Global Meditation Practices: A Literature Review.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to review current literature on meditation's therapeutic outcomes and create a globally informed definition of meditation for health-related purposes.
Results Summary
The review found that all 15 examined meditation approaches reported positive therapeutic outcomes for participants (n = 768), enabling the creation of a broader therapeutic definition of meditation applicable in clinical practice.
Population
Participants from various countries practicing different forms of meditation (e.g., MBSR, Loving-kindness, Transcendental Meditation).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
meditation | decrease | chronic pain | - | - | is beneficial for | #1 |
meditation | decrease | stress | - | - | is beneficial for | #2 |
meditation | decrease | many physical and mental conditions | - | - | is beneficial for | #3 |
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #4 |
Active Engagement | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #5 |
Adapted Mindfulness Program | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #6 |
Cognitively-based Compassionate Training | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #7 |
Loving-kindness | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #8 |
Mantra Meditation | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #9 |
Mindfulness-based stress reduction | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #10 |
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #11 |
Osho | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #12 |
Psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #13 |
Transcendental Meditation | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #14 |
Spiritual/Secular | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #15 |
Sufi | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #16 |
Vipassana | increase | therapeutic outcomes | all participants | - | report positive therapeutic outcomes | #17 |
Research has shown that meditation is beneficial for chronic pain, stress, and many physical and mental conditions. The definition of meditation has many forms, is culturally influenced, and is practiced globally. This literature review seeks to report current literature on meditation related to therapeutic outcomes and create a globally informed definition of meditation for health-related purposes. From a western perspective, mindfulness-based stress relief (MBSR) is widely researched. Therefore, 15 studies from peer-reviewed research from 2015 and 2020 were used to examine various forms of meditation and describe a broader range of meditation practices other than MBSR. The different forms of meditation are: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Portugal), Active Engagement (Portugal), Adapted Mindfulness Program (Brazil), Adapted Mindfulness Program (Brazil), Cognitively-based Compassionate Training, Loving-kindness (United States, US), Mantra Meditation (US), Mindfulness-based stress reduction (US), Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (South Korea), Osho (India), Psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology (Italy), Transcendental Meditation (Italy), Spiritual/Secular (US), Sufi (Pakistan), and Vipassana (Australia). The review was completed using a literature search method, and all meditation approaches report positive therapeutic outcomes for all participants (n = 768). This outcome enabled the creation of a broader therapeutic definition of meditation that can be applied in clinical practice.