An Introduction to Mindfulness through

Yoga, Tai Chi, and Meditation

Andi Céline Martin, University of Regina, Canada

Abstract: Mindfulness is everywhere these days. While the contemplative practice has its roots in several of the world’s
major belief systems, subscribing to any particular religion or philosophy is not required to experience mindfulness. We
live in a time where we can be present for so many moments we once could not, yet, what about the moments unfolding
right in front of us? Have you ever been somewhere, while not really being there? Have you ever been doing something,
while not really doing it? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. Being mindful and living mindfully takes practice and
training—it is not magical—it is just mental training; exercise for the mind. If you are the kind of person whose
immediate reaction to mindfulness is an insistence that you cannot slow down or your mind works too quickly, you are
precisely the kind of person who may benefit from mind-body techniques. Though being mindful in the real world is not
always easy, even just getting a little better at it can benefit us in crucial ways. Several mindfulness techniques exist to
help us get centered and be more present. In this article, you will learn about mindfulness and the three most popular
mindfulness-based techniques: yoga, tai chi, and meditation.

Keywords: Mindfulness, Yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation, Meta-attention, Monotasking

Mindfulness

M indfulness is everywhere these days: Oprah Winfrey and fellow daytime stalwarts like
Dr. Oz and the Doctors talk frequently about mindfulness, while for Arianna
Huffington—the former President and Editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media
Group—mindfulness is a “matter of life and death.” In an interview with psychologist/author
Maria Konnikova, Arianna Huffington explains that mindfulness practices helped her overcome
a mid-career crisis and refocus her priorities entirely (Konnikova 2017a). As ubiquitous as the
term “mindfulness” is, the concept is still quite misunderstood and unfamiliar to most. Many
have heard the word and have their own interpretation of mindfulness, yet, when asked to clarify
“what is mindfulness, really?” often, cannot accurately describe it. Ask ten people to define
“mindfulness” and it is typical to get ten different responses. Accordingly, many have explored
the topic but still want more clarification regarding this multifaceted topic and why mindfulness
is not only so popular but, seemingly, so beneficial.
While the contemplative practice has its roots in several of the world’s major belief
systems—most notably Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Hinduism—subscribing to any
particular religion or philosophy is not required to experience the benefits of mindfulness (Time
Inc. 2016). The most well-known and broadly used definition of mindfulness is that of Jon
Kabat-Zinn, who defines mindfulness as paying attention in a particular way. The particular way
in which to pay attention is on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally (Kabat-
Zinn 2005a, 2005b, 2007). The purpose of mindfulness is to keep one’s consciousness yoked to
present-moment reality. Therefore, mindfulness is awareness of the present moment just as it is;
accepting whatever is happening, simply because it is already happening. Moreover, being
mindful and accepting each moment as it comes means not labelling what is happening—that is,
not labelling an experience as “good” or “bad”—not attaching any thoughts, beliefs,
expectations, or assumptions to it.
We live in a time where we can be present for so many moments we once could not: we can
help calm a sibling right before a job interview from across the world, we can support a friend
giving birth in another country in real time, or we can witness a significant other summit Mount
Olympus while resting at its base. But what about the moments unfolding right in front of us?

The International Journal of Health, Wellness, and Society

Volume 8, Issue 3, 2018, http://healthandsociety.com
© Common Ground Research Networks, Andi Céline Martin, All Rights Reserved.
Permissions: support@cgnetworks.org
ISSN: 2156-8960 (Print), ISSN: 2156-9053 (Online)
http://doi.org/10.18848/2156-8960/CGP/v08i03/11-20 (Article)
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND SOCIETY

Have you ever been somewhere while not really being there? Have you ever been doing
something while not really doing it? If your answer is yes, you are not alone.
Mental load, such as to-do lists, is a part of life—there is no getting around it. In fact, Dr.
Deepak Chopra reported in his book Quantum Healing (2015) that the average person thinks
approximately 65,000 thoughts every day. Moreover, Chopra reported that of these 65,000
thoughts, about 95 percent (62,000) are exactly the same thoughts; we spend a lot of time
thinking the same thoughts, ideas, and memories, and arriving at the same conclusions over and
over (Chopra 2015). Further, research shows that most of our thoughts are negative; 77 percent
of them to be exact (Gibson 2017). Unfortunately, we often get caught up in recurrent negative
thoughts and emotions about past regrets or future worries, which disconnects us from what is
presently happening. This is an exhausting and rarely productive state, which takes up a great
deal of mental energy and can prevent us from developing clear and powerful thoughts (Chopra
2015).
Along these lines, Harvard Medical School Professor Moshe Bar explained to Time Inc.
(2016) that mental load, which consumes some of our mental resources, diminishes what we can
assign to the experiences unfolding right in front of us. Bar also noted that stress and cogitations
tax our ability to be creative and to really engage ourselves in experiences, while a clearer mind
affords a fuller experience. To illustrate this point, Bar further explained how our brain normally
switches between exploratory and exploitatory modes (Time Inc. 2016). In exploratory mode, the
mind is open to new experiences and we have a desire to learn, such as when on vacation or
visiting a new place. Contrarily, in exploitatory mode, the mind relies on existing knowledge and
prefers predictable situations. Significantly, when our mental capacity is loaded, we are more
exploitatory and less innovative. The solution, as with so many things, is to calm the mind and be
conscious of the mind’s influences on our subjective experience. Accordingly, cultivating the
ability to be in control of our thoughts—instead of our thoughts controlling us—is a very
important skill. Many activities can help us achieve a calmer mind, such as aerobic exercise,
painting, or gardening; however, these activities are not founded on the principles of
mindfulness, such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi.

Multitasking to Monotasking

Psychologist and author Daniel Goleman believes that there has been a kind of confusion in our
culture where people believe they have to always be on the go to be effective. Goleman used the
following example to communicate his point: people used to leave work and go home whereas
today, they have devices that follow them everywhere; there has been this silent, invisible,
continual increase of invasion of our physical and mental space. Individuals do not have any time
to recover despite the body’s design to be energetic and active and then recover (Time Inc.
2016). Instead, everyone is multitasking like crazy; yet, Stanford University researchers Ophir,
Nass, and Wagner (2009) state that the more one multitasks, the worse one gets at it.
Along these lines, Professor Gloria Mark out of the University of California Irvine revealed,
in an interview with Fast Company in 2008, that people tend to switch activities every three
minutes during the course of a typical workday, with roughly half of activity disruptions being
self-interruptions (Pattison 2008). Positively, Mark explains that 82 percent of all interrupted
work is resumed on the same day. Negatively, however, is that it takes an average of twenty-
three minutes to get back to the original activity/task (Pattison 2008). Markedly, all of this
rebounding leads to higher levels of stress, frustration, mental effort, feeling of time pressure,
and mental overload (Pattison 2008). Importantly, in Time Inc.’s (2016) report, Earl Miller,
Professor of neuroscience at MIT, stated that when a person is being distracted every few
minutes, they are not able to think deeply on something, which is where real insights come from.
It is therefore no wonder that mindfulness is increasingly being integrated into the
workplace, with initiatives such as Google’s Search Inside Yourself (SIY) training program.
Since 2007, SIY has been used by several big businesses, such as American Express and Nike,

12
 MARTIN: AN INTRODUCTION TO MINDFULNESS THROUGH YOGA, TAI CHI, AND MEDITATION

imparting centuries-old techniques to their staff to boost productivity and fend off burnout (Time
Inc. 2016). Likewise, Arianna Huffington argues that mindfulness meditation is a necessary
antidote to America’s unhealthy work culture, which rewards long hours and the appearance of
hard work over real focus and connectedness (Konnikova 2017b). Significantly, a recent analysis
of American workers found that disengagement at the office costs the US $550 billion each year,
while work-related stress piles on another $300 billion (Time Inc. 2016).
With instant access to almost anything, we are increasingly bombarded with distractions.
Remarkably, a 2013 University of Southern California study estimated that the average American
takes in thirteen-plus hours of media a day (Short 2013). In this technology-based world where
being distracted and on autopilot is the new normal, it is no coincidence that the current zeitgeist
embraces mindfulness and other contemplative practices as a path to wellness, where awareness
of and focus on the interactions of the brain, mind, body, and behavior is fundamental to one’s
overall functioning (Elkins, Fisher, and Johnson 2010). While the demands of the twenty-first
century life—parenting, work, commuting, emails, and texts—have magnified, embracing
mindfulness can help calm minds in the midst of the most dissonant moments. Basically put,
mindfulness is about embracing the beauty of monotasking. Shifting one’s muscle of attention
from multitasking to monotasking, however, is not easy, especially during hectic times of the
day.

Mindfulness is Exercise

Being mindful and living mindfully takes practice and training—it is not magical—it is just
mental training; exercise for the mind. When one goes to the gym, they are training their body so
it may achieve greater physical capacities. Therefore, if someone jogs regularly, they will
eventually have a faster pace and be able to run farther. Similarly, mindfulness trains the mind so
it may achieve more mental capacities. Just as with physical exercise, mental growth comes from
overcoming resistance. Every time one’s attention wanders away from the present moment and it
is brought back, that “muscle” of attention grows a bit stronger. The mind will come back to the
present moment more quickly and will be able to go farther—that is, more time will pass
between intervals of the mind wandering away from the present moment (Tan and Goleman
2014).
Markedly, just like exercise, mindfulness can change lives. Though research is still in the
minimal early stages, several studies have reported benefits associated with mindfulness, such as
reducing stress, pain, anxiety, depression, blood pressure, and cortisol levels, and increasing
energy, sleep quality, immune function, awareness, clarity, calmness, and happiness—and you
don’t even need to sweat! (Bouchard, Chapleau, Paquin, and Hofmann 2013; Carlson, Speca,
Faris, and Patel 2007; Feuille and Pargament 2015; Hofmann, Sawyer, and Witt 2010; Jazaieri et
al. 2014; Kuyken et al. 2008; Kvillemo and Bränström 2011; Ma and Teasdale 2004; Tan and
Goleman 2014; Walsh and Shapiro 2006; Witek-Janusek et al. 2008; Young 1997). What’s more,
according to research by Taren, Creswell, and Gianaros (2013) out of the University of
Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, mindfulness practice can shrink the brain’s jittery
“fight or flight” center, the amygdala, while increasing activity in the part of the brain
responsible for executive functioning – that is, one’s ability to problem solve, plan, self-control,
organize, and think flexibly and abstractly (Manning and Ducharme 2010; Martin and Gorenstein
2010; Time Inc. 2016). Notably, relying more on executive functioning puts us in the driver’s
seat of our minds and, in turn, our lives (Hougaard, Carter, and Dybkjaer 2017).
So how does this work? Well, to start, mindfulness is used to train two important mental
faculties: attention and meta-attention. Specifically, attention is taking possession of the mind,
which means selectively focusing on specific information (whether it be a conversation, movie,
or book). Meta-attention is attention of attention—the ability to pay attention to attention itself.
This may sound redundant; however, to go further, meta-attention is the ability to know that your
attention has strayed. Thus, if you are paying attention to a movie and your attention wanders to

13
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND SOCIETY

something else—say your phone is flashing or someone walks by—eventually something

“clicks” and you realize your attention has wandered. That is meta-attention. When your meta-
attention becomes strong, you will be able to regain a wandering attention quickly and often, and
if you regain attention quickly and often enough, you can create the effect of continuous
attention, which is concentration. Markedly, when attention and meta-attention both become
strong, the mind becomes not only increasingly focused and stable (concentration), but also
relaxed (Tan and Goleman 2014). Significantly, Alan Wallace, one of the Western world’s
leading experts in the practice of relaxed concentration, states that when the mind becomes calm
and clear, it returns to its default: happiness. Thus, this implies that happiness is not something
that one pursues, but rather, it is something that one allows; happiness is the default state of mind
(Tan and Goleman 2014).

Putting Theory into Practice

If your immediate reaction to mindfulness is an insistence that you just cannot slow down or your
mind works too quickly, you are precisely the kind of person who may benefit from mind-body
techniques. Though being mindful in the real world is not always easy, getting just a little better
at it can benefit us in crucial ways. Several mindfulness techniques exist to help us get centered
and be more present. Specifically, three of the most popular mindfulness-based techniques are
yoga, tai chi, and meditation. Notably, yoga, tai chi, and meditation can help us all achieve, as
described by Bar, relatively rapid calmness of mind (Time Inc. 2016), which, as previously
noted, allows us to be more innovative and conscious of the mind’s influences on our subjective
experience.

Yoga
Yoga is now regarded in the Western world as a holistic approach to health and is presently
experiencing a noticeable increase in popularity in the West, primarily in wellness centers and
health clubs, as a form of exercise and relaxation (Yachoui and Kolasinski 2012). A recent article
by Tapper (2013) estimates that the number of global yoga practitioners is as high as 250 million.
In the United States, yoga is one of the ten most commonly practiced forms of complementary
healthcare (Barnes et al. 2004). Markedly, the most recent “Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance
Yoga in America” study (N=3700) revealed that 36.7 million Americans (10.3 million males
[28%] and 26.4 million females [72%]) practiced yoga in 2016. Comparatively, the same study
reported that in 2012, 20.4 million Americans practiced yoga. In just four years, the study
revealed an 80 percent increase of yoga practitioners, in addition to another 80 million
Americans who stated that they were likely to try yoga in 2016 (Yoga Journal 2016).
Yoga is one of six unique orthodox philosophies stemming from India (alongside Samkhya,
Nyaya, Vaiśesika, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta) that emphasizes meditation, contemplation, and
liberation (Radhakrishnan and Moore 1967). The goal of yoga is to cultivate the ability to still the
mind, control the senses, and be captivated or absorbed by the universe, thus achieving a sense of
fulfillment or contentment (Cope 2006; Fraser 2007; Gimbel 1998). Through the practice of
various styles of yoga, the practitioner cultivates the faculties to maintain focus on the present
moment, as opposed to continuously being arrested by thoughts and ruminations (Grossman,
Niemann, Schmidt, and Walach 2004).
Finding a yoga class used to be rather simple; today, however, there is an estimated 800-plus
styles to choose from. Although part of yoga’s popularity is its reputation for being an excellent
stress reliever and moving meditation, it is also just plain good exercise. Virtually any type of
yoga improves strength, flexibility, and balance (Bosch et al. 2009; Brown, Koziol, and Lotz
2008; Chen et al. 2009; Cohen et al. 2004; Desikachar et al. 2005; Manjunath and Tells 2005;
McCall 2007). Though there are hundreds of different styles—ranging from holding one or two

14
 MARTIN: AN INTRODUCTION TO MINDFULNESS THROUGH YOGA, TAI CHI, AND MEDITATION

poses an hour (Yin) to flowing through 100-plus poses an hour (Vinyasa)—all styles are founded
on mindfulness, the aim of being purposefully present without judgment.
Yoga is all about uniting the mind and body—through the breath—and paying attention to
how the body feels while moving and posing and why or why not the practitioner may be
labeling the experience, that is, judging the practice, one’s thoughts or body, or others (Cope
2000, 2006; McCall 2007). During a yoga class, each yoga posture is linked with synchronized
and controlled use of the breath, since the mind and body closely follow the breath (Ramaswami
2005). Since yoga styles can differ quite significantly, doing a little research and aligning
yourself with the mindfulness experience that might be right for you is important.

Tai Chi
Currently, tai chi has great appeal throughout China and is recently gaining recognition
throughout North America, as it is not harnessed to any particular faith or religion and is seen as
a technique of personal and mental development (National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine [NCCAM] at the National Institutes of Health [NIH] 2016). The total
number of worldwide tai chi practitioners has been reported to be approximately 250 million
people (Liang 2016; Scutti 2013). Moreover, based on the data obtained from the 2007 National
Health Interview Survey, an estimated 2.3 million American adults had used tai chi during the
previous twelve months (NCCAM at the NIH 2016). What’s more, Harvard Health Publications
(2016) recently listed tai chi as one of the five best exercises a person could ever do.
Tai chi is an ancient Chinese philosophy/martial art that dates back at least 5,000 years
(Yang 2010). Tai chi evolved from martial art, a means of self-defense, and breathing exercises
such as qigong, progressing into a unique practice by the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644
CE). Markedly, the development of all modern forms of tai chi can be traced back to one of five
traditional school of tai chi, namely the Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu (Woo), or Sun schools
(Wong 2002).
Generally, tai chi involves the coordination of breath with forms (tai chi poses) linked
together in a continuous flow. Tai chi can include large, medium, and/or small forms: the
practice can involve high, medium, or low stances and all forms involve either extended, opened,
and/or relaxed postures (Yang 2010). It is said that with correct breath coordination (upwards
movements linked with inhales, downwards movements linked with exhales), the practitioner can
relax more deeply, allowing the mind to enter a more perceptive state (Yang 2010). Although tai
chi styles may differ in approaches to training (stance, form, postures, and speed), the underlying
theory and components (coordination of breath, continuous flow, and mindfulness) remains
consistent. —
A primary goal of tai chi practice is to induce, develop, and improve flow, ensuring the
practitioner’s sequence of tai chi forms is continuous, harmonious, and synergistic (Ross 2013).
When a tai chi practitioner is flowing, time falls away and everything clicks—one is no longer
performing tai chi, one is tai chi. As defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian
psychologist whose pioneering research in the 1970s introduced the concept, flow is the state of
being totally and blissfully immersed in a task, to the exclusion of just about everything else,
including one’s self. In his article “The Concept of Flow” Csikszentmihalyi described flow as a
subjective state with intense and focused concentration on what one is doing in the present
moment (Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi 2014). Furthermore, Ross (2013) defines flow as a
state of complete immersion in an activity for its own sake—the ego falls away and time flies—
and movements are continuous, harmonious, and synergistic (Ross 2013). We can all experience
flow in a wide range of settings, under the right circumstances, but the primary goal of tai chi
practice is to induce, develop, and improve flow; ensuring the practitioner is fully present and
mindful.

15
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND SOCIETY

Meditation
Meditation has gone from being labeled as “hippy-dippy nonsense” to “too Silicon Valley” to
mainstream health move. Currently, meditation—in addition to yoga and tai chi—is having a
moment and is part of the mindfulness movement. Though the exact date of meditation’s origin
is unknown, archaeologists and scholars agree that meditation has been around for approximately
5,000 years (Eisler 2017). The earliest documented records of meditation stem from ancient
Indian scriptures (Vedas) around 1500 BCE (Eisler 2017; Raju 2017). Fast-forwarding to the
eighteenth century, translations of the ancient texts began to travel to scholars in the West. In the
twentieth century, several books on meditation were published, including Jack Kerouac’s The
Dharma Bums (1958) and Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual
Enlightenment (1997). Additionally, Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts in 1979, which attracted general and
academic interest and curiosity in meditation. Most recently, over 140,000 people from nearly
every country in the world gathered in California on August 8th, 2014, to meditate for peace and
set a Guinness World Record for the largest meditation gathering in history (Eisler 2017; The
Chopra Centre 2015).
Although little data is available regarding how many people actually meditate, or at least
report to, a 2007 census report of complementary or alternative medicines indicated that 20
million American adults used meditation for health purposes (Wylie 2015). Along these lines, the
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) stated that 8.0 percent of
US adults (18 million) meditated in 2012. What’s more, the 2012 NCCIH reported that 1.6
percent of US children (927,000) used meditation—about 202,000 more children than in 2007
(Clarke et al. 2015). These figures, however, are five and ten years old; they appear to be the
only ones available for the present yet likely do not completely represent the
mindfulness/meditation movement washing over the country (Wylie 2015).
Meditation is a means of transforming the mind and includes techniques that encourage and
develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity, and a calm seeing of the true nature of
things. Thus, the goal of meditation is to go beyond the mind and experience one’s essential
nature, which is described as peace, happiness, and bliss (Rama 2013). There are hundreds of
different styles of meditation, yet they are all based on the same principle—to pay attention to
your inner and outer experience in the present moment, without judgment (Clarke et al. 2015).
A common belief regarding meditation is that to meditate, or meditate successfully, one has
to wipe all thoughts from the mind, which is unlikely to happen, and not the goal of meditation
anyway. Learning how to be still and give complete attention to a chosen object is the method of
meditation. Meditation is the art and science of letting go, and this letting go begins with the
body and then progresses to thoughts (Rama 2013). Hundreds of thoughts may come before
one’s mind while meditating and each thought will compel some further response: a judgment, an
action, an interest in pursuing the thought further, or an attempt to get rid of the thought (Rama
2013). It is not the thoughts that disturb the mind, but the reaction(s) to them. Typically, we react
to the experiences that come before us in the same manner that we react to our thoughts: we react
before we have fully experienced what we are reacting to. Meditation teaches us to be present
with what is taking place within without reacting, bringing us freedom from the mind and its
meandering (Rama 2013).

Conclusion
When we are overly immersed in social media and Googleland, we are missing out on thinking
deeply and creatively, real conversations, and truly connecting with others and ourselves. As we
pursue peace of mind in a crazy-busy world, researchers are discovering that being present is its
own reward. With mindfulness, we can discover how to relax into whatever life brings from a

16
 MARTIN: AN INTRODUCTION TO MINDFULNESS THROUGH YOGA, TAI CHI, AND MEDITATION

place of equilibrium as opposed to continuously reacting to our thoughts, feelings, and judgments
and being arrested by cogitation. Yoga, tai chi, and meditation are remarkable tools for
developing mindfulness, but what happens off the mat, outside of the studio, and beyond the
cushion is what matters; the application of mindfulness in one’s life, at work, with friends, or at
home.
If you insist that you simply cannot find the time to make your way to a yoga or tai chi
studio or meditation center, you may benefit from the use of technology (for good), to help
reverse the potential negative effects that technology can have on your health. Currently, the
technology-based world provides some amazing online mindfulness tools, including yoga, tai
chi, and meditation classes and instructional videos. Online mindfulness programs allow
practitioners to advance their mindfulness practice without traveling and parking to attend a busy
in-person class or practicing at home with the monotony of a DVD (Moser 2013). The website
designs are streamlined and appealing, their content is high quality, and their teachers are widely
recognized as being among the world’s best. Consequently, an at-home internet-based delivery
method may also help to engage those overwhelmed by the prospect of entering a yoga, tai chi,
or meditation center or those who live in mindfulness program-free zones.
Perhaps it has been the new age, quasi-spiritual connotations of mindfulness that have
prevented it from being welcomed as a remedy to our increasingly frantic world. Encouragingly,
research is helping overcome this perception and as Rinzler communicated in Time Inc. (2016,
14), “back in the ’50s, if you said you were going for a run, someone would ask, Who’s chasing
you?” We are hitting this point with mindfulness and ten minutes of mindfulness could soon
become an accepted and recognized part of our daily health regimen, just like going to the gym
or brushing our teeth (Time Inc. 2016).

REFERENCES

Barnes, Patricia. M., Eve Powell-Griner, Kim McFann, and Richard L. Nahin. 2004.
“Complementary and Alternative Medicine use Among Adults: United States, 2002.”
Seminars in Integrative Medicine 2 (2): 54–7.
Bosch, Pamela. R., Tinna Traustadottir, Paul Howard, and Kathleen S. Matt. 2009. “Functional
and Physiological Effects of Yoga in Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Pilot
Study.” Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 15 (4): 24–31.
Brown, Kevin D., James A. Koziol, and Martin Lotz. 2008. “A Yoga-Based Exercise Program to
Reduce the Risk of Falls in Seniors: A Pilot and Feasibility Study.” Journal of
Alternative and Complementary Medicine 14 (5): 454–57.
Carlson, Linda E., Michael Speca, Peter Faris, and Kamala D. Patel. 2007. “One Year Pre-Post
Intervention Follow-Up of Psychological, Immune, Endocrine and Blood Pressure
Outcomes of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in Breast and Prostate
Cancer Outpatient.” Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 21 (8): 1038–49.
Chen, Kuei-Min, Ming-Hsien Chen, Hui-Chen Chao, Hsuan-Man Hung, Huey-Shyan Lin, and
Chun-Huw Li. 2009. “Sleep Quality, Depression State, and Health Status of Older
Adults After Silver Yoga Exercises: Cluster Randomized Trial.” International Journal
of Nursing Studies 46 (2): 154–63.
Chopra, Deepak. 2015. Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine. New
York, NY: Bantam Books.
Clarke, Tainya C., Lindsey I. Black, Barbara J. Stussman, Patricia M. Barnes, and Richard L.
Nahin. 2015. Trends in the Use of Complementary Health Approaches Among Adults:
United States, 2002-2012. National Health Statistics Reports; no 79. Hyattsville, MD:
National Center for Health Statistics.

17
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND SOCIETY

Cohen, Lorenzo, Carla Warneke, Rachel T. Fouladi, M. Alma Rodriguez, and Alejandro Chaoul-
Reich. 2004. “Psychological Adjustment and Sleep Quality in a Randomized Trial of
Effects of a Tibetan Yoga Intervention in Patients with Lymphoma.” Cancer 100 (10):
2253–60.
Cope, Stephen. 2000. Yoga and the Quest for the True Self. New York, NY: Bantam Dell.
———. 2006. The Wisdom of Yoga. A Seeker’s Guide to Extraordinary Living. New York, NY:
Bantam Dell.
Desikachar, Kausthub, Liz Bragdon, and Chase Bossart, C. 2005. “The Yoga of Healing:
Exploring Yoga’s Holistic Model for Health and Well-being.” International Journal of
Yoga 15: 1739.
Eisler, Melissa. 2017. “The History of Meditation. Learn About its Evolution from the
Beginning, and how it’s Grown in Recent Years.” The Chopra Center.
http://www.chopra.com/articles/history-meditation#sm.0001frgk5mk5ecr6vb127
gnzynw22.
Elkins, Gary, William Fisher, and Aimee Johnson, A. 2010. “Mind-body Therapies in Integrative
Oncology.” Current Treatment Options in Oncology 11: 128–40. doi:10.1007/s11864-
010-0129 xdoi:10.1007/s11864-010-0129-x.
Feuille, Margaret, and Ken Pargament. 2015. “Pain, Mindfulness, and Spirituality: A
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Effects of Mindfulness and Relaxation on
Pain-Related Outcomes in Migraineurs.” Journal of Health Psychology 20 (8): 1090–
1106.
Fraser, Tara. 2007. Total Ashtanga. New York, NY: Duncan Baird.
Galante, Lawrence. 1981. Tai Chi. The Supreme Ultimate. Boston, MA: Red Wheel/Weiser.
Gibson, Mitchell. 2017. “How to Access Your Positive Inner Genius.” Spirituality & Health.
http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/how-access-your-positive-inner-genius.
Gimbel, M. A. 1998. “Yoga, Meditation, and Imagery: Clinical Applications.” Nurse
Practitioner Forum 9 (4): 243–55.
Grossman, Paul, Ludger Niemann, Stefan Schmidt, and Harald Walach. 2004. “ Mindfulness-
based Stress Reduction and Health Benefits: A Meta-analysis.” Journal of
Psychosomatic Research 57 (1): 35–43.
Harvard Health Publications. 2016. “5 of the Best Exercises You Can Ever Do.” Harvard Health
Publications, Harvard Medical School. http://www.health.harvard.edu/ staying-
healthy/5-of-the-best-exercises-you-can-ever-do.
Hofmann, Stefan G., Alice T. Sawyer, Ashley A. Witt, and Diana Oh. 2010. “The Effect of
Mindfulness Based Therapy on Anxiety and Depression: A Meta-Analytic Review.”
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 78 (2): 169–83.
Hougaard, Rasmus, Jacqueline Carter, and Gitte Dybkjaer. 2017. “Spending 10 Minutes a
Day on Mindfulness Subtly Changes the Way You React to Everything.” Harvard
Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/01/spending-10-minutes-a-day-on-mindfulness-
subtly-changes-the-way-you-react-to-everything.
Jazaieri, Hooria, Kelly McGonigal, Thupten Jinpa, James R. Doty, James J. Gross, and Philippe
R. Goldin. 2014. “A Randomized Controlled Trial of Compassion Cultivation Training:
Effects on Mindfulness, Affect, and Emotion Regulation.” Motivation and Emotion 38
(1): 23–35.
Kabat-Zinn, Jon. 2005a. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday
Life. New York, NY: Hachette Books.
———. 2005b. Guided Mindfulness Meditation: A Complete Guided Mindfulness Meditation
Program from Jon Kabat-Zinn. Louisville, CO: Sounds True.
———. 2007. Mindfulness for Beginners. Louisville, CO: Sounds True.
Khoury, Bassam, Tania Lecomte, Guillaume Fortin, Marjolaine Masse, Phillip Therien, Vanessa
Bouchard, Marie-Andrée Chapleau, Karine Paquin, and Stefan G. Hofmann. 2013.

18
 MARTIN: AN INTRODUCTION TO MINDFULNESS THROUGH YOGA, TAI CHI, AND MEDITATION

“Mindfulness-Based Therapy: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis.” Clinical Psychology

Review 33: 763–71.
Konnikova, Maria. 2017a. “For Arianna Huffington, Mindfulness is a Matter of Life or Death.”
The Big Think. http://bigthink.com/videos/arianna-huffington-on-mindfulness-part-1.
Konnikova, Maria. 2017b. “Our Macho Culture of 24/7 Work is a Delusion. Mindfulness is
the antidote.” The Big Think. http://bigthink.com/videos/arianna-huffington-on-
mindfulness-trends.
Kuyken, Willem, Sarah Byford, Rod S. Taylor, Ed Watkins, Emily Holden, Kat White, Barbara
Barrett, Richard Byng, Allison Evans, Eugene Mullan, and John D. Teasdale. 2008.
“Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Prevent Relapse in Recurrent Depression.”
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 76: 966–78.
Kvillemo, Pia, and Richard Bränström. 2011. “Experiences of a Mindfulness-Based Stress-
Reduction Intervention among Patients With Cancer.” Cancer Nursing 34 (1): 24–31.
Liang, Helen. 2016. “Discover the Tai Chi 48 Form.” Yang’s Martial Arts Association.
https://ymaa.com/articles/2016/02/discover-the-tai-chi-48-form.
Ma, S. Helen, and John D. Teasdale. 2004. “Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for
Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects.”
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 72 (1): 31–40.
Manjunath, Nandi K., and Shirley Tells. 2005. “Influence of Yoga and Ayurveda on Self-Rated
Sleep in a Geriatric Population.” Indian Journal of Medical Research 121 (5): 683–90.
Manning, Carol A., and Jamie K. Ducharme. 2010. “Dementia Syndromes in the Older Adult.”
In Handbook of Assessment in Clinical Gerontology, 2nd edition, edited by Peter
Lichtenberg, 155–78. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Martin, Jane and Michelle Gorenstein. 2010. “Normal Cognitive Aging.” In Brocklehurst’s
Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, 8th edition, edited by Howard M.
Fillit, Kenneth Rockwood, and John Young, 170–77). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Inc.
McCall, Timothy 2007. Yoga as Medicine. The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing. New
York, NY: Bantam Dell.
Moser, Laura. 2013. “Online Yoga Classes Aid Busy Schedules.” The Wall Street Journal. July 18,
2013. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323394504578607782490993740
Nakamura, Jeanne, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 2014. “The Concept of Flow.” In Flow and the
Foundations of Positive Psychology. The Collected Works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,
edited by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 239–63. Claremont, CA: Springer.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of
Health. 2016. “Tai Chi: An Introduction.”
https://nccih.nih.gov/health/taichi/introduction.htm.
Ophir, Eyal, Clifford I. Nass, and Anthony D. Wagner. 2009. “Cognitive Control in Media
Multitaskers.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America 106 (37): 15583–87. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0903620106.
Pattison, Kermit. 2008. “Worker, Interrupted: The Cost of Task Switching.” Fast Company.
https://www.fastcompany.com/944128/worker-interrupted-cost-task-switching.
Raju, Linga. 2017. A Journey through Sacred Hindu Scriptures. The Vedas including the
Upanishads. Amazon Digital Services LLC.
Rama, Swami. 2013. “The Real Meaning of Meditation.” Yoga International.
https://yogainternational.com/article/view/the-real-meaning-of-meditation.
Ramaswami, Srivatsa. 2005. The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo
Press.
Ross, David-Dorian. 2013. “Taijifit Flow. Instructor Manual.” David-Dorian Ross.
https://taijifit.net/course/instructors-manual/.

19
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND SOCIETY

Scutti, Susan. 2013. “Tai Chi Health Benefits: 250 Million People Know what’s Good for
Them.” Medical Daily, June 18, 2013. http://www.medicaldaily.com/tai-chi-health-
benefits-250-million-people-know-whats-good-them-246916.
Short, James E. October 2013. How Much Media? 2013 Report on American Consumers.
Institute for Communication Technology Management (CTM) at the USC Marshall
School of Business. https://www.marshall.usc.edu/faculty/centers/ctm/research/how-
much-media
Tan, Chade-Meng and Daniel Goleman. 2014. Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to
Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace). New York, NY, USA: HarperOne.
Taren, Adrienne A., J. David Creswell, and Peter J. Gianaros. 2013. “Dispositional Mindfulness
Co-Varies with Smaller Amygdala and Caudate Volumes in Community Adults.” PLoS
ONE 8 (5): e64574. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064574.
The Chopra Center. 2015. “2015 Chopra Center Global Meditation for Compassion.”
http://www.chopra.com/articles/2015-chopra-center-global-meditation-for-
compassion#sm.0001frgk5mk5ecr6vb127gnzynw22
Time Inc. The Editors of Time. 2016. Mindfulness. The New Science of Health and Happiness.
New York, NY: TIME.
Tapper, Josh. 2013. “Yoga’s Evolution: From Basement Studios to Big Business.”
https://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/fitness/2013/03/19/yogas_evolution_from
_basement_studios_to_big_business.html.
Walsh, Roger, and Shauna L. Shapiro. 2006. “The Meeting of Meditative Disciplines and
Western Psychology: A Mutually Enriching Dialogue.” American Psychologist 61: 227–
39. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.61.3.227.
Witek-Janusek, Linda., Kevin Albuquerque, Karen R. Chroniak, Christopher Chroniak, Ramon
Durazo, and Herbert L. Mathews. 2008. “Effect of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
on Immune Function, Quality of Life and Coping in Women Newly Diagnosed with
Early Stage Breast Cancer.” Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 22 (6): 969–81.
Wylie, Mary S. 2015. “How the Mindfulness Movement Went Mainstream And the Backlash
That Came With It: Meditation is More Complex than Some People Realized.” Alternet.
Personal Health. http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/how-mindfulness-movement-
went-mainstream-and-backlash-came-it.
Yachoui, Ralph, and Sharon L. Kolasinski. 2012. “Complementary and Alternative Medicine for
Rheumatic Diseases.” Aging Health 8 (4): 403–12. doi:10.2217/ahe.12.45.
Yoga Journal. 2016. “Yoga in America.” Yoga Journal. http://www.yogajournal
.com/yogainamericastudy/.
Young, Shinzen. 1997. The Science of Enlightenment. Boulder, CO: Sounds True.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Andi Céline Martin, PhD: Lecturer, Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University
of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

20
Copyright of International Journal of Health, Wellness & Society is the property of Common
Ground Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to
a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may
print, download, or email articles for individual use.