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Basant Pradhan Yoga and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy A Clinical Guide 123 Y oga and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy B asant P radhan Y oga and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy A Clinical Guide B asant P radhan, MD D epartment of Psychiatry C ooper University Hospital, and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University C amden, N J U SA I SBN 978-3-319-09104-4 ISBN 978-3-319-09105-1 (eBook) D OI 10.1007/978-3-319-09105-1 S pringer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London L ibrary of Congress Control Number: 2014952228 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2 015 T his work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifi cally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher's location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. T he use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. P rinted on acid-free paper S pringer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) I dedicate this book to the inspiring wisdom of the two early champions of ancient India: B uddha (T he Awakened; circa. Sixth century BC) & P atanjali (author of the Y oga- S utras, the fi rst text book of Yoga; circa. Fourth century BC) F or their profound clarity, greatness, and nobility of purpose……… F oreword T he current trend in psychotherapy has been towards more systematic approaches based on research evidence and away from practice-based experience. However, this has not meant that you need to t hrow the baby out with the bathwater in terms of solid conceptual models that have been proven constants withstanding the test of time. Some of these concepts and approaches come from cultural traditions that are different than the traditional Western linear-empirical model and have required translation for Western audiences. In psychotherapeutics, it is being increasingly recognized that, in order to be effective, there need to be the right balance between evidence based knowledge and the therapeutic experience: the two crucial elements of any psychotherapy essentially supplementing each other in this rich model of human interactions. One of the traditional models that have promoted this balance is that of meditation- based psychotherapy. Meditation is the 7th step in both the Eight Limbed Yoga ( ashtanga) of the sage Patanjali (Satchidananda 1978; Feuerstein 1979) and the Noble Eightfold Path of the Buddha (Bodhi 2000). This is basically an ongoing cognitive-emotive-reappraisal process in the meditator in order to obtain insight and directly experience the personal truths in the meditator’s own life based on this insight. This deeply contemplative process helps the meditator own his/her experi- ences, where his/her actions are governed by ongoing knowledge obtained from the meditation rather than by reactions to the underlying impulse to act. Technically meditation involves learning to shift and focus one’s attention at will onto an object of choice, such as bodily feelings or an emotional experience, while disengaging from usual conditioned reactivity or elaborative processing. Meditation has been a part of many philosophies of human interaction and of spiritual and faith traditions for centuries, and universally seen as a healing process to calm the mind and refresh the spirit. Recent re-discovery of the value of meditation in the clinical context could be credited to many scholars including Jung (1933, 1969), Benson (1974), and Jon Kabat-Zinn (1990). Ultimately it has been mindfulness meditation, with a focus on heightened self-awareness and a key tenet of Yoga, which has captured the most attention. An example of this was Linehan’s (1993) discovery of this approach in her own emotional recovery and later her application of mindfulness meditation in her model of dialectical behavioral therapy, oriented to address the needs of some of our most complex patients. vii viii Foreword I n this textbook by Dr. Basant Pradhan, we fi nd further integration and symptom specifi c applications of mindfulness meditation as well as other principles and skills from the broad system of Yoga for clinical intervention and treatment. However, the translation this time is conducted by a scholar who is thoroughly grounded in the Eastern tradition of Yoga but also highly conversant in Western empiricism. Dr. Pradhan received monastic training in Yoga but went on to pursue a career in the Western model of medicine as a physician-psychiatrist and empirical scholar. This means that he is truly a bi-cultural and bi-conceptual individual with a full under- standing of both domains and easily traverses from one to the other. In his model of Yoga-Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Y-MBCT) which involves t he clinical use of Yoga- m editation in its entirety, he not only applies mindfulness meditation in cognitive treatment, but also integrates other a sanas (Yogic postures) and k riyas (Yogic procedures), which allows this model to be applied across not only many different behavioral and emotional disorders and problems but also in various psychosomatic disorders. The results are evident both conceptually in this textbook as well as clinically from my own vantage point as a close colleague and collaborator. D r. Pradhan is a rare individual in many ways. He is a true cultural bridge builder as would be expected more someone coming from an immigrant generation 1.5 background. He is truly a master of Western empirical neurosciences and cognitive sciences as well as Eastern philosophy, tradition, and wisdom, and translates across both easily. He also has deep respect for the cumulative wisdom in both traditions, which comes from his highly scholarly perspective. He is also a person of deep pas- sion and dedication to heal, which leads him to apply these concepts in such a man- ner that they are accessible both to the patient and to fellow clinicians. At the same time, as a scholar, he understands the need to apply empirical methods to the devel- opment of an objective evidence-base to match the cumulative wisdom behind many of his approaches. T his textbook is refl ective of Dr. Pradhan as a person, a healer-clinician, and a scholar. Having had the pleasure of knowing him for almost 5 years, it has been evident to me that in this textbook he has applied many of the principles that he shares with us in his daily life as well as his teaching, clinical work, and scholarship. He is also true believer in the concept of collective consciousness from which arise his dedication towards healing his fellow human beings, who he ultimately sees as part of his identity. Given this genuine source of motivation behind his work, I trust that his book will become a critical resource for an innovative form of psychotherapy that is at the same time more pragmatic as well as humanistic. Bridging the existing gap, it will contribute to improved access to effective psychotherapeutic services and effective treatment for many people from East and West. C amden, N J, U SA A ndres J . P umariega, M D Foreword ix R eferences B enson H, Beary J, Carol M (1974) The relaxation response. Psychiatry: Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes 37(1):37–46 B odhi B (2000) The Noble Eightfold Path: way to the end of suffering. Pariyatti Publications, Onalaska Feuerstein G (1979) The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali. A new translation and commentary. Inner Traditions International, Rochester J ung CG (1933) Modern man in search of a soul. Harcourt Brace & Co., New York J ung CG (1969) Psychology and religion: west and east. Princeton University Press, Princeton K abat-Zinn J (1990) Full catastrophe living. Delacorte Press, New York L inehan MM (1993) Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder. Guilford Press, New York S atchidananda S (1978) The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: translations and commentary. Integral Yoga Publications, Yogaville