Peter Sedlmeier

Can meditation support ethical scientific practice? And how might this work? Considering the contradictory evidence for the impact of commonly practiced mindfulness meditation on moral change currently available, Berryman et al. (2025) suggested that meditation programs should include additional ethical components. We fully agree with this recommendation and add further arguments in favor of it, informed by traditional meditative approaches. Moreover, we argue that ethics-enriched meditation approaches might in general yield stronger effects than meditation without ethics. Preliminary evidence for this view comes from studies that examined Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM), a program that includes an ethics component. MBLM may be used as a potential starting point for exploring the impact of ethical components on scientific practice. However, such ethics-enriched meditation programs could prove beneficial far beyond the scientific community.

People with post-stroke aphasia show verbal-language difficulties and verbal working memory problems, but can also present with attention-related deficits. Meditation can positively impact attention in healthy meditators; however, few studies have investigated effects of meditation on different attention processes in people with aphasia. The aim of this study was to explore whether an intensive meditation training could enhance attention processes in people with aphasia, while also testing for potential generalisation to verbal language processes. Five people with chronic aphasia with anomia, good comprehension, and no meditation experience, joined a 9-week meditation training. Repeated pre- and post-training measures of attention and verbal language were collected, as well as repeated ratings of perceived impact on participants' attentional focus, everyday attention and word finding abilities. Prior to training, participants showed deficits in at least one visual and/or auditory attention task in addition to word retrieval and verbal working memory deficits. Four participants showed gains on at least one measure of non-verbal attention following meditation training. No gains in verbal-language skills were observed except for one participant. Visual and auditory attention can be enhanced independently of verbal-language skills in people with aphasia when engaging in regular meditation practice.

Objectives: Meditation encompasses a variety of techniques, but little is known on how and for whom they work. This study explored potential mechanisms of four different meditation techniques in beginners and which technique might be suited for whom. Method: Using an experimental single-case design, we compared the longitudinal effects of concentrative, humming, observing-thoughts, and walking meditation. Forty-four healthy participants without meditation experience were randomly assigned to one of the four techniques and 42 completed the treatment. Following a baseline period of 2 to 4 weeks, participants learned and practiced their technique 20 min daily for 6 to 8 weeks and completed daily online questionnaires throughout the entire study period. At pretest, we assessed participants’ motivation and personality. We analyzed the data visually and by conducting single-case meta-analyses, correlation, and multivariate analyses. Results: Body awareness, decentering, and emotion regulation improved reliably and continuously over time, for all four techniques. Thus, these processes could represent common mechanisms for novice meditators. Walking meditation led to the smallest improvements in decentering and mind-wandering, but the highest in body awareness and emotion regulation. Individuals varied in response to the treatment. The two “classic” techniques (concentration, observing-thoughts) led to more consistently positive multivariate response patterns and to better responses in participants high in neuroticism. In contrast, those high in extraversion benefitted more from the two unusual ones (humming, walking). We additionally observed interesting interactions with different motivational reasons. Conclusions: With this study, we hope to contribute to theory building and answering two urgent questions—what the key mechanisms of meditation are and who benefits most from what kind of practice.

This comment on “Mindfulness for global public health: Critical analysis and agenda” by Doug Oman focuses on the difficulties associated with the current use and understanding of the term mindfulness. In particular, I argue that the current lack of agreement on what mindfulness practice is, or, perhaps more realistically, what mindfulness practices are, and how their effects can be explained might jeopardize such an integration process in the long run. In the literature, one can find widely differing conceptions of what constitutes a mindfulness practice. Moreover, there is clear evidence that different mindfulness practices can yield quite different effects. This holds for the comparison of “mindfulness packages” but also for comparisons of single components of these packages, and for incremental combinations of components. There is also strong evidence that mindfulness practices do not work equally well for different purposes and different people. These differential effects need to be elaborated and explained. Unfortunately, theoretical models for mindfulness practices are also still quite heterogeneous. As a first step, researchers and practitioners could be very specific about what they mean by mindfulness practice or even use alternative terms for different practices. Moreover, they could stay open to alternative forms of meditation and put as much theory as possible into their research to eventually find out when, how, and why specific mindfulness practices (and packages thereof) work and for whom.

Objectives: We explored the effects of a mindfulness program based on the satipatthana sutta (instead of a contemporary Western program), with participants as collaborators, using a single-case experimental design. The main question was whether such a training has positive effects and, if so, whether and how the effects vary across participants and measures. Method: Participants chose the design (multiple baseline) and the measures to be repeatedly collected. Then they took part in a 6-week mindfulness training based on the satipatthana sutta; finally, they performed a preliminary data analysis of their own results. Reported are a selection of the visual analyses, intraindividual effect sizes (Tau-U), and the results of single-case meta-analyses over participants, as well as a multivariate graphical analysis of interindividual differences. Results: Substantial training effects were found on average and for the majority of participants for concentration, mind wandering, decentering, positive affect, and well-being. Effects were small for negative affect, and no effects were found for emotion regulation. However, interindividual variation was high, both in respect to specific measures and concerning the overall effect of the training program. Participants' motivation was found to be very high throughout the study. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that a traditional mindfulness program yields effects that are roughly comparable to the effects of secular mindfulness training regimens. Regarding participants as collaborators appears to have a strong motivating effect. And finally, the study demonstrates that using single-case experimental designs (instead of group designs) allows for a more fine-grained analysis of meditation effects. The high interindividual variation points to the possibility that the amount of unexplained variance in group studies is severely underestimated. Results from studies like the current one could have benefits for both theoretical advancement and custom-tailored assignment of specific forms of meditation to specific people with specific aims.

Yoga is an embodied contemplative practice considered as a path toward long-term well-being, which fosters an integrated processing of bodily and emotional stimuli. However, little is known about how the different components of yoga contribute to these processes. This was the aim of this single-case multiple-baseline study. Herein, we explored how different yoga components affect body awareness, emotion regulation, affectivity, self-compassion, and distress tolerance. Forty-two randomly assigned participants (from initially fifty-seven) completed one of four 8-week treatments: Mantra meditation alone (MA), meditation plus physical yoga (MY), meditation plus ethical education (ME), and meditation plus yoga and ethical education (MYE). Participants had no prior regular yoga or meditation practice. Data were analyzed using visual inspection, effect size estimation, and multilevel modeling. Surprisingly, all four treatments similarly improved body awareness (Tau-U_MA = 0.21 to Tau-U_MY = 0.49), emotion regulation (Tau-U_MYE = −0.43 to Tau-U_ME = −0.52), self-compassion (η² = 0.08), and distress tolerance (η² = 0.13). These effects were maintained until follow-up at 2 and 12 months after the study, even though home practice declined. The MA condition had the least favorable effect on affective experience (Tau-U_MA = −0.14 and 0.07), while the ME condition enhanced valence the most (Tau-U_ME = 0.10) and the MY condition was the most effective in preventing negative affective responses. Although mantra meditation on its own negatively influenced daily affect, it can be assumed as the driving force behind the improvement in the other variables. This points to the central role of meditation in increasing interoception, self-awareness, and embodied processing.

Mind–Body Medicine (MBM) includes a broad range of interventions with proven preventive and clinical value, such as yoga and meditation. However, people differ in their preferences and response to different MBM treatments and it remains unclear who benefits most from what type of practice. Thus, finding moderators of treatment outcome seems to be a promising approach. This was the aim of the present study. We conducted a single-case multiple-baseline study investigating the outcomes and moderators of four different MBM treatments. Fifty-seven healthy participants with no prior experience were randomly assigned to three baselines (7, 14, and 21 days) and four eight-week treatments: mantra meditation alone, meditation plus physical yoga, meditation plus ethical education and meditation plus yoga and ethical education. We analysed the data using effect size estimation, multiple regression and cluster analyses. High anxiety, high absorption, low spirituality, low openness and younger age were associated with a range of positive outcomes, such as increased wellbeing or decentering and decreased mind wandering. Receiving ethical education consistently improved wellbeing, while engaging in physical yoga reduced mind wandering. In the cluster analysis, we found that participants with a more maladaptive personality structure enhanced their emotion regulation skills more. Consequently, people do differ in their response to MBM interventions and more vulnerable people, or those high in absorption, seem to benefit more. These findings could support the development of custom-tailored MBM interventions and help clinicians to make scientifically sound recommendations for their patients.

Traditional yoga encompasses a variety of practices, such as postures, breathing techniques, meditation, and ethical teachings. However, little is known about how different components of yoga contribute to its overall effect. In this meta-synthesis, we comprehensively summarized the current evidence on differential and incremental effects of various yoga components collected from available meta-analyses. For this meta-analysis, we searched Medline/PubMed, Scopus, PsychInfo, and the Cochrane Library in July 2021. We selected only meta-analyses that performed subgroup analyses comparing the effects of different yoga components. There were no restrictions regarding yoga type, study population, or outcome variables. Nineteen meta-analyses were identified that evaluated a multitude of variables. These meta-analyses varied greatly with regard to population, study design, and yoga components under investigation. However, combined interventions incorporating multiple components consistently outperformed simple interventions. In this regard, adding breathing and/or meditation practices to yoga interventions proved particularly beneficial. However, specific components or combinations were more effective in enhancing certain variables or clinical conditions, suggesting a need for customized programs. Comparable multi-component mind–body interventions, such as yoga and mindfulness-based stress reduction, were often equally efficient. Nevertheless, most findings are preliminary, and certain components such as the ethical part of yoga are particularly under-researched. Conclusion: Future studies should isolate and compare all components of yoga and evaluate additive effects by investigating their different combinations. The researchers should refer to theoretical frameworks, use rigorous methodology, and consider individual factors.