Building a More Diverse and Inclusive Science: Mindfulness-Based Approaches for Latinx Individuals.

Objectives: This article represents a call to action for the mindfulness field to be more diverse and inclusive of Latinx individuals. Building a diverse and inclusive science around mindfulness-based approaches (MBAs) that considers important group-level cultural and contextual information is an important public health challenge in need of innovative solutions. Methods: We describe ways that the Latinx population is poised to benefit from MBAs. We further elucidate challenges, describe potential solutions, and outline a research agenda that may hold promise for building a more inclusive mindfulness movement. Results: Our recommendations center around developing nuanced cultural adaptations to MBAs, engaging Latinx individuals in research, increasing the rigor of scientific studies pertaining to Latinx individuals, relying on implementation science to develop innovative methods for disseminating MBAs to Latinx individuals, developing training and certification mechanisms to increase diversity and representation of Latinx mindfulness teachers, and creating mechanisms for the oversight of MBAs within this group. Conclusions: There has been a lack of inclusivity of Latinx individuals in the field of MBAs with regards to research studies, barriers to access for economically disadvantaged groups, and lack of diversity in its workforce. Considering the recognition of adverse social drivers of health that generate chronic stress and health disparities, the Latinx population is especially poised to benefit greatly from MBAs. A diverse and inclusive mindfulness science holds promise to enhance the effectiveness, acceptability, feasibility, and wide-scale dissemination and implementation of MBAs.

Yoga v. health education for attentional processes relevant to major depressive disorder.

OBJECTIVES: Research has shown that yoga may be an effective adjunctive treatment for persistent depression, the benefits of which may accumulate over time. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the following in a sample of persistently depressed individuals: whether yoga increases mindfulness and whether yoga attenuates rumination. Rumination and mindfulness both represent attentional processes relevant for onset and maintenance of depressive episodes. METHODS: One-hundred-ten individuals who were persistently depressed despite ongoing use of pharmacological treatment were recruited into an RCT comparing yoga with a health education class. Mindfulness and rumination were assessed at baseline and across 3 time points during the ten-week intervention. RESULTS: Findings demonstrate that, compared to health education, yoga was associated with higher mean levels of the observe facet of mindfulness relative to the control group during the intervention period (p =.004, d =0.38), and that yoga was associated with a faster rate of increase in levels of acting with awareness over the intervention period (p= .03, f2 =0.027). There were no differences between intervention groups with respect to rumination. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest a small effect of yoga on components of mindfulness during a 10-week intervention period. Previous research suggests that continued assessment after the initial 10 weeks may reveal continued improvement. Future research may also examine moderators of the impact of yoga on mindfulness and rumination, including clinical factors such as depression severity or depression chronicity, or demographic factors such as age.