Complementary Therapies in Medicine
June 1, 2013
Surbhi Khanna, Jeffrey M Greeson
250 citations
Yoga and mindfulness show promise as complementary therapies for addiction, supported by a growing number of clinical trials and laboratory studies on smoking, alcohol dependence, and illicit substance use. These practices, rooted in ancient Buddhist philosophy and traditional yoga, may target psychological, neural, physiological, and behavioral processes involved in addiction and relapse. However, few studies have examined yoga specifically, and more research is needed to determine which interventions work best for different addictions and patient types. A conceptual model is proposed to guide future studies on outcomes and mechanisms.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
March 1, 2020
Crystal L Park, Lucy Finkelstein-Fox, Erik J Groessl et al.
54 citations
In regular yoga practitioners, a single yoga session increased positive emotions (engagement, tranquility, revitalization) and decreased exhaustion. All measured psychological resources—mindfulness, body consciousness, self-transcendence, social connectedness, and spiritual peace—also increased and closely tracked the improved emotions. Different types of yoga sessions were associated with changes in different psychological resources. The findings suggest yoga influences multiple psychological mechanisms that enhance emotional well-being, and that specific yoga components may be optimized to target particular mechanisms like mindfulness or spirituality.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
April 1, 2019
Alisha Francis, Rhonda Beemer
38 citations
Yoga is linked to stress reduction, but how it works is not well understood. This theoretical paper proposes that yoga reduces stress by influencing how people appraise stressors, drawing on embodied cognition, Cognitive Appraisal Theory, and the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat. Body position and common yoga practices may affect thoughts about the self and feelings of confidence. The musculoskeletal system may play a direct or indirect role. The authors call for systematic research on the interactions between psychological processes, body position, and musculoskeletal activity during yoga.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
November 16, 2020
H. Bringmann, Nicole Bringmann, M. Jeitler et al.
16 citations
A new mind-body program called Meditation Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM) was tested in 25 outpatients with mild or moderate depression to see if it was feasible and acceptable. Twenty patients completed at least six sessions, with 87.5% adherence. Most participants reported decreased emotional distress, increased self-confidence and self-acceptance, and many found the ethical aspects of yoga novel and inspiring. Depressive symptoms decreased by 39.23%, and measures of mindfulness and eudaemonic well-being improved significantly. The program appears highly acceptable and feasible for this population.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
December 1, 2024
Siliana Maria Duarte Miranda, Sara de Pinho Cunha Paiva, Luiz Fernando Ferreira Pereira et al.
3 citations
An online mindfulness-based intervention (eMBI) over eight weeks helped reduce shortness of breath in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). In a controlled trial, 48.9% of those who completed the eMBI reported less dyspnea on the mMRC scale, compared with 15.4% in the control group. The program did not significantly improve cough-related quality of life, overall quality of life, depression, anxiety, or stress. No moderate or severe side effects occurred. The approach appears safe and potentially useful for managing breathlessness in ILD.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
November 1, 2025
Yongyao Wu, Qiaojing Xia, Yiyi Gao et al.
2 citations
A 12-week mindfulness meditation program lowered blood pressure and improved quality of life in patients with intradialytic hypertension during haemodialysis. In a randomized trial of 69 patients, those who practiced meditation had significantly lower systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressures and a lower pulse rate than those receiving standard care. Quality-of-life measures, including physical function, pain, energy, and emotional well-being, improved, but social function did not. Blood levels of homocysteine also decreased. Adverse reactions occurred in 11.76% of the meditation group versus 45.71% of the control group. Mindfulness meditation appears to be a safe, effective non-pharmacological option for managing intradialytic hypertension.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
June 1, 2026
Moirangthem Joychand Singh, Sunil Singh Yadav, Sangeeth Somanadhapai et al.
Meditation-based interventions for people with epilepsy show promise for improving depression, anxiety, concentration, and quality of life. Neurophysiological changes include modulation of gamma power, beta burst duration, and interictal epileptiform discharges, suggesting a potential stabilizing effect on neural networks. However, evidence for reducing seizure frequency is inconsistent and generally not statistically significant. The review included five studies: two randomized controlled trials, two open-label studies, and one case report. Meditation appears to be a promising adjunctive therapy for psychological well-being and possibly cortical excitability, but well-powered randomized controlled trials with standardized protocols and longer follow-up are needed to confirm effects on seizure control.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
December 1, 2025
Adam W. Hanley, Yoshio Nakamura, Robert R Edwards et al.
Both Reiki and mindfulness meditation significantly reduced knee osteoarthritis symptoms compared to doing nothing, with over half of participants in those groups reporting a clinically meaningful reduction of more than 30% in symptoms after just four weekly 30-minute sessions. The improvements from mindfulness were significantly better than those from a sham Reiki procedure, while Reiki's effects were comparable to mindfulness. The study involved 164 adults with physician-confirmed knee osteoarthritis and had high retention and successful blinding, supporting the reliability of the results. These findings suggest that both therapies may be effective, well-tolerated, and time-efficient options for managing knee osteoarthritis pain.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
March 1, 2023
Helena Schmidt, Christian Pilat
A systematic review with meta-analysis of 12 studies (1005 participants) found that meditation significantly reduced pain intensity (small effect) and improved physical quality of life in low back pain patients immediately after treatment, compared to control conditions. However, these benefits did not persist at follow-up (average 20 weeks, range 4–52 weeks). No significant effects were found for functional disability, mental quality of life, or depression. The quality of evidence was moderate, and the authors call for larger, well-designed trials to confirm the findings.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
January 15, 2021
Hyo-Weon Suh, H. Jeong, Sunggyu Hong et al.
A meta-analysis of ten randomized controlled trials found that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) modestly improved self-reported sleep quality in cancer survivors compared with usual care (standardized mean difference -0.29). However, MBSR did not improve objective sleep parameters measured by sleep diaries, polysomnography, or actigraphy. Results against active control conditions were mixed for sleep quality and negative for sleep parameters. The authors conclude that MBSR may help cancer survivors improve sleep quality, but the evidence is inconclusive due to few studies and inconsistent results.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
December 1, 2019
Stefano Poletti, Giorgia Razzini, Roberto Ferrari et al.
A mixed-method study tested an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program integrated into early palliative care for people with metastatic cancer. Of 20 participants, 16 completed the program, with 75% attendance and home practice adherence. The intervention helped participants develop an accepting attitude toward their disease, face anxiety and cancer pain, improve self-regulation of mood, and reconnect with their values and spiritual beliefs. MBSR integrated into early palliative care is feasible, well accepted, and may offer emotional and spiritual relief alongside pain management.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
June 1, 2019
Lu Shi, Ralph S Welsh, Snehal Lopes et al.
A four-week mindful walking intervention (one hour per week) was compared with instructions to increase physical activity among 38 adults who were not getting enough exercise. Both groups received a wrist-worn step counter. Physical activity and depression improved in both groups, but there was no significant difference between them. Device-measured step counts did not differ between groups, though both averaged close to 8,000 steps per day. The mindful walking group showed a significantly larger reduction in perceived stress immediately after the intervention, but this difference was not maintained at one-month follow-up. The short duration and small sample may have limited the results.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
April 1, 2019
Claudia Wang, Kaigang Li, Susan Gaylord
Meditation use among U.S. children aged 4 to 17 years increased from 1.6% in 2012 to 7.4% in 2017, based on data from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey. Children with chronic medical conditions were more likely to use mindful meditation (adjusted odds ratio 1.9–3.6, 95% CI [1.0–7.4]). Regularly taking prescription medication was inversely associated with mantra meditation use (adjusted odds ratio 0.4, 95% CI [0.2–0.9]). Children who experienced delayed medical care due to access difficulties were more likely to use spiritual meditation compared to those who did not (adjusted odds ratio 1.7, 95% CI [1.1–2.6]). The authors suggest future studies explore reasons for the increase and potential benefits.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
August 1, 2018
Simone S Nascimento, Larissa R Oliveira, Josimari M DeSantana
Cognitive and meditative therapies (CMT) such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and meditation alter brain activity in both chronic pain patients and healthy individuals. In chronic pain patients, CMT increases activation in the prefrontal cortex, somatosensory cortices, and limbic system. In healthy individuals, CMT increases activation in the anterior cingulate and anterior insular cortex while decreasing thalamus activation. These changes suggest that CMT regulates pain by affecting an extensive network of brain regions beyond those directly processing pain. CMT consistently reduces the affective experience of pain, but reductions in pain intensity ratings are less consistent across studies.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
February 1, 2016
Martin Lamothe, É. Rondeau, Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise et al.
A systematic review of 39 studies on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for healthcare providers found that MBSR is associated with improvements in burnout, stress, anxiety, and depression. Only 14 of the 39 studies measured empathy or emotional competencies. Evidence suggests improvements in empathy, but no clear evidence is currently available on emotional competencies such as identifying one's own emotions, identifying others' emotions, and emotional acceptance. High-quality evidence supports MBSR's effect on professionals' mental health, but capacities central to care remain scarcely studied.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
August 1, 2013
Herman H M Lo, Siu-Man Ng, Cecilia L W Chan et al.
A randomized trial assigned 82 adults with depressive and anxiety symptoms to either a Compassion-Mindfulness Therapy program or a waitlist control. Those in the therapy group showed significant decreases in depression, anxiety, stagnation, and other well-being measures compared to controls. Stagnation, a concept from Chinese medicine, partially mediated the treatment effects on depression and anxiety, with reductions in the direct effect of treatment after accounting for changes in stagnation. The findings suggest stagnation may help explain how mindfulness training produces its benefits, supporting a body-mind nondual perspective.