Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification: Development of an Integrative Mind-Body Program for Mental Health and Human Flourishing


Author: Holger Carl Bringmann1,2, Nicole Bringmann3, Michael Jeitler4,5, Stefan Brunnhuber3, Andreas Michalsen4,5, Peter Sedlmeier6

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany, holger.bringmann@charite.de.

<sup>2</sup> Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Diakonie Kliniken Zschadraß, Colditz, Germany, holger.bringmann@charite.de.

<sup>3</sup> Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Diakonie Kliniken Zschadraß, Colditz, Germany.

<sup>4</sup> Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.

<sup>5</sup> Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Immanuel Hospital, Berlin, Germany.

<sup>6</sup> Institute of Psychology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany.
Conference/Journal: Complement Med Res
Date published: 2020 Dec 7
Other:
  Special Notes: doi: 10.1159/000512333.   ,  Word Count: 176  
    Mental disorders are a core health challenge in the 21st century. Integrative mental health care takes an individual, lifestyle-modifying, salutogenic approach, combining somatic, psychosocial, and spiritual perspectives from evidence-based conventional and complementary medicine. In particular, meditation and mindfulness have received growing research interest in the last decade. In this article, we present Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM), a new, complex mind-body intervention for mental health care. It is the first program to intensify meditation practice using classical yoga. The program (a) covers all areas of classical yoga, (b) considers ethical and spiritual aspects of daily life, (c) orients participants toward sustained lifestyle modification, and (d) is applicable in a clinical context. The scientific rationale of the program is outlined in this article, based on the Criteria for Reporting the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions in Healthcare. Further research is planned to show the clinical feasibility of MBLM and evaluate its efficacy, processes of change, and cost-effectiveness.



Keywords: Ethics; Integrative medicine; Integrative mental health care; Lifestyle modification; Mantra; Meditation; Mind-body intervention; Niyama; Patanjali; Yama; Yoga.



PMID: 33285545 DOI: 10.1159/000512333