Adaptation Practice & Mindfulness-based stress reduction

Adaptation Practice

           The British psychiatrist, Clive Sherlock, who trained in the traditional Rinzai School of Zen, developed Adaptation practice (Ap), the foundation of mindfulness, in 1977 based on the profound mindfulness/awareness training of Zen daily-life practice and meditation. Adaptation Practice is used for long-term relief of depression, anxiety, anger, stress and other emotional problems.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction

          Jon Kabat-Zinn developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) over a ten-year period at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He (1990:11) defines the essence of MBSR: "This "work" involves above all the regular, disciplined practice of moment-to-moment awareness or mindfulness, the complete "owning" of each moment of your experience, good, bad, or ugly." Kabat-Zinn explains the non-Buddhist universality of MBSR:

Although at this time mindfulness meditation is most commonly taught and practiced within the context of Buddhism, its essence is universal. … Yet it is no accident that mindfulness comes out of Buddhism, which has as its overriding concerns the relief of suffering and the dispelling of illusions. (2005:12-13)

          MBSR has clinically proven beneficial for people with depression and anxiety disorders. This mindfulness-based psychotherapy is practiced as a form of complementary medicine in over 200 hospitals, and is currently the focus of numerous research studies funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.