メンタルトレーニングないし瞑想的訓練が、ヒト成人の心理および身体生理状態、脳機能などに望ましい効果をもたらすことについては、心理学および脳神経科学の立場から多くの実証的知見が得られている。また近年では、マインドフルネスや瞑想への学術的および社会的注目も大きく高まっている。しかしながら、日本国内で伝統的に実践されている心身修養を対象とした実証的知見の蓄積は、いまだ少ない。ヨーガのような実践では、訓練を通して身体内部および外部環境に対する気づきや注意が統合、調和されることで、ネガティヴ情動の低減や主観的幸福感の増大といった、心理状態の望ましい方向への変容がもたらされる可能性がある。本研究では、日本におけるヨーガなどの実践を対象として、実践の継続による身体内外環境への気づきや注意、および心理状態の変容について、質問紙調査および自律神経活動計測を用いて量的に検証することを目的とした。
平成30年度には、ヨーガ、瞑想の非実践者である大学生、およびヨーガの長期実践者1人を対象として、内受容感覚への気づきの鋭敏さの測定課題である心拍検出課題、一定時間の間の自身の呼吸回数を報告させる呼吸計数課題、およびマインドフルネス傾向についての質問紙を課した。その結果、予想とは逆に、ヨーガ熟達者の方が心拍および呼吸の自己報告値と計測値とのずれが大きかった。またマインドフルネス得点は、ヨーガ実践者の方が非実践者よりも高かった。実践者の自己報告から、日常における瞑想場面と異なるこれらの課題を持続的に遂行することが困難だった可能性が示唆された。
また、メンタルトレーニングないし瞑想的実践に関する最新の研究成果を、日本マインドフルネス学会、北米神経科学学会を含む国内外の学会年次大会等で発表した。さらに、日本発達心理学会において、マインドフルネスの発達に関するシンポジウムを共同企画、実施した。

マインドフルネス、ないし瞑想的実践に関連する心理および生理機能の変容を検討した。第1に、瞑想的方法に基づく読書法 (速読法) 訓練者の心理状態を、質問紙調査によって検討した。その結果、訓練の継続に対応した心理状態の望ましい方向への変容が示唆された。また瞑想の非実践者でも、読書習慣が望ましい心理状態に対応していた。第2に、ヨーガ熟達者の異なるテーマでの瞑想中における自律神経活動を計測した。その結果、呼吸に注意集中する瞑想と、「愛しています」というマントラを唱える瞑想との間で自律神経活動の差異が見られ、身体生理状態の能動的な切り替えが示唆された。

洞察問題解決においては閾下ヒント呈示が促進効果を持つという知見が積み重ねられてきている。本研究は事前に提示された閾下情報の所在、および問題解決におけるその機能をより明確にすることを目的としている。
連続フラッシュ抑制と二重課題を組み合わせて行われた実験の結果は、二重課題の実施は被験者のパフォーマンスを低下させないというものであった。このことは閾下情報が通常のワーキングメモリとは異なる貯蔵庫に保持されている可能性を示唆している。また閾下ヒント情報の順次呈示を行った実験では、促進効果が全く見られなかった。このことは保持された閾下情報は操作可能性を持たない、静的な表象であることを示唆している。

慢性痛は，発症率の高さ，長期的治療の必要性から健康上の重大な問題といえる。その発症，維持には生物・心理学的メカニズムの複合的な関与が示唆されており，幾つかの心理学的介入による有効性が報告されつつある。これらのアプローチは痛みそのものを対象としたものから痛みに関する認知，思考を扱うものまで多岐にわたるが，マインドフルネス，催眠療法，EMDR，運動療法といった心理・身体的介入には，痛みを回避するのではなく，そこに「能動的に向き合う」という共通項を見出すことができよう。そこで本シンポジウムでは，不快な身体の痛みに対する態度と慢性痛の知覚，認知プロセスの関連性を多角的に検討する。話題提供の先生方は上述のアプローチによる痛みの介入を専門とされており，それぞれの立場から理論と効果をご紹介いただく。これらの共通点，相異点からみえる慢性痛治療の中核と今後の方向性について，指定討論者の先生方とともに議論を行う。

Bodywork such as martial arts and yoga based Eastern traditions involve practical aspects that include focused attention on one’s moment-to-moment breath and bodily status and observation of them. Such practices are deemed to share commonalities with mindfulness-based practices. The present study aimed to empirically investigate the impacts of these practices on transformation of the mind and body, as well as to explore relevant psychological constructs and theories. Specifically, we investigated whether and how a practical session of “laughter yoga,” a relatively novel form of yoga that combines “unconditional laughter” and breathing techniques of traditional yoga on psychological states of university students who were unfamiliar with the practice. On-demand movies provided by an expert instructor were used to guide the session. Participants who had practiced laughter yoga reported increased positive affect and decreased state anxiety after the practice, although less apparently than when experienced participants attending the “laughter club” had been involved in previous studies. In addition, we have conducted the following studies on mindfulness, self-compassion, and spirituality in collaboration with the research collaborators: (1) We found that the Acceptance component of dispositional mindfulness as conceptualized by the Monitor and Acceptance Theory, although not its Monitor component, significantly buffered the associations between multiple risk factors and body dysmorphic concern. (2) We showed that an intervention that involves vocalization of “Gokan-no-Ge,” a set of traditional sentences chanted before starting to have meals, increased mindful eating and decreased binge eating tendencies. (3) We conducted a preliminary survey on daily tasks that can induce focused attention and absorption in university students, to prepare for an empirical study on how engaging in such tasks may help to control mind-wandering at a trait level. (4) We proceeded with publication of a cross-sectional study that revealed that multiple components of self-compassion moderate the associations between ruminative tendencies and psychological distress. (5) We conducted a cross-disciplinary review work to illustrate a theoretical insight into empirical investigation of spirituality that makes use of a sense of vitality inherent in it. (6) We obtained preliminary evidence suggesting that dispositional mindfulness may moderate the relationship between emotion suppression and psychological health.

Mind-body practices based on Eastern traditions such as regimen, martial arts, qigong, and mindfulness include various training to enhance both interoceptive awareness and observation of the external world. By acquiring higher stages of these practices through extensive training, it is believed that the boundary between self and others are dissolved, leading to a state of integrative awareness where distinctions between self and others have ceased to exist. Such higher integrative and harmonious mind-body states are deemed to result in psychologically desirable status including lower perceived stress, anxiety, and depression and higher psychological well-being. However, there is to date limited empirical evidence regarding these mind-body transformation processes. The present study aimed at elucidating such mind-body transformation induced by practices based on Eastern traditions including footbath as regimen and mindfulness-based practices, by using multiple psychological and physiological methods. First, we investigated changes in dispositional mindfulness and psychophysiological status associated with a two-week intervention by footbath, by collecting further data including additional participants continuing from the previous academic year. Results showed that mindfulness and interoceptive awareness significantly increased, and trait anxiety significantly decreased, after the intervention for both the intervention and control groups. Autonomic nervous system and endocrine measures did not reveal apparent changes associated with the intervention. Free descriptions by the participants during the intervention period suggested warming effects and awareness of bodily sensations in the intervention group. Second, we examined changes in dispositional mindfulness, body boundary perception, body dysmorphic concern, and psychological health associated with a two-week mindfulness-based practices. Participants in the intervention groups either engaged in daily practice of body scan or sitting meditation. Following the intervention periods, participants from both bodyscan and sitting meditation groups showed increase in components of dispositional mindfulness, decrease in perceived stress, and decrease in body dysmorphic concern. Analyses of the participants’ daily reports also suggested that participants in the bodyscan group showed a clearer body boundary, whereas those in the sitting meditation group exhibited a thinning of body boundary perception, associated with the practice. Together with these research progress, we also proceeded with publishing multiple research articles including that on the psychological impacts of laughter yoga exercise.

Eastern-based mind-body practices not only aim to attain higher stages of mind-body integration, but can also help to improve both physical and mental health. The present study involving short-term interventions examined health benefits of practices originated from the Eastern traditions, including mindfulness-based interventions, contemplative practices before meals, and footbath as regimen. First, we showed that a two-week intervention by a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program can be effective in alleviating body dysmorphic concern in university students via enhanced mindfulness. Second, we found that a two-week intervention by Zen-based contemplative practices including breath counting meditation and “Gokan no Ge” (vocalizing meal sutra) before starting each meal can reduce binge eating and psychological distress. Third, we showed that a 2-week intervention by footbath can have psychological benefits including increased interoceptive awareness and psychological health, even though a longer intervention period may be required so that effects at the physiological and/or endocrinological levels are to be observed.

The present study examined whether and how mental training based on the Eastern traditions as well as dispositional mindfulness can improve interoceptive and exteroceptive awareness, and contribute to better psychological health. First, we introduced short-term mindfulness meditation on different themes to an on-demand lecture of a university. After the semester was over, an online questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the psychological impacts of these practices. Students gave relatively high self-evaluated scores on these practices, with 56.0 % of participants reporting that they had continued their practice after the lecture was over. Thus, these practices were suggested to have desirable psychological impacts. Second, we examined whether and how dispositional mindfulness may moderate the relationships between altered lifestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic and psychological health. An online questionnaire survey was conducted in September 2021 by involving working adults. Compared with the data obtained in 2020, participants expected that they may get infected with the COVID-19 to a lesser extent. In addition, the extent to which participants felt may be infected significantly predicted higher perceived stress only when mindfulness was relatively low. These results suggest that mindfulness could serve as a protective factor against deterioration of psychological health associated with the pandemic.

The tridosha theory of Ayurveda classifies compositions and conditions of the body into three constructs (or doshas), i.e., vata, pitta, and kapha, and assumes personality and mood status unique to each of these body compositions, i.e., prakriti, and conditions, i.e., vikrti. We examined potential relationships between these constructs in traditional medicine and the psychological constructs of personality traits and/or mood states. A total of 1,279 healthy adults completed an online questionnaire survey that involved interview sheets used to separately assess prakriti and vikrti based on the tridosha theory, as well as psychological scales on Big Five personality traits (TIPI-J) and mood states (POMS-2). Scores from many subscales of the POMS-2 were significantly positively correlated with scores from the body compositions and conditions of the tridosha theory. Further, multiple regression analyses revealed that the Agreeableness scores from the TIPI-J negatively predicted the vata, pitta, and kapha scores for vikrti. In addition, the Anger-Hostility and Confusion-Bewilderment subscale scores from the POMS-2 significantly positively predicted the vata, pitta, and kapha scores for vikrti. These results support the notion that multiple dimensions of personality traits and mood states as studied in modern psychology are related to the mind-body theory of a traditional medicine.