Active meditation: a proposed tool for stress management

Abstract

Meditation has been a subject much studied in recent years. The regular practice of meditation produces numerous benefits, such as promoting positive affects, reducing negative affects, improving immunity and delaying brain aging. Increases in cortical thickness in specific regions, especially the prefrontal cortex areas, have been associated with socio-emotional self-regulation and better cognition. Thus, this suggests that meditation increases prefrontal regulation in reactivity to stress and aversive emotions, collaborating with the growing clinical interest in meditation as an adjuvant in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety, depression, and personality disorders. Additionally, its application has been verified in several areas of health, such as dependencies with a decrease in cravings for substance use. It was observed that meditative practice was associated with improved performance in executive function and decision making. There are numerous different techniques for reaching the meditative state. Active meditation is composed of techniques that combine movements, expression of sounds and/or breathing techniques, mainly in the initial stages, facilitating the entry and maintenance of the meditative state in a spontaneous and natural way, without the restlessness or “bombardment” of thoughts, that we are commonly affected in our daily lives. The aim of this paper is to describe the active meditation intervention protocol, carried out at the outpatient clinic of the Habits and Lifestyle Change Program at IPq-HCFMUSP. This protocol aims to increase well-being and provide tools for stress management and, consequently, increase the resilience of patients. Eight weekly meetings are held with groups of patients, each meeting with a theoretical experience followed by practice.