Yoga and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (eBook)

Foreword 8
References 10
About the Author 12
Acknowledgments 14
Contents 16
Introduction 24
Part I: Demystification 28
1: Yoga: Original Concepts and History 29
1.1 Introduction 29
1.2 Yoga as a Mystery and Need for Demystification 30
1.2.1 Some Other Reasons for the Misconceptions 31
1.3 Original Definitions of Yoga 32
1.3.1 Yoga, Its Meanings and the Minor Conceptual Differences from the Samkhya 33
1.3.2 Various Forms of Yoga 34
Hatha Yoga (Sanskrit: Persistence or Physical Force) 34
Mantra Yoga (Sanskrit: Man = Mind, to Think tra = Tools or Instruments)
Laya Yoga (Sans: Dissolution, Merger, Absorption, Yoga) 35
Raja Yoga and Its Differences from the Hatha Yoga 35
1.4 Yoga: Origins and Scriptures 36
1.4.1 Origins of Yoga from the Samkhya System in Ancient India 36
1.4.2 The Oral Tradition of Yoga 36
1.4.3 Sanskrit (Vedic) and Pali (Buddhist): The Original Languages of Yogic Scriptures 37
1.4.4 The Varieties of Yogic Scriptures 38
Approximate Time Lines for Compositions of Yogic Scriptures 38
1.4.5 Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: A Brief Summary 40
1.4.6 Classics on Hatha Yoga 42
1.5 The Four Major Philosophical Systems of Yoga: The Vedas, Vedanta, Shramana, and Tantra 43
1.5.1 Yoga in the Vedas (Samkhya/Rig-Vedic Philosophy) 43
1.5.2 Yoga in the Vedanta (Upanishads) 44
1.5.3 Summary of Yoga in the Veda (Samkhya) and Vedanta (Upanishad) 45
1.6 Great Contribution of the Shramanic (Non-Hindu) Philosophies: Rise of Meditation in the System of Yoga 46
1.6.1 Yoga Versus Meditation 47
1.6.2 Seminal Contributions of Gautama Buddha into the Meditative System of Yoga 48
1.6.3 Buddha’s Middle Way 48
1.7 Tantra: The Fourth and the Newest System of Yogic Philosophy 49
1.8 Yogic Philosophies Bridge Across the Ideologies of All Four Schools: The Veda (Samkhya), Vedanta (Upanishads), Shramana, and Tantra 50
1.9 History of Yoga 51
1.9.1 Yoga in Ancient India 52
1.9.2 Yoga in Medieval India 52
1.9.3 Yoga in Modern India 53
1.9.4 Yoga Beyond India: Spread to the Far East 54
1.9.5 Yoga Beyond India: Spread to the West 55
1.10 Some Further Clarifications 56
1.10.1 Spirituality Versus Religiousness 56
1.10.2 Yoga Is Not Religious 57
Yoga in Ancient Greek Thoughts: As Metaphysics in the  Teachings of Socrates and Plato 58
Yoga–Meditation in Certain Judeo-Christian Traditions (Kabbalah, Hesychasm) 58
1.11 Concluding Remarks 59
References 59
2: Yoga, Mind, and the Psychosomatics 63
2.1 Introduction 63
2.2 Yoga and the Mind (Consciousness, [Sans. chitta]): Some Key Terms 64
2.3 Yogic Consciousness (Mind [Sans. chitta]) and Its Varieties as the Meditator Ascends in the Meditative Path 66
2.4 Phenomenology of Human Experience and Role of the Mind (Consciousness) in Its Creation 67
2.5 Mind (Consciousness): A Bundle of Five Things (Aggregates) 68
2.6 Central Problem Inherent in the Nature of the Mind: Projection (Vikshepa) That Causes Illusion (Maya) and Ignorance (Avidya) About the Reality 69
2.6.1 Reversal of the Projections Is the Key Mechanism of Action of Yoga 71
2.7 Models of the Mind (Consciousness) in the Yogic Philosophies 72
2.7.1 The Monkey Metaphor: Explains the Inherently Unstable Nature of the Mind 72
2.7.2 The Tripartite Model of Human Experience: The Projector Analogy 73
2.7.3 The Lake Model of Consciousness (Mind): The Real Self Lies Deep Down in the Bottom 75
2.7.4 Yoga Sutras Says That Our Perception of Reality Is Illusory Because of the Sensorial Mind 75
2.8 The Profound Psychosomatic Views Found in the Yogic Philosophies 76
2.8.1 Mind and Stress: Yoga as the Remedy 78
2.8.2 Yogic Science as Mind–Body (Psychosomatic) Medicine: Some Mechanisms 79
2.8.3 Deep Connections Between Yoga and the Mental Health 79
2.9 Concluding Remarks 80
References 80
3: Brain, Mind, and Soul: Bridging the Gap 82
3.1 Introduction 82
3.1.1 Human Experience Is Tripartite: The One Who Sees (Seer/Self), the Scene (Object/World), and the Interpreting Interface (Mind) 83
3.1.2 The Trilogy in the Human Existence: Body (Brain), Mind, and Soul 83
3.2 Brain: The Most Complex Organ of the Human Body 83
3.2.1 Facts About the Human Brain 83
3.2.2 The Brain as an Important Locus of All Experiences Including the Spiritual Experiences 85
3.2.3 More Recent Research on the Brain: Top Brain and Bottom Brain 85
3.3 Concept of the Mind in Yoga 86
3.3.1 Mind Is Graded: Lower to Higher 86
3.4 Soul: The Third Entity of Existence and Experience 88
3.4.1 Soul and the Pure Awareness (Pure Experience) 89
3.5 Mapping Experiences onto the Brain: The Neural Circuitry 90
3.5.1 Visual Pattern Recognition: The Prototype Process in Mapping Experiences onto the Brain 91
3.5.2 The Five Major Groups of Circuits in Our Brain 92
3.5.3 Functions of the Prefrontal Cortical (PFC) Tri-Circuit 93
3.5.4 Close Relationship Between the OFC and Amygdala 94
3.5.5 Frontal Tri-Circuits Modulate the Thalamus (the Sensory Gate) and the Basal Ganglia 95
3.5.6 A Scenario Illustrating the Functions of the Prefrontal Tri-Circuits 96
3.5.7 Role of Salience and Facilitated Circuits in the  Neural Mapping of Experience 98
3.5.8 The Main Players in the Meditative Brain 99
The Prefrontal Pyramid and the Tri-Circuits 99
Amygdala 100
3.6 Experience is Representational and Knowledge (Insight) Changes These Representations 100
3.6.1 Knowledge, Direct Experience, and Reality: Three Synonyms in Yoga 101
3.6.2 Knowledge (Insight [Pali Nana, Panna]) Is Graded 102
3.6.3 Meditation as a Direct Experience: Beyond the Realm of the Intellectual Mind 103
3.7 Meditative Process and Technique: Samyama as Its Prototype 104
3.7.1 Knowing by Fusion: The Key Technique in Samyama 105
3.7.2 Samyama Is a Two-Stage Process 106
3.8 The Meditative Experiences: A Detailed Account 107
3.8.1 Meditative Phenomenology and Parameters 107
3.8.2 Losing the Sense of Time and Becoming One with the Experience: The Hallmarks of Yogic Absorption 108
3.8.3 Meditation from the Perspective of Cognitive Neuroscience: Central Role of One’s Attention 110
3.8.4 The Meditative Brain: Preliminary Understandings 111
3.9 Yogic and Cognitive Neurosciences: Remarkable Concurrences at Many Levels 112
3.9.1 Concurrence with Respect to Conceptualization of Consciousness 113
3.9.2 Concurrence with Respect to the Process of Samyama (or Mindfulness): Metacognitive and Neural Paradigms of Consciousness 114
3.9.3 Concurrence with Respect to Our Perception of Reality Versus Actual Reality: Map Versus Territory 116
3.9.4 Concurrence with Respect to Conceptualization of Memory (Sanskrit Smriti Samskara) and Its Role in Construing Experience as the Perceived Reality
3.10 Neural Models of Yoga and Meditation: Revisiting the Bottom-up or Top-Down Debate 120
3.10.1 The Bottom-Up Model of Yoga and Meditation (Pradhan 1998 onwards): Neurobiologically Informed, Standardized, and Compatible with Other Contemporary Models of Therapies 121
3.10.2 Experience Can Change the Brain Structure and Functions: New Insights 124
3.10.3 Experiences Can Change the Brain: Insights from Research on Psychotherapy 125
3.10.4 Similarity Between Meditation and Psychotherapy 126
3.10.5 The Id, Ego, and Superego from a Neural Paradigm 127
3.11 Concluding Remarks 128
References 128
Part II: Standardization 133
4: Methods in Yoga and Mindfulness 134
4.1 Introduction 134
4.2 Some General Information on Meditation 135
4.2.1 Concentration (Centering of Consciousness FA Type)
4.2.2 Mindfulness (OM Type) 137
4.2.3 The Middle Way (Pali. Majjhima Patipada Madhyamaka): The Meditative Lifestyle
4.3 Morphology of Meditation as Taught by Buddha and Patanjali 139
4.3.1 Meditative Access States: The Jhanas and Samapattis of Abhidhamma 139
4.3.2 The Jhanas (Contemplative Raptures) 140
4.3.3 The Samapattis (Attainments) 141
4.3.4 The Yogic/Meditative Consciousness and Its Various Categories in the Abhidhamma 141
4.4 Description of the Key Techniques in Yoga and Meditation 143
4.4.1 Technique of Concentrative Meditation (Focused Attention—FA [Sans. trataka]) 143
4.4.2 Description of the Technique 145
4.4.3 Visual Trataka (Sans. Dristi Trataka): Its Clinical Importance 147
4.5 Techniques of Mindfulness Meditation (Pali: Satipatthana) 148
4.5.1 Two Stages of Right Mindfulness 149
4.5.2 Bare Attention and Clear Comprehension: The Two Pillars of Right Mindfulness 149
4.5.3 The Four Stations of Mindfulness: Body, State of Mind, Feelings, and Phenomena 151
4.5.4 Actual Practice of Right Mindfulness Is Twofold (Detailed Description Can Be Found in Nyanaponika, 1965, p. 85–107) 153
4.5.5 Some Bare Instructions for of the Practice of Right Mindfulness (Nyanponika 1965, p. 61–63) 154
4.6 Meditative Breathing (Sans. Pranayama): The Key Tool in Meditation 155
4.6.1 Standardizations in the Two Breathing Meditations and Their Symptom-Specific Use in the Yoga and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Y-MBCT©) 157
4.6.2 Breathing Techniques Versus Breathing Meditations: Key Distinctions 159
4.6.3 The Two Breathing Meditations in Terms of the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) 159
References 160
5: Attempts at Standardization 162
5.1 Standardization of Yoga and Meditation in Ancient India: Primacy of Buddha’s Abhidhamma Pitaka and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 162
5.2 Buddha and His System of Standardization 163
5.2.1 Elaboration on Buddha’s Standardization of Mental Processes/Phenomena 164
5.2.2 Buddha’s Standardization in the Phenomenological Analysis of the Human Experience: The Five Aggregates 165
5.2.3 Buddha’s Standardization Involved in the Categorization of Human Consciousness 167
5.2.4 Buddha’s Standardization in the Analysis of Conditionality of the Human Existence 168
5.2.5 Buddha’s Standardization of the Truths and the Way of Life: The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path 169
The Four Noble Truths 169
Standardization in the Noble Eightfold Path (Pali Atthangika Magga) 169
5.3 Standardization in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: The Eight-Limbed Yoga (Raja Yoga) 171
5.4 Buddha (Sixth Century BC) and Patanjali (Fourth Century BC): Concurrence of Views Between the Two Early Champions 173
5.5 The Subtle Difference Between the Meditative Methods of Buddha and Patanjali 176
5.6 Tantra: Standardization of Yoga and Meditation Reaches Its Peak (Medieval and Modern India) 177
References 180
Part III: Application 182
6: Yoga, Mindfulness, and Mentalization: Central Role of Attention and Compassion 183
6.1 Attention, Empathy, and Compassion: The Key Qualities in a Meditator 183
6.1.1 Empathy and Compassion: Phenomenology and Roots in the Four Noble Truths of Buddha 184
6.2 Meditation Is Part of Yoga and Mindfulness Is a Type of Meditation 185
6.3 What Is Mindfulness? 186
6.3.1 How Right Mindfulness (Satipatthana) Gives Rise to the Insights (Vipassana) and Subsequent Liberation (Nibbana)? 187
6.4 Mentalization 188
6.4.1 Dimensions of Mentalization 189
6.4.2 Clarification of Closely Related Terms 189
Mentalization Versus Mindfulness 190
Mentalization Versus Empathy 190
Mentalization Versus Psychological Mindedness 190
6.5 Mapping Mindfulness and Mentalization onto Our Brain: Neural Correlates of Empathy, Self-Observation, and Mentalization 191
6.5.1 Neural Components Involved in Empathy 192
6.5.2 Neural Components Involved in Self-Observation and Introspection 193
6.5.3 Mirror Neuron System (MNS): The Neural Correlates of Empathy and Meanings 194
6.5.4 Neural Correlates of Mentalization: The Mentalizing Area of the Brain 196
6.6 Therapeutic Use of Mindfulness and Mentalization: The Third Wave of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT) 196
6.6.1 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 198
6.6.2 Mentalization-Based Treatments (MBT) 198
6.7 Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Integrating Mindfulness with Cognitive Therapy 199
6.7.1 Differences Between CBT and MBCT 200
6.8 Concluding Remarks 201
References 202
7: Yoga and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Y-MBCT©): Use of Yoga in Its Entirety 205
7.1 Introduction 205
7.1.1 Seminal Contribution of the Buddha and Sage Patanjali in Laying Out the Early Foundations for Therapeutic Use of Yoga–Meditation 207
7.2 Yoga as Psychotherapy 208
7.2.1 Yoga and Contemplative Psychotherapies Including Psychoanalysis: A Comparison 210
7.2.2 Common Grounds Between Yoga and Contemplative Psychotherapies Including Psychoanalysis 211
7.2.3 Other Similarities Between Yoga and Deep Psychotherapies (Psychoanalysis) 212
7.2.4 Some Basic Differences Between the Yogic Philosophies and Psychoanalysis 214
7.3 Psychotherapeutic Use of Yoga in Its Entirety: The Yoga–Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Y-MBCT, Pradhan and Mishra 1998 onward) 215
7.3.1 The Specific Cognitive Behavioral Techniques Used in the Y-MBCT 217
7.3.2 More Descriptions of the Key Techniques in the Y-MBCT 218
7.3.3 SYMPro-SR and Y-MBCT Models: Evolution and Preliminary Data on Efficacy 220
7.3.4 Preliminary Data from the Y-MBCT Clinic at Cooper University Hospital 222
7.3.5 Some Descriptions About the Basics of Y-MBCT Models 223
7.3.6 The Staged Meditation Protocols (SMPs) and the Five-­Factor Model of Human Experience as the Main Pillars of Y-MBCT 225
7.3.7 Standardizations Involved in the Y-MBCT Models 228
7.4 Uniqueness of the Y-MBCT as Psychotherapeutic Models 229
7.5 TIMBER© (Trauma Interventions Using Mindfulness-­Based Extinction and Reconsolidation Pradhan et al. 2012 Onward): A Prototype of the Y-MBCT Protocols
References 234
8: Yoga in Maintenance of Psychophysical Health 239
8.1 Yoga and Meditation: Rationale and Feasibility in Health care 239
8.1.1 Why Yoga–Meditation if There Is a Pill? 241
8.2 Specific Effects of Yoga and Meditation on Brain and Body 241
8.3 The Basic Dilemma of a Researcher When Testing the Efficacy of Mind–Body Interventions 242
8.3.1 Methodologically Sound Clinical Trial of Mindfulness Interventions: Essentials 244
8.3.2 Efficacy of Yoga and Meditation: Empirical Evidence 245
8.4 Yoga in Maintenance of Psychophysical Health: Attention and Memory Are the Main Tools 246
8.4.1 Meditation, Attention, and the Default Mode Network of the Brain 247
8.4.2 The Basic Mechanisms Involved in Attention 248
Attention 248
Dual Attentional Systems in the Human Brain 249
Selective Attention and Salience 249
8.4.3 Basics of Memory and Its Various Categories 250
Working Memory (WM) 251
Neuroanatomic Substrates of Memory 251
Memory Consolidation Versus Reconsolidation 252
8.5 Attention and Memories in the Information Processing Model in Humans 253
8.5.1 Utility of Yoga–Meditation in the Various Steps in the Information Processing Model 254
8.5.2 Cellular Mechanisms of Long-Term Memory and Connection with Yoga and Mindfulness 256
8.6 Practice of Yoga–Meditation: General Considerations 258
8.6.1 Integrated Posture [Sans. Asana] 259
8.6.2 Obstacles to the Practice of Yoga–Meditation 260
8.7 Concluding Remarks 261
References 261
Endorsements 265