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Attentional Effort, Mindfulness, and Altered States of Consciousness Experiences Following Quadrato Motor Training
- Source :
- Mindfulness. 8:59-67
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2015.
-
Abstract
- The scientific study of movement-related contemplative practices has proceeded without much attention to the range of psychological and phenomenological changes thought to occur during the practice. Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) is a specifically structured walking meditation, recently found to improve creativity and reflectivity, as well as neuroplasticity. This paper presents first-person reports related to QMT-induced experiences, derived from both practitioners of breathing meditation (BM) who practiced the QMT for 1 week (n = 15) compared to 4 weeks of daily training (n = 14) and control non-BM practitioners who practiced the QMT for 4 weeks of daily training (n = 14). Following factor analysis, the reported experiences were classified into three categories: Attentional Effort, Mindfulness, and Altered States of Consciousness (ASC). Our analysis revealed significant group differences, with increased ASC and attentional effort experiences reported by the groups that practiced the QMT for 4 weeks, but not in the group that practiced it for only 1 day. We further build on the previous QMT-induced electrophysiological and cognitive changes and the meditation literature to posit the possible underlying mechanisms of QMT-induced ASC experiences, in order to suggest a novel interpretation of QMT that calls attention to its structural similarities with meditation. By providing and contextualizing these reports of QMT-induced experiences, scientists, clinicians, and meditators can gain a more informed view of the range of experiences that can be elicited by whole-body contemplative practices.
- Subjects :
- Health (social science)
Mindfulness
Social Psychology
Motor training
Contemplation
media_common.quotation_subject
05 social sciences
Significant group
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Creativity
050105 experimental psychology
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Developmental and Educational Psychology
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Meditation
Consciousness
Psychology
Altered state
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Applied Psychology
media_common
Clinical psychology
Cognitive psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18688535 and 18688527
- Volume :
- 8
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Mindfulness
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........37bac312cc6042523f6dda4e58caaba2
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0469-5