Body Awareness, Mindfulness and Affect: Does the Kind of Physical Activity Make a Difference?
Benedek T Tihanyi, Andrea Sági, Barbara Csala, Nóra Tolnai, Ferenc Köteles
March 30, 2016 DOI: 10.5708/ejmh.11.2016.1-2.6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,057 |
| Population | Individuals practicing yoga, Pilates, kung fu, aerobics, or ballroom dance (331 male; mean age 30.6 ± 10.17 years) |
| Interventions | Yoga Pilates Kung fu Ballroom dance |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Across all sports combined, weekly practice frequency, but not time since starting practice, was associated with lower negative affect and somatosensory amplification and higher positive affect. Advanced yoga and Pilates participants showed higher body awareness, advanced kung fu participants amplified bodily signals the least, and aerobics was related to the highest positive affect; among beginners there were no practically relevant differences. |
Abstract
The aim of this cross-sectional study is to explore expected differences in the connection between particular physical activities and positive and negative affect, body awareness or mindfulness. Additionally, we describe the so-called tingling phenomenon (i.e. skin-related sensations evoked by focusing on a body part) in terms of prevalence, gender differences and psychological concomitants. A total of 1,057 individuals (331 male; mean age: 30.6 ± 10.17 years) practicing yoga, Pilates training, kung fu, aerobic, or ballroom dance completed our questionnaire. Analysing data of all sports together, weekly frequency of practice, as opposed to time elapsed since starting practice, was connected to lower levels of negative affect and somatosensory amplification, and to higher levels of positive affect. Advanced yoga and Pilates participants showed higher body awareness; advanced kung fu participants amplified bodily signals the least, and aerobic was related to the highest positive affect. Among beginners, there were no practically relevant differences in the assessed constructs. These results might help to clarify the common and different psychological properties that are needed for and/or can be developed by different sports.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Dispositional mindfulness in climbers with different levels of experience. Scientific Reports November 4, 2025
- Sustained attention is related to heartbeat counting task performance but not to self-reported aspects of interoception and mindfulness. Consciousness and Cognition October 2021
- Nursing Student's Experiences of Meditation on Twin Hearts During Eight Weeks Practice: A Qualitative Content Analysis. SAGE Open Nursing 2021
- Verbal Cuing Is Not the Path to Enlightenment. Psychological Effects of a 10-Session Hatha Yoga Practice. Frontiers in Psychology July 2, 2020
- MEDIATORS BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING Mindfulness, Body Awareness and Satisfaction with Body Image ** March 30, 2016