent

Tai Chi Cont.• Instructions Cont

– Continue turning right (Right back fist), bringing right foot around to place weight on right foot and punch forward with right arm (Parry and punch)

– Lunge forward on left leg and bring arms together at shoulder level (Apparent closing)

– Turn frontward crossing arms in front of chest (Cross hands)

– Bring arms back to waist level with elbows bent (Close)

Tai Chi Cont.• Tai Chi Chart (Stewart, A.J., N.D.)

Tai Chi Cont.• Click link while connected to the internet to watch

video of Tai Chi 24 form (YouTube, 2010)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q77p16rEX7o&feature=player_embedded

Summary• Mental fitness has many great benefits to help

encourage one to try contemplative practices and exercises– The most important of the benefits, to sum it up, is

improved mental and physical well-being and spirituality– These practices and exercises for mental fitness

promote the finding of the inner self, oneness, and wholeness

• Research by D’ Souza, Lumley, Kraft, and Dooley (2008) studied the effects of relaxation on tension and migraine headaches compared to written emotional disclosure and a control group– Results showed that relaxation training increased

calmness and improved headache frequency and disability from tension headaches and improved the pain severity from migraine headaches

Summary Cont.– In comparison relaxation training had far more better

than the written disclosure group and control group

• Research by Lawler, Younger, Pifer, Jobe, Edmondson, and Warren (2005) studied state and trait forgiveness– Results showed that state and trait forgiveness was

relative to physical and mental well-being– Also, mediation of spirituality, social skills, negative

affects, and stress was improved

• Research by Wang, Taylor, Pearl, and Chang (2004) studied on Tai Chi related to physical and mental health– Results showed improvement of physical and mental

health, with mental health being the greatest, and the ability for greater mediation of emotional and psychological stresses

Summary Cont.• Example of a mental fitness practice and exercise

has been provided with detailed instruction, where it originated from, and benefits which includes mantra mediation practice and Tai Chi exercise

References• D’Souza, P.J., Lumley, M.A., Kraft, C.A., & Dooley, J.A. (2008).

Relaxation training and written emotional disclosure for tension or migraine headaches: A randomized, controlled trial. The Society of Behavioral Medicine. Retrieved March 28, 2010 from http://search.ebscohost.com.kaplan.uah.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2010158548&site=ehost-live

• Everyday Tai Chi (2010). Tai Chi. Retrieved March 28, 2010 from http://www.everyday-taichi.com/tai-chi-benefits.html

• Lawler, K.A., Younger, J.W., Piferi, R.L., Jobe, R.L., Edmondson, K.A., & Warren, W.H. (2005).The unique effects of forgiveness on health: An exploration of pathways. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 28(2). Retrieved March 28, 2010 from http://search.ebscohost.com.kaplan.uah.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2009016336&site=ehost-live

References Cont.• Malloy, J. (2009). Mantra Mediation Room: Universal Mantra

Meditation. Retrieved March 28, 2010 from http://www.meditationcenter.com/connect/mantra.html

• Stewart, A.J. (N.D.). Instructional: 24 Form Tai Chi. Retrieved March 28, 2010 from http://members.shaw.ca/alanjstewart/TaiChi/TaiChi24form.gif

• Wang, Y.T., Taylor, L., Pearl, M., & Chang, L. (2004). Effects of Tai Chi exercise on physical and mental health of college students. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine , 32(3). Retrieved March 28, 2010 from http://search.ebscohost.com.kaplan.uah.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2009397149&site=ehost-live

• YouTube (2010). Tai Chi Form 24 Taiji. Retrieved March 29. 2010 from http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q77p16rEX7o&feature=player_embedded