Mindfulness and Yoga: Complementary Paths of Health, Healing, and Wellbeing

By Amy Holte, Ph.D., M.Ed.

Amy Holte

Amy teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness, which is launching a new monthly 2nd Saturday workshop series entitled “Mindfulness, Meditation and Yoga” starting Saturday August 13^th 9-10:30am that she will teach, with registration open to anyone. The following article draws from her work teaching mindfulness, yoga, and meditation to help people suffering from stress and stress-related conditions, including depression, anxiety, and chronic pain.

As I’ve been teaching various forms of contemplative practice over the past dozen years or so in different settings with a wide variety of groups, I have observed that people who practice “yoga” do not always have a sitting meditation practice, and that people who meditate do not always have a contemplative-oriented movement practice. This trend seems to reflect a wider societal phenomenon evident in a number of fields, notable philosophy, psychology, and medicine, over the past few hundred years to separate the realms of mind and body. Thus, one feature of the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program, and other mindfulness-based programs, that strikes me as particularly powerful is the blending of both of these approaches to self-development within the same course offering. In my experience, these two approaches – sitting meditation and mindful movement — are intimately tied to one another, and, when practiced together in a complementary way, inevitably deepen one’s practice.

Mindfulness is often conceived of as a moment-to-moment practice of non-judgmentally paying attention to one’s experience, a practice that is cultivated both formally through specific techniques, such as sitting meditation, and informally as one moves through daily life. In this sense, mindfulness has developed over the past half-century or so as a means of experiencing many of the psychological benefits of meditation without necessitating adoption, or even consideration, of specific spiritual, philosophical, or religious beliefs. Thus, although mindfulness grows out of the Buddhist stream of contemplative practice (Maex, 2011), mindfulness as it is practiced today offers a secular pathway for working with the mind and body.

Interestingly, the notion of “mindfulness” is also evoked to refer to a specific mindfulness program. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a systematic approach to teaching mind-body awareness and growth that was founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn over 30 years ago when others teachers of contemplative paths were also practicing and teaching mindfulness, meditation, and yoga (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Included in the program of sitting meditation, attention to the breath and thoughts, and body awareness, is a “yoga” practice that resembles the type of practice offered in most yoga studies. This combined approach of MBSR and other mindfulness-based programs (Cullen, M. 2011) has been particularly useful as a means of integrating mindfulness into the therapeutic contexts of medicine, clinical psychology, and healthcare in general.

In a parallel fashion, the practice of “yoga” has also made its way into therapeutic, clinical, and healthcare contexts both on its own as a method of reducing stress and bringing health to the body and mind, and within mindfulness-based program as a means of practicing mindfulness (Harrington, 2008). Distinct from the “mindfulness” milieu, “yoga” has become widely popular as a way of achieving health, fitness, and vigor (Alter, 2004). In this sense, for many people today “yoga” means a physical movement oriented practice of various postures, perhaps also with awareness of the breath and some deeper connection of the body with the mind and other aspects of our being, with benefits of greater flexibility, strength, and diminished stress and pain-related symptoms.

However, in the ancient tradition of yoga, and, in fact, in many non-mainstream circles today, meditation is the ground of yoga. For thousands of years, even predating the era of Classical Yoga (c. 150-200A.D.), the practice of “yoga” centered on meditative practices as the means for uniting the practitioner with the greater reality (Feuerstein, 1998). One important feature of yoga, though, is the fact that it adapts to culture, historical era, etc. Thus, the system of strong physical postures and breathing techniques that we know as “yoga” today actually emerged rather late in the history of yoga, in the 13-15^th centuries, and is more accurately identified as “hatha yoga” (White, 1996). This physical and body oriented method of practicing “yoga” (transformed once again from its medieval manifestation) is what has become a popular means of pursuing health and strength of the body and mind today (Alter, 2004; DeMichelis, 2004; Harrington, 2008), whether on its own or as part of a mindfulness program.

No matter one’s entry point into contemplative practice, whether it be through the physical or the mental, I invite us to consider that these two streams of practice are not separate. Rather, these are complementary means to awareness, health, and wellbeing. Mindfulness helps deepen the process of self-inquiry during physical practice, a lesson that can then be taken off the mat when we move around in life. Similarly, a regular contemplative movement – hatha yoga if you prefer the more traditional name, or simply “yoga,” – supports a sitting meditation practice. Meditators often encounter problems such as pain in the knees and back from sitting for extended periods of time; yet, when a regular “yoga” practice is undertaken, the body becomes transformed in such a way as to allow it to remain comfortably at rest for longer and longer periods of time in a single posture that supports a state of restful awareness experienced in the mind, as well. The effects of systematically practicing yoga take root in the body, transforming it on a day-to-day basis. Together, contemplative sitting and movement practices bring more ease and free practitioners from preoccupation with the pains and limitations that we may normally experience in our body-mind, thus cultivating greater wisdom and wholeness in daily life.

A plethora of scientific and clinical research has shown that both modes of practice lead to healing and stress-reduction. For example, relaxation of tense muscles, improvement of blood flow throughout the body, optimization of heart rate and respiration, and reduction of anxiety and depression (Kabat-Zinn, et al., 1992) have all been found in research on both yoga and mindfulness (Benson, H., Beary, J., and Carol, M., 1974). Moreover, improvements in chronic stress-related conditions, such as chronic pain including backaches and headaches (Kabat-Zinn, et al., 1982, 1985, 1986; Galantino, et al., 2004; Tekur, P., Singphow, C., Nagendra, H.R., and Raghuram, N., 2008), irritable bowel syndrome (Kuttner, et al., 2006; Gaylord, S.A., et al., 2011; Kearney DJ, McDermott K., Martinez M., and Simpson T.L., 2011), and arthritis (Pradhan, et al., 2007; Badsha, et al., 2009), heart disease (Ornish, et al., 1998; Sullivan et al., 2009; Allexandre, et al., 2010), insomnia (Khalsa, 2004; Kreitzer et al., 2005), and cancer (Carlson et al., 2003; Witek-Janusek et al., 2008; Ulger and Yagli, 2010) have also been shown in populations practicing both mindfulness and yoga.  Because of this overlap of the benefits of each, and that these methods are complementary to one another, perhaps it is no wonder that they are brought together in MBSR.

So how can we make sense of the observation that different people naturally gravitate towards different types of practice? It is not so difficult to recognize that we each have unique constitutions.  Some people are more introspective by nature, while others are more action and physically oriented. So sitting and practicing meditation may be a more natural behavior for those of the more introspective constitution, while engaging in physical postures, sometimes often quite challenging movements, may offer more appeal for others.

Yet in common between all constitutions is the basic reality of the intimate connectedness of body and mind. This insight is especially relevant when we consider the possibility that the “body” is not merely, or just, “physical” as it in common understandings of the body.  Embedded within the body lies our nervous system, the physical and energetic reality of our minds. Thus, in this sense, the mind resides within the body as a continuous ever-present system that is fully interactive with the rest of the body. In this view, cognitive processes, such as attention, thinking, and problem solving, and emotions as well, are embodied and deeply rooted in the body’s interactions with the world (Varela, et al., 2009). This embodied mind orientation provides an increasingly popular theoretical stance for a holistic view of human nature that the two – body and mind – are not separate.

What does this mean for practice? The practical insight here is to spend at least some time each day on the different types of contemplative practice, both sitting and movement, because each mode of practice supports, complements, and reinforces the other. By exercising the literal muscles of the physical body, we simultaneously exercise the metaphorical muscles of the mind; and, conversely, by strengthening mental acuity and clarity through sitting practice, we also benefit the body. An integrative approach to lifestyle, behavior, and healing cultivates true health and wellbeing.

Dr. Holte is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin where she completed her doctoral research on meditation and the brain, drawing from both ancient texts and current research on the neuroscience of meditation and clinical effectiveness of yoga and meditation for health conditions.

References

Allexandre, D., Fox, E., Golubic, M., Morledge, T., and Fox, J. E. B. (2010). Mindfulness, yoga, and cardiovascular disease. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 77(3), S85.

Alter, J. (2004). The Body Between Science and Philosophy: Yoga in Modern India. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.

Badsha, H., Chhabra, V., Leibman, C., Mofti, A., and Kong, K.O. (2009). The benefits of yoga for rheumatoid arthritis: Results of a preliminary, structures 8-week program. Rheumatology International, 29(12): 1417-1421.

Benson, H., Beary, J., and Carol, M. (1974). The relaxation response. Psychiatry, 37, 37-46.

Cullen, M. (2011). Mindfulness-Based interventions: An emerging phenomenon. Mindfulness.

DeMichelis, E. (2004). A History of Modern Yoga. London: Continuum.

Harrington, A. (2008). The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine. New York. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Feuerstein, G. (1998). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Prescott, Arizona: Hohm Press.

Galantino, ML, Bzdewka, T., Eissler-Russo, J., Holbrook, M., Mogck, E., Geigle, P., Farrar, J. (2004). The impact of modified hatha yoga on chronic low back pain: A pilot study. Alternative Therapies, Mar/Ap, 10(2).

Gaylord, S.A., Palsson, O.S., Garland, E.L., et al. (2011). Mindfulness training reduces the severity of irritable bowel syndrome in women: Results of a randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Gastroenterology, Epub ahead of print.

Kabat-Zinn, J.  (1982). An out-patient program in Behavioral Medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation:  Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry, 4:33-47.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L. and Burney, R. (1985). The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. J. Behav. Med., 8:163-190.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L., Burney, R. and Sellers, W.  (1986). Four year follow-up of a meditation-based program for the self-regulation of chronic pain:  Treatment outcomes and compliance. Clin.J.Pain, 2:159-173.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York, New York: Delta Trade Paperbacks.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A.O., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L.G., Fletcher, K., Pbert, L., Linderking, W., Santorelli, S.F.  (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Am. J Psychiatry, 149:936-943.

Kearney D.J., McDermott K., Martinez M., and Simpson T.L. (2011). Association of participation in a mindfulness programme with bowel symptoms, gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety and quality of life. Aliment Pharmacol Ther., 34(3):363-73.

Khalsa, S.B.S. (2004). Treatment of chronic insomnia with yoga: A preliminary study with sleep-wake diaries. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 29(4): 269-278.

Kuttner, L., Chambers, C., Hardial, J., Israel, DM, Jacobson, K., and Evans, K. (2006). A randomized trial of yoga for adolescents with irritable bowel syndrome. Pain Res Manag. Winter; 11(4): 217–224.

Maex, E. (2011). The Buddhist roots of mindfulness training: a practitioners view. Contemporary Buddhism, 12: 1.

Ornish, D., Scherwitz, L.W., Billings, J.H., Gould, K.L.,  Merritt, T.A., Sparler, S., Armstrong, W.T., Ports, T.A., Hogeboom, C., and Brand, R.J. (1998). Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease. JAMA, 280(23):2001-2007.

Pradhan, E.K., Baumgarten, M., Langenberg, P., Handwerger, B., Gilpin, A.K., Magyari, T., Hochberg, M.C., Berman, B.M. (2007). Effect of Mindfulness-Based stress reduction in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Arthritis Care & Research, 57(7): 1134–1142.

Tekur, P., Singphow, C., Nagendra, H.R., and Raghuram, N. (2008). Effect of short-term intensive yoga program on pain, functional disability and spinal flexibility in chronic low back pain: A randomized control study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 14(6): 637-644.

Ülger, O. and Yağli, N.V. (2010). Effects of yoga on the quality of life in cancer patients. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 16 (2): 60-63.

Varela, F., Thompson, E., and Rosch, E. (1991). The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

White, D. (1996). The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Bringing Affectionate Curiosity to Urges and Cravings: Mindfulness as a Means to Prevent Relapse for Women in Early Recovery

Zayda Vallejo

Zayda Vallejo, M.Litt is a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher and professional trainer, and co-developed a Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention Program for women in addiction recovery for the Boston Public Health Commission. Zayda is the newest addition to the faculty of the UCSD Center for Mindfulness, joining Sarah Bowen and Joel Grow to lead the 5-Day Professional Training in Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) at the EarthRise Retreat Center in Petaluma, CA on April 1-6, 2012. The following article describes some of her important work in applying mindfulness (and MBRP) to relapse prevention specifically in a unique population.

The following is a description of the process of adapting the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR) to work with women in early recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, enrolled in three residential substance abuse treatment programs, and in one outpatient program, located in an urban center in Massachusetts. Most participants started the intervention two to three weeks after detoxification treatment. A total of 318 women (45% Latina, 35% Black, 20% White) completed baseline interviews. Two hundred and sixty-two women enrolled in the classes, and 61% completed the intervention. The aim was to provide skills training for relapse prevention.

Addressing Barriers
The most important change was the redirecting of MBSR into a program focused on the role of stress in relapse. This was accomplished in part by teaching the participants to become aware of the cravings and urges, with the intention to observe them with a certain spaciousness and affectionate curiosity. A drawing of a triangle with thoughts, feelings/emotions, and body sensations represented in a corresponding apex was presented in every class and created a visual tool that the women remembered easily. By separating the emotions, bodily sensations, and thoughts, and paying attention to each one individually in a systematic way, with moment-to-moment awareness, intending to hold judgments lightly, participants gradually began to feel freedom in choosing their responses instead of continuing with their habitual automatic ways of reacting. Most participants found this visual exercise and the freedom experienced very helpful.

Each class had a theme related to areas that were meaningful to the participants. Some of the class themes included intra- and interpersonal mindfulness, understanding how perceptions could compromise treatment and lead to relapse, and learning how to use mindfulness skills to relate differently to feelings of anxiety, panic attacks, fear, guilt, and shame.

The four practices employed in the traditional MBSR classes were used but the length, sequence, and ways of presenting them varied substantially. The body scan was shortened to reduce potential interference from trauma experience. It was performed in a sitting or standing position, non-sequentially, and interspersed with yoga movements. The eyes were open to promote a sense of safety. The scan began with the feet and legs, followed by yoga for the feet and legs. This process was repeated for all the different parts of the body. Instead of a detailed scan of the pelvic area and breasts, the revised body scan focused on the abdominal area and front of the chest. At times, movement took place first followed by the scanning in order to enhance connectivity with the body.  Though the participants did not do a lengthy body scan they would usually practice daily a two or three minute scanning of the body.

Walking meditation was preceded by very fast walking, decreasing the speed gradually and ending in the mountain pose. After that the participants could do walking meditation at a slow pace. The goal was to meet the women where they were, matching the movement to the agitation and pent-up energy they would exhibit and then progressively slow down.

Sounds were an easier gateway to awareness than the breath. Sitting meditation started with sounds, progressed to body sensations, and then the breath. Participants initially experienced the breath as boring and abstract. At times, it also triggered flashbacks for some of the women with trauma histories that included choking or a hand being held over their mouths. Interestingly, even though the breath was very difficult to connect with at the beginning, when asked in six and twelve month follow-up interviews, the women often reported that awareness of breath was the ‘tool’ that they practiced on a regular basis and the most helpful to ride cravings, urges, and impulses.

Hatha yoga, called mindful stretching exercises to avoid connotation of a religious nature that exists in some Spanish speaking regions, was the basic staple, and it was performed in any of the segments if the mood of the participants was too lethargic or too distracted. Participants enjoyed both the floor and standing yoga and often mentioned how helpful it was for lower back pain, shoulder and neck pain, and to release tension.

It must be noted that these adaptations were temporary ‘bridges’ until the women had the internal resources to do the practice similarly to the regular MBSR program. For example, during the half day retreat on week seven, women were able to do a body scan lying down on the floor for 45 minutes with no perceived adverse reactions.

Conclusion
The most important change was reframing the approach to focus on relapse prevention. Due to the participants’ trauma histories, short attention span, and low literacy, the language needed to be simplified and more visual components added. The length of the practices was shortened and the sequence and ways of presenting them were changed substantially.

In summary, MBSR is beneficial as an adjunct intervention in residential treatment facilities with individuals in early recovery. However, we found that adaptations were needed in order for the participants to see the program as relevant to their recovery. The participants needed to understand how the skills and tools learned could help them hold or relate to the stress in their daily life with less suffering and more compassion for themselves and those around them.

Mindful Communication Training Intensive Slated for October and May in Western New York

 

A two-part training intensive in Mindful Communication is being offered at the beautiful Chapin Mill retreat center in Western New York in the fall of 2011 and the spring of 2012. This unique experience brings together the contemplative practices of mindfulness meditation with narrative medicine and interpersonal appreciative dialogues. It has been crafted out of a program developed to address burnout and enhance relationship-centered care among healthcare professionals. The faculty includes experts in communication in health care, palliative care, and mindfulness-based stress reduction.  The intimacy of the setting combined with the experience of the facilitators and participants from across the globe should bring together a rare combination of intention, commitment, and concern for the care of our patients as well as the care of their caregivers.

Sponsored by the University of Rochester Office of Continuing Professional Education, this training intensive will be led by physicians and mindful communication authorities Ron Epstein, MD, Michael Krasner, MD, FACP, Patricia Lück MBChB, MPhil PallMed and David Monsour, MD, DABA. In response to the increasing pace and complexity of medical practice, physicians and other health professionals are experiencing unprecedented levels of job dissatisfaction and burnout, affecting their sense of well-being and the quality of care they provide. A powerful but under-recognized approach to these challenges is to enhance physicians’ capacity for mindfulness. Mindfulness in medicine refers to the ability to be aware, in the present moment, on purpose, with the intention of providing better care to patients and of taking better care of ourselves. Mindfulness is at the core of clinical competence. The proposed program will give participants the skills and tools necessary to bring mindful communication into daily clinical practice and continuing education.

“Our brains are evolving to multitask,” not! The ill-usion of multitasking

I recently overheard a proclamation, which has become somewhat of a mantra, recited by today’s college students. A student proudly making the following declaration regarding their ability to pay attention to multiple digital screens at once said, “Our brains are evolving to multitask!” That simple yet profound statement left me wondering could this really be true? How in one or two computerized generation of human beings could our brains evolve so dramatically? Is there such a thing as multitasking, and how is our performance affected when we are concurrently attending to computers, smart phones, and tasks? Recent research in neuroscience has shown that our brains are capable of forming new neural connections; known as neuroplasticity, but this student’s assertion seems to be pointing towards a rapid leap in evolution that goes well beyond that. Through my work in the field of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) I have come to regard, that what we commonly refer to as multitasking, does not exist, and that the level of our ability to perform tasks suffers as we shift our attention from one task to another. In fact the empirical data from studies in the field neuroscience is proving that there is no such thing as multitasking!

The online version of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines multitasking as, “the concurrent performance of several jobs by a computer,” and “the performance of multiple tasks at the same time.” These two definitions delineate multitasking into two distinct categories. The first definition refers to performing multiple tasks simultaneously, such as driving while talking on speaker phone, listening to the radio, while at the same time trying to remember directions. The second definition is pointing towards moving from one task to another such as, text messaging, followed by shifting to doing homework on a computer, and shifting again to grab a hurried bite from a late dinner; over and over, again and again. Now consider that all of us, especially college students given their current digital computer screen oriented lifestyles, are doing more and more of this, all the time. If this is true, and I believe it is, we can see why it is good for our psyche’s to think we are evolving to do it.

So what exactly is the data derived from recent research into the field of multitasking showing? In the PBS Frontline presentation, digital_nation, by Douglas Rushkoff, and Rachel Dretzin, Dr. Clifford Nass is interviewed about his studies at Stanford University, on the performance levels of extreme multitaskers. “These are kids who are doing 5, 6, or more things at once all the time” (Nass, Webb). Contrary to the fact that most multitaskers think they are extremely good at it, the results of Nass’s first of its kind studies are troubling.

“It turns out multitaskers are terrible at every aspect of multitasking! They get distracted constantly. Their memory is very disorganized. Recent work we’ve done suggests that they’re worse at analytic reasoning. We worry that it may be we’re creating people who may not be able to think well, and clearly.” (Nass, Web)

Some people might argue that these studies are being done on extreme multitaskers, and that most people can juggle two or three tasks at once. However, there is research showing that performing even several tasks at once can affect a person’s performance. In the Myth of Multitasking, Christine Rosen, writes, “In 2005, the BBC reported on a research study, funded by Hewlett-Packard, and conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London, that found, workers distracted by e-mail and phone calls suffer a fall in IQ more than twice that found in marijuana smokers” (Rosen, Web).

Taking a step back from the profound statement, “our brains are evolving to multitask,” let’s look at the question, are students developing new skills and competence that facilitates multitasking? In Electronic Media Use, Reading, and Academic Distractibility in College Youth, by Dr Laura E Levine, et al, findings are reported to show a correlation among college students between instant messaging, and reading skills. “The findings suggest that the amount of time college students spent instant messaging had an increased effect on their levels of distractibility in performing academic tasks, and that the amount of time they spent reading books reduced their levels of distractibility” (Levine, Web). For those that feel multitasking is not a bad thing the article concludes with the concession that there may be some positive new teaching methods that will emerge to hold the attention of students, such as, the use of video games to facilitate learning. Even with a few positive changes on the horizon the adverse effects of multitasking continue to be seen. In Multi-Tasking Adversely Affects the Brain’s Learning Systems by Russel Poldrack, he reports,

“The best thing you can do to improve your memory is to pay attention to the things you want to remember. Our data support that. When distractions force you to pay less attention to what you are doing, you don’t learn as well as if you had paid full attention. Tasks that require more attention, such as learning calculus or reading Shakespeare, will be particularly adversely affected by multi-tasking.” (Poldrack, Web)

In my experience there is a fundamental common sense to all this. If you focus all of your attention on one task at a time it seems logical that the results would be better than if your attention is divided or distracted by other tasks. Our children may argue they are evolving to move beyond this, yet the data supports what our mothers and generations before us always knew as they gave advice such as, “Finish what you are doing!”

In our culture there is certainly a perception that people can successfully multitask, and a belief that the more that we do it the more efficient at it we become. After all, most of us would say we are multitasking many times during the day. So what are the motivations behind all our multitasking? In her blog article Beyond Simple Multi-Tasking: Continuous Partial Attention, Linda Stone makes a distinction between simple multitasking, and what cognitive scientists refer to as complex multitasking, to explain her theory of Continuous Partial Attention (CPA). In simple multitasking each task is given the same priority. One task may even be routine like stirring pasta while talking to our spouse. Stone claims the driving force in simple multitasking is to be more productive. In complex multitasking the motivation is not to miss anything by maintaining a field of CPA. “In the case of continuous partial attention, we’re motivated by a desire not to miss anything. We’re engaged in two activities that both demand cognition” (Stone, Web). One of these cognitive tasks may also seem more important than another requiring our brains to be focused on it while remaining alert to the several other less important cognitive tasks requiring our attention. Stone continues, “ When we do this, we may have the feeling that our brains process multiple activities in parallel. Researchers say that while we can rapidly shift between activities, our brains process serially” (Stone, Web)

Stone’s theory of CPA is supported in the article Cognitive Control in Media Multitaskers, by Eyal Opher, et al. The abstract of their study states the following surprising findings, “that heavy media multitaskers performed worse on a test of task-switching ability, likely due to reduced ability to filter out interference from the irrelevant task set.” It is important to note Stone’s CPA is not multitasking, rather she is referring to the kind of attention we hold while we are complex multitasking. Keeping our attention in this state of hyper-vigilance is keeping our fight or flight response activated. According to Stone some people will feel a feeling of being alive, on top of things, and connected. She concedes this can serve us well at times. However, Stone claims the shadow side of being on continuous continuous partial attention (CCPA) is a constant activation of the fight or flight response. The complex multitasker is in a continuous state of overstimulation, with a perpetual feeling of lack of fulfillment that can lead to stress related diseases. This holds true with my own experiences of hearing about and seeing the conditions that create stress in the lives of participants in MBSR programs.

Indeed, neuroscientists are discovering that different parts of the brain are switching on and off resulting in the serial processing that Stone references. This switching happens so fast that it appears we are performing multiple tasks simultaneously. We can conclude that contrary to the first definition of multitasking, “the concurrent performance of several jobs by a computer,” that our brain does not process tasks concurrently. Regarding the second definition of multitasking, the performance of multiple tasks at the same time,” we see we are not really performing tasks at the same time, but instead switching back and forth between them, and some of us are experiencing being in an unfulfilled state of continuous partial attention. In an NPR Morning Edition story, Think You’re Multitasking? Think Again, Jon Hamilton quotes, Earl Miller, a Picower professor of neuroscience at MIT; “that for the most part, we simply can’t focus on more than one thing at a time. What we can do is shift our focus from one thing to the next with astonishing speed. Switching from task to task, you think you’re actually paying attention to everything around you at the same time when in fact you are not.” Many naysayers may try to say this is simply a semantic argument, and to some degree, I would agree. Words are divisive by nature and often fall short in truly representing what they are meant to describe. Perhaps it is time to throw out the word multitasking, as the definitions no longer fit and invent words that better represent our current scientific understanding of the way our brains function. How about serialtasking or taskswithcing?

If we identify that our lives have sped up to a point that may be causing us physical harm, and have a desire to do something about it, there are several antidotes to our cultural addiction of the illusion multitasking. This will require a change that most people may be resistant to make. In the article Mastering Multitasking by Urs Gasser, and John Palfrey the authors suggest, “ We have to embrace and master it, while providing limits from time to time to create contemplative space for young people” (Gasser, Web). We can focus more on individual tasks by bringing a strong mindful awareness to our actions while performing them. By taking breaks and time outs we can shift our attention back to our senses. In one sense I’m hopeful as I see a cultural shift, perhaps as a backlash, to all the stimulation, to embrace mindfulness. Alternatively letting go of even one aspect of mutitasking, like text messaging, can be painful for some people let alone shutting down and going offline.

The empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that there is no such thing as multitasking. Multitasking is a misnomer. The word points to something that at best can be looked at as individual tasks being performed through a very rapid switching back and forth in the way our brains function, or through performing tasks with continuous partial attention. Research particularly in the field of neuroscience is compiling data that shows multitasking can negatively affect performance, and lead to increased levels of stress. We are all part of one big current cultural experiment where we are the scientists, the laboratory, and the results, and it is not a trivial matter. The quality of our lives and health, may depend on our ability to truly understand, and wisely manage the effects of our perceptions, beliefs, and actions, surrounding our illusion of multitasking.

Works Cited

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-webster.com. Apr. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011

Dretzin, Rachel. Rushkoff, Douglas. “digital_nation life on the virtual frontier.” pbs.org Frontline. Feb. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

Rosen, Christine. “The Myth of Multitasking.” The New Atlantis thenewatlantis.com. Spring 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

Levine, Laura E. Waite, Bradley M. Bowman, Laura L. “Electronic Media Use, Reading, and Academic Distractibility in College Youth.” Cyber Psychology & Behavior Vol. 10 Issue 4 Aug. 2007. EBSCOhost. Web. 16 Apr. 2011.

Poldrack, Russell. “Multi-Tasking Adversely Affects the Brain’s Learning Systems.” psych.ucla.edu. Jul. 2006. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

Stone, Linda. “Beyond Simple Multi-Tasking: Continuous Partial Attention.” Lindastone.net. Nov. 2009. Wen. 14 Apr. 2011.

Hamilton, Jon. “Think You’re Multitasking? Think Again.” npr.org. NPR Morning Edition. Oct. 2008. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.

Ophir, Eyal. Nass, Clifford. Wagner, Anthony D. “Cognitive control in media multitaskers.” PNAS.org. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jul. 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.

Gasser, Urs. Palfrey, John. “Mastering Multitasking.” Educational Leadership Mar 2009: Vol. 66, Issue 6. EBSCOHost. Web. 16 Apr. 2011.

About The Author

Allan Goldstein is an experienced MBSR teacher, facilitating group programs, personal coaching, and mentoring in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction through Mindful Coaching. He assists the UCSD CFM in business development and social media marketing…one task at a time.