How Mindfulness Could Make You The Hero

August 22nd 2024. Quite some time since the last update.

Perhaps in a moment of crisis, your daily meditation (or Judo workout) could help save a life! It seems fantastical but I've been doing some basic Investigating in the relation between trait mindfulness and actual prosocial behavior to determine what effects mindfulness on us and we on one another and if it has some effect on pro social behavior. Here are some of the take away's from this  fairly insightful study I was able to find of the subject by Short Mindfulness Meditation Increases Help-Giving Intention Towards a Stranger in Distress by  Yael Malin and Thomas P. Gumpel.

• Mindfulness increases state mindfulness and intention to help: Compared to control groups, participants who practiced short mindfulness sessions showed greater state mindfulness (increased awareness of the present moment) and a stronger willingness to volunteer for a stranger in need. "We found that two 30-min mindfulness practice sessions increased mindfulness state and the willingness to volunteer and help people in need when compared to music and lecture control groups". The results of this are wonderful for the potential of mindfulness to be a positive social influence itself, as 30 min's sessions are easy to work into your day. I believe further research should be done if active meditation in the spirit of kihin (kyogyo) walking meditation which uses repetitious movement. I would argue this applies also to repetitive movement in judo; Uchi Komi (technique repetition), or renzoku waza ( combination techniques repetitions), or even with Ukemi (safety falling) which are often done in repetition.  

• Mindfulness strengthens the link between empathy and care: For those who practiced mindfulness, their natural tendency to feel empathy (understanding another's feelings) translated more significantly into a desire to help and show compassion (empathic care). I would argue Judo specifically cultivates this quality in Judo practitioners as its intrinsic to the practice of judo. Students learn that mutual benefit and maximum efficiency are not just the maxims of Judo but also the consequence of practice. When one throws, you must be thrown, as it were and so an understanding of empathy arises. I find this manifests often, students helping one another up after being thrown.

• The study supports the idea that short mindfulness practice can cultivate a more helpful mindset. I believe that 30 minuets of mindfulness training is both achievable and when utilized in the form of active meditation, I believe this also applies. Judo being the exemplar of active Meditation in this discussion.

• The findings suggest mindfulness might enhance the positive effects of empathy, leading people to act with more compassion. Its is my firm belief that compassion for others is a key and noble quality and worth cultivating, especially if this can be done while on a 30 minuet morning walk, your weekly Judo workout (Sundays at 6:00pm)

• These results contribute to the growing body of research exploring the benefits of mindfulness on prosocial behavior.

Limitations to Consider

• The study focused on short-term effects. Long-term impacts of mindfulness on prosociality need further investigation. I think there are several avenues for future research and judo could be juist one lens in how to view active forms of meditation. I think this may depend on how active meditation is defined and data gathered in the future. 

• The research involved self-reported measures, which can be prone to bias.

This study adds to the evidence that mindfulness practices may hold promise for promoting helping behaviors.

The researchers also make it clear that there could be social influences, polling respondents answering how they perceive questions in the manner they believe it is wanted to be answered.

 I hope that further research in this area continues and would greatly encourage anyone looking to develop a fun, consistent, and absolutely beneficial active mindfulness routine to join us the Sunday evening Judo Class or look toward our upcoming mindfulness and Judo workshops. 

Respectfully,

Rob Nolan

Check out the source authors, the article, and the fascinating data at:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9386648/