Emotion
October 1, 2008
Cendri A. Hutcherson, Emma M Seppala, James J. Gross
748 citations
A brief loving-kindness meditation exercise, lasting only a few minutes, increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward strangers, as measured by both explicit and implicit measures, compared to a closely matched control task. The findings suggest that this simple technique may help reduce social isolation and increase positive social emotions.
Journal of Traumatic Stress
August 1, 2014
Emma M Seppala, Jack B. Nitschke, Dana Tudorascu et al.
180 citations
A breathing-based meditation called Sudarshan Kriya yoga reduced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, anxiety, and respiration rate in male U.S. veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Twenty-one veterans were randomly assigned to either the active meditation group or a waitlist control group. The active group showed large reductions in PTSD scores and anxiety symptoms, while the control group did not. Reductions in startle response correlated with reduced hyperarousal symptoms immediately after the intervention and at one-year follow-up. The findings suggest Sudarshan Kriya yoga may be a useful alternative treatment for PTSD.
Journal of Compassionate Health Care
September 26, 2014
Emma M Seppala, Cendri A. Hutcherson, Dong TH Nguyen et al.
113 citations
A brief 10-minute session of loving-kindness meditation (LKM) increases compassion and positive affect more effectively than other positive-affect inductions or neutral visualization, even in novice meditators. LKM improved well-being and feelings of social connection at both explicit and implicit levels while decreasing self-focus. These findings suggest LKM could be a practical, time-effective way to reduce burnout and promote resilience in healthcare providers and improve patient care quality.
Journal of Compassionate Health Care
October 8, 2014
Heather L Chapin, Beth D Darnall, Emma M Seppala et al.
58 citations
A pilot clinical trial tested a 9-week group compassion cultivation intervention for chronic pain patients. Twelve predominantly female patients completed the program. Compared to their own baseline, patients reported significantly lower pain severity and anger, and higher pain acceptance after treatment. Reports from significant others corroborated the reductions in pain severity and anger. The findings suggest compassion meditation may be a useful adjunctive treatment for chronic pain, reducing pain and anger while increasing acceptance. The corroboration by significant others provides novel evidence of observable emotional and behavioral changes following the intervention.
BMJ Open
August 25, 2022
Peter J Bayley, R Jay Schulz-Heik, Julia S Tang et al.
A randomized non-inferiority trial compared Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a breathing-based group program, with individual cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 85 veterans (mean age 56.9, 61% white, 75 men). At 6 weeks, PTSD symptoms (measured by the PCL-C) decreased by 5.6 points with SKY and 6.8 points with CPT. The difference of -1.2 points fell within the prespecified non-inferiority margin of 10 points, indicating SKY was not inferior to CPT. SKY remained non-inferior at 1-month and 1-year follow-ups for PTSD symptoms, but was inferior to CPT on depression and affect measures at 1 year. Dropout rates were similar (27% SKY, 34% CPT). The authors suggest SKY merits further consideration as a PTSD treatment.
BMJ Open
April 3, 2019
Danielle C Mathersul, Julia S Tang, R Jay Schulz-Heik et al.
A protocol describes an ongoing non-inferiority randomized controlled trial comparing a breathing meditation intervention (Sudarshan Kriya Yoga) to cognitive processing therapy for PTSD among veterans. The trial uses blinded assessors and measures PTSD symptoms via the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version, along with clinical, self-report, experimental, and physiological outcomes across four symptom clusters. Analyses will include both intent-to-treat and per-protocol procedures. This is the first such trial of SKY versus CPT for veterans with PTSD. Results will inform future efficacy studies and formal recommendations for complementary interventions.