IBMT® Introduction
Bodifulness and Mindfulness in IBMT (see details in Tang et al., 2019. Promoting emotional well-being through an evidence-based mindfulness training program. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2019, 13:237).
One of the mechanisms by which IBMT enhances health and well-being—the interaction between mind (mindfulness) and body (bodifulness)—which involves both the central nervous system (CNS) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In the mindfulness field, mind or thought control is often emphasized, but the role of the body is often ignored. Bodifulness refers to the gentle adjustment and exercise of body posture with a full awareness, in order to achieve a presence, balance, and integration in our bodies. For instance, bodifulness mainly involves implicit processes such as visceral or interoceptive awareness regulated by ANS. Autonomic control requires less effort and is mainly supported by the ACC/mPFC and striatum.
In IBMT practice, mind–body coordination and interaction are emphasized and thus significantly facilitate the training outcomes. Full awareness and presence of the body (bodifulness) could facilitate the mindfulness process. In early stage, mindfulness requires conscious cognitive control with effort and is supported by the dorsal lateral PFC and parietal cortex but over time, it may well involve less effort when the practice becomes more skillful, which is supported by the ACC and striatum. Cognitive control (termed as doing state) and autonomic control (termed as being state) are both key components of self-control supported by the practice and interaction of mindfulness and bodifulness, which may drive behavior and habit formation effectively.
How mind-body practice works – integration or separation (see details in Tang et al., 2017. How mind-body practice works – integration or separation? Frontiers in Psychology, 2017, 8:6)
Many people use the term “mindfulness”, but often refer to completely different things or ideas. Unfortunately, many still argue which method or technique is mindfulness, while others are not. It should noted that mindfulness is NOT just a concept or a term, instead it is a direct experience prior to one’s conceptualization. Without any personal experience of mindfulness, one can only get partial reflection of that experience—perhaps like a blind man touching an elephant. Therefore, the name of a mindfulness meditation or intervention with or without the term “mindfulness” should not define the nature of the program. Instead, the exact components and instructions of mindfulness practice are the key to define the program. Moreover, mindfulness methods always include several components and there is no pure “mindfulness” with only a mindfulness component. This idea is in line with the definitions of MBSR and MBCT.
One recent perspective divides mindfulness meditation or intervention into (1) “mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and related group-based mindfulness interventions such as mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and (2) mindfulness-related interventions such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral stress management, and integrative body-mind training (IBMT)”. The confusion is that the phrase “related group-based mindfulness interventions” and the term “mindfulness-related interventions” seem exactly the same. Furthermore, interventions in (1) are defined as training that foster mindfulness, whereas interventions in (2) are characterized as training that incorporate mindfulness as one component of the program. In reality, this is far from accurate, since MBSR and MBCT also involve multiple components including mindfulness. For instance, MBSR includes mindfulness, yoga exercise, body stretching, group discussion and other components in the program, just like (2) the mindfulness-related interventions mentioned above. MBSR developer Kabat-Zinn clarified in his book and later articles: there isn’t a pure mindfulness program, and mindfulness intervention such as MBSR incorporates other techniques (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).
Likewise, MBCT developers described the training as a program that draws from cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and traditional mindfulness practices such as MBSR. By definition, MBCT is a psychological intervention for individuals at risk of depressive relapse (Segal et al., 2002). Clearly, MBCT also incorporates other training such as CBT into its program, and it does not make sense to suggest MBCT as a mindfulness intervention, but other similar programs such as ACT, DBT, IBMT (without the term “mindfulness” in the name of the intervention) are not. This clarification is crucial since the misunderstanding of what mindfulness interventions are will mislead the research community and general public on mindfulness and its application, and may create confusion or even bias for people who are interested in research and applied work in this field.
