So, it might be valuable to offer other easily accessible means to former participants of MBCT or MBSR courses to help maintaining their mindfulness practice. Attendees have reported to experience these as a booster reminding them of their mindfulness practices and as a sanctuary where these practices are further nurtured (Hopkins and Kuyken 2012). As many find it difficult to do this on their own, mindfulness centers often offer reunion meetings or silent days. 2015).Īlthough studies directly examining the necessity of ongoing practice are lacking, mindfulness participants are recommended to maintain mindfulness practice in order to maximize and sustain benefits.
Mindfulness has been shown to lead to improvements in depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life in a variety of clinical populations as well as healthy participants (Gotink et al.
Non-judgmental observing of emotions or thoughts present here and now enables participant to react in a calm and “wise” manner in stressful situations (Kabat-Zinn 1994). Mindfulness training aims to make participants more aware of their automatic reactions on a behavioral, emotional, and cognitive level, by encouraging them to engage in daily meditation practices. The psychological effects of the 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) are getting increased attention in scientific research, with mindfulness techniques being recommended as valuable strategies to relate to negative thoughts and emotions. Mindful walking in nature may be an effective way to maintain mindfulness practice and further improve psychological functioning. This is the first time that ESM was used to assess interactions between state mindfulness and momentary affect during a mindfulness intervention of several consecutive days, showing an upward spiral effect. Exploratory questionnaire data indicated corresponding results, though non-significant due to the small sample size. The opposite pattern was observed with state mindfulness and negative affect, where increased state mindfulness predicted less negative affect. ESM data showed that walking resulted in a significant improvement of both mindfulness and positive affect, and that state mindfulness and positive affect prospectively enhanced each other in an upward spiral. Furthermore, self-report questionnaires were administered before and after the control and mindful walking period, assessing depression, anxiety, stress, brooding, and mindfulness skills.
Smartphones offered items on positive and negative affect and state mindfulness at random times during the day. In 29 mindfulness participants, experience sampling method (ESM) was performed during the control and mindful walking period. Mindful walking alongside the river Rhine took place for 1, 3, 6, or 10 days, with a control period of a similar number of days, 1 week before the mindful walking period. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of mindful walking in nature as a possible means to maintain mindfulness skills after a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) or mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course.
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