Who developed mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a practice that is thousands of years old. The modern approach to mindfulness is newer, evolving, and specifically designed to appeal to people regardless of their underlying religious or spiritual beliefs. Mindfulness has its roots in Zen Buddhism. Simply put, mindfulness is the practice of observing and participating in the environment without judgment and returning the mind to the present when it wanders.

After being exposed to meditation from a Buddhist missionary, Jon Kabat-Zinn studied mindfulness meditation and created a mindfulness program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, or MBSR. MBSR was introduced at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

While mindfulness itself is derived from Eastern traditions and Buddhism specifically, the mindfulness most people in the West are familiar with is derived from Kabat-Zinn’s adaptation. To make the program suitable for everyone, regardless of religious or spiritual beliefs, the language and concepts related to Buddhism were removed from the MBSR program. The scientific language was utilized, and as more people participated and saw benefits, science began to take a closer look.

Research on mindfulness has shown that mindfulness practice can change the brain to support stress reduction, anxiety, and more. The brain’s amygdala, which detects threats and initiates the fight or flight response, shows a decrease in size following mindfulness practice over a period of time. Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI also shows a thickening of the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking and the ability to down-regulate the fight or flight response.

If you are experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, the effects of trauma, and more, your doctor or therapist is likely to recommend mindfulness as an intervention you can use outside of appointments to support your goals. Mindfulness is free, accessible, and a learnable skill. Apps, books, podcasts, and online programs exist to help those wanting to incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives.

If you are experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, or chronic illness, talk with your doctor or licensed professional counselor about beginning treatment, which may include therapy or medication, or both, and is likely to include lifestyle recommendations like mindfulness.