Yoga as Therapeutic Exercise: A Practical Guide for Manual Therapists

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Chapter

Mindful exercising

Theories of mindfulness Theories of mindfulness

Theories of mindfulness Theories of mindfulness

Mindfulness in the Buddhist tradition

From the Satipatthāna Sutta, one of the central

teachings ascribed to Shakyamuni Buddha, we can

learn a lot about the application of mindfulness to

basic postures and movements. Slightly simplified,

the text describes a monk’s practice as follows. If

the monk is walking, he knows: I am walking. If he is

standing, he knows: I am standing. Sitting, he knows:

I am sitting. Lying down, he knows: I am lying. He

knows exactly what his posture is at every moment.

By letting go of his memories and desires his mind

becomes steady and focused.

Then the correct breathing method is described.

The monk is sitting in a straight firm posture, main-

taining his awareness. Inhaling, he knows: I am

inhaling; exhaling, he knows: I am exhaling. Being

fully aware of his whole body, he is inhaling; being

fully aware of his whole body, he is exhaling. Stilling

the actions of the body he will inhale and exhale.

Through this dedicated practice he can let go of dis-

tractions and his mind becomes calm and focused.

He becomes like deep water, which is not disturbed

by any waves – this water reflects everything clearly

and quietly (Satipatthāna Sutta 2009). From this

text one of the most important meditation exercises

of Theravada Buddhism has developed, called after

the sutta’s title, satipatthāna, or the “four founda-

tions of mindfulness.”

The same principles are practiced in the Zen tra-

dition of China, Korea, and Japan. In order to gain

a deeper understanding of the mind’s actions, you

learn to let go of thoughts and emotions. Then,

according to Takuan Sōhō, a Japanese Zen master

teaching in the early 17th century, a mental state of

“no-mind” is reached (Takuan 1987). Interestingly,

this state is something which cannot be seen with

the eyes but only experienced with the body.

Takuan states that the purpose of training is to free

yourself from mental attachments. This expres-

sion refers to the regular mind which constantly

attaches itself to something. No-mind, however, is

free from these strings. According to the Zen tra-

dition, our tendency to attach the mind to things

around us is an enormous obstacle in training. Here

again, breathing meditation is used to get rid of dis-

tracting thoughts. As Takuan explains, whenever

we think of doing something, our mind is stopped

by this thought. The solution is to get the mind to

initiate an action without stopping in the process.

The result is something called the “original mind”

in Zen, a mind filling the entire body and perme-

ating all of its parts, while our everyday state of

being, the “deluded mind,” is fixed at one specific

point because of excessive thinking. By concentrat-

ing on breathing, even beginners can slowly learn to

loosen this fixation while moving towards a more

open condition.

Psychological aspects of

mindfulness and movement

All therapists are aware that manual treatment and

exercising can cause emotional reactions in patients.

In contrast, the emotions and thoughts that patients

bring with them directly influence their behavior

and movements. Negative emotions such as anxiety,

depression, anger, and aggression make it harder to

select an exercise for the current emotional situa-

tion. They also make body and mental movements

heavier. In contrast, a state of positive emotions

such as joy or being in love makes movements easy

and fluent.

The self-aware and self-reflective mind observes

and investigates itself, including its emotions, mood,

and thoughts (Kabat-Zinn 1994). Psychologists agree

that the first step towards gaining control is taken

with reflective self-awareness. Freud (1916) calls

this “evenly hovering attention.” Goleman (1996)

explains that you can be angry at someone and at the

same time be self-reflective and think: “I am feeling

angry.” This process apparently causes the brain’s

neural circuits to monitor the emotion, so that you

gain some control. Eventually, being aware of feel-

ings leads to emotional self-control and to emotional

competence when dealing with other people. Apart

from being useful in social relationships, identifying

and managing emotions can also enhance cognition

and task performance, as experimental research has

shown.

Of special interest is the function of positive

states of being. As a way to approach this function,

Frederickson (2001) has developed her “broaden-

and-build model” of positive emotions. This claims

that the form and function of positive and negative

emotions complement one another. If a negative