This book presents the theory and practice of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for the elderly and their caregivers. It also details effect verifications and suggests what can be done in the therapy for the aged. On reading this book, we can better understand the theories and be motivated to perform MBCT not only for elders but also for ourselves.

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A pilot study was conducted to examine the relationship between motor performance and the characteristics of mindfulness. The participants in this study were eight college-going students who were randomly divided into three teams. Each team performed a ball-rolling task four times, after answering the Japanese version of Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Following that, the distance from the center of the target to the ball, in the fourth ball-rolling task, was measured as the performance variable. The results of this study showed that there was a significant negative correlation between distance, which is the indicator of sports performance, and scores on the "Non-judgmental" subscale of the FFMQ. In other words, when the outcome of the ball-rolling task was excellent, it was observed that the score on the "Non-judgmental" subscale was also higher (r (6) = -.823, p < .05). Based on the results of this study, it was suggested that being "non-judgmental," which is one of the characteristics of mindfulness, may be a factor that could help in predicting excellent sports-related performance, under pressure conditions.

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Over the last two decades, many meditation interventions comprising focused attention meditation, insight meditation, and compassion meditation, have been developed to improve mindfulness and compassion. These interventions have been found to reduce various physical and mental symptoms and improve physical and mental health. To improve the effectiveness and safety of interventions, it is necessary to clarify each effect and its underlying mechanism. In the present study, we developed Japanese and English instructions for short interventions for naïve subjects to compare meditation techniques. Specifically, based on a review of existing research and Buddhist literature that identifies concepts of meditation techniques, we identified and examined the functions of three meditation techniques that can be used with naïve participants. Furthermore, we controlled the structures of instructions and durations of practice of the three meditation techniques. Based on these instructions, we also developed 30 minutes Japanese and English audio instructions. In future, we hope that comparative researches using these short instructions will help improve the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of these three meditation techniques.

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