Osypiuk Kamila, Thompson Evan, Wayne Peter M
Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Department of Philosophy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2018 May 1;12:174. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00174. eCollection 2018.
Dynamic and static body postures are a defining characteristic of mind-body practices such as Tai Chi and Qigong (TCQ). A growing body of evidence supports the hypothesis that TCQ may be beneficial for psychological health, including management and prevention of depression and anxiety. Although a variety of causal factors have been identified as potential mediators of such health benefits, physical posture, despite its visible prominence, has been largely overlooked. We hypothesize that body posture while standing and/or moving may be a key therapeutic element mediating the influence of TCQ on psychological health. In the present paper, we summarize existing experimental and observational evidence that suggests a bi-directional relationship between body posture and mental states. Drawing from embodied cognitive science, we provide a theoretical framework for further investigation into this interrelationship. We discuss the challenges involved in such an investigation and propose suggestions for future studies. Despite theoretical and practical challenges, we propose that the role of posture in mind-body exercises such as TCQ should be considered in future research.
动态和静态身体姿势是太极拳和气功等身心锻炼法（TCQ）的一个决定性特征。越来越多的证据支持这样一种假设，即TCQ可能有益于心理健康，包括对抑郁和焦虑的管理与预防。尽管已确定多种因果因素可能是此类健康益处的潜在调节因素，但身体姿势尽管十分明显，却在很大程度上被忽视了。我们假设，站立和/或移动时的身体姿势可能是介导TCQ对心理健康影响的关键治疗要素。在本文中，我们总结了现有的实验和观察证据，这些证据表明身体姿势与心理状态之间存在双向关系。借鉴具身认知科学，我们提供了一个理论框架，以便进一步研究这种相互关系。我们讨论了此类研究中涉及的挑战，并对未来研究提出建议。尽管存在理论和实际挑战，但我们建议，在未来研究中应考虑姿势在TCQ等身心锻炼法中的作用。
