EFFECTIVENESS OF AN INDIAN MINDFULNESS BASED INTERVENTION (MINDFUL LIFE MANAGEMENT - MLM) IN ENHANCING BODY AWARENESS

Body awareness (BA) has long been associated with different psychopathologies like depressive disorders and anxiety disorders in varying amount. Improving BA has been suggested as an approach for treating patients with conditions such as chronic pain, obesity and post-traumatic stress disorder. Mindfulness-based Interventions (MBIs) have been found to increase BA resulting in enhanced wellbeing. Mindfulness has a role in enhancing positive outcomes in several important life domains including mental health, physical health, behavioural regulation and interpersonal relationships and in curtailing negative functioning The current observational study attempts to assess and compare the Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ) scores and Mindfulness level among police personnel before and 6 weeks after attending the MLM workshop. The present study showed an increase of BAQ score increased and significant relation to Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) Score. Correlation between the change in Operational Stress and BAQ was statistically significant at p <.01 The present study has suggested that MLM can be useful intervention to enhance BA. The significance shown through correlation of change in operational stress and BAQ score shows that enhancing BA can help to reduce stress in individuals through MLM intervention. The present study provides preliminary evidence for MBI in enhancing BA from our part of the country. Inspite of the limitations described elsewhere and the limited sample size, the study can be considered as an add on evidence on the effectiveness of MLM in enhancing BA.