The research of meditation, also referred to as mind-body intervention due to its regulatory ability on the state of the mind and body, has focused on its beneficial effects on human health. Meditation is often recommended in health care, disease prevention/improvement, and physical function enhancement as a primary/complementary approach in various settings. Meditative movement (such as Tai Chi, Yoga, and others) is a variation of this, in which practitioners are guided to be aware of one’s bodily movements, which is supposed to improve proprioception, interoception, kinesthesia, and others. Unlike static meditation, meditative movement is likely to have the advantages of inducing concentration more easily even in novice practitioners, because it allows focusing on specific parts or senses of the body, which helps stop practitioners’ minds from wandering. Compared to conventional meditation research, the field of meditative movement research is relatively less developed.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2015 and 2050, the world population over 60 years old will be nearly double, from 12% to 22%. This suggests that the world is facing major challenges to health and social systems. Thus, developing means of effective disease prevention and enhancing the quality of life is essential to address the health issues of an aging population. Meditation is a type of training that increases awareness and attention to the present moment, and studies have shown that this training can bring numerous health benefits, such as inducing emotional serenity and stability and preventing psychogenic diseases, while changes in brain structure and function have also been noted. If the benefits of meditation training are popularly accepted, it is expected to improve the quality of life and reduce medical costs of the general public.
However, static meditation may be somewhat less accessible to beginners and those who have difficulty in maintaining their concentration. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a way to more easily introduce these meditative elements to users. In meditative movement training, meditative elements are incorporated into the process of bodily movements. This allows participants to enter into a meditative state more easily with less interference from distracting thoughts. Therefore, the development, application, research, and education of meditative movements for users of various levels can contribute to improving the health of the general public. In this section, we would like to investigate the effects of meditative movement on mental and physical health and function as well as their underlying physiological mechanisms.
We welcome submissions featuring evidence-based papers presenting new insights into the following (but not limited to) topics: effects of meditative movements on mental health, quality of life, physical health, aging, disease prevention, disease prognosis, structural or functional changes in the brain, physiology, immunity, epigenetics; gender differences in the effects; regulatory mechanisms of meditative movements.
Types of manuscripts include Original Research, Clinical Trial, Systematic Review, Review, Mini Review, Hypothesis and Theory, Perspective, Case Report, Community Case Study, Opinion, Editorial, and Registered Report.
