AUTHOR=Spaccapanico Proietti Stefano , Chiavarini Manuela , Iorio Francesco , Buratta Livia , Pocetta Giancarlo , Carestia Roberta , Gobbetti Camilla , Lupi Chiara , Cosenza Antonio , Sorci Guglielmo , Mazzeschi Claudia , Biscarini Andrea , de Waure Chiara 

TITLE=The role of a mindful movement-based program (Movimento Biologico) in health promotion: results of a pre-post intervention study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1372660

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1372660

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Introduction</title><p>Mindful movement is a comprehensive approach that integrates various bodily, emotional and cognitive aspects into physical activity, promoting overall well-being. This study assessed the impact of a mindful movement program, known as Movimento Biologico (MB), on participants psychological well-being (PWB), positive mental health (PMH), sense of coherence (SOC), and interoceptive awareness.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>MB program was conducted for students attending the bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Sport Sciences of University of Perugia over 8 weeks (from October 16 to November 27, 2022). Participants were requested to fill in four questionnaires before and after the MB program: (1) 18-item PWB scale; (2) 9-item PMH scale; (3) 13-item SOC scale; (4) 32-item scale for Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess changes, with significance set at <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Thirty-eight students (mean age 21.2, 60.5% male) participated. Several MAIA subscales, including noticing (<italic>p</italic> = 0.003), attention management (<italic>p</italic> = 0.002), emotional awareness (<italic>p</italic> = 0.007), self-regulation (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), body listening (<italic>p</italic> = 0.001), and trusting (<italic>p</italic> = 0.001), showed significant improvements. PMH increased significantly (<italic>p</italic> = 0.015), and there was a significant enhancement in the autonomy subscale of PWB (<italic>p</italic> = 0.036). SOC and overall PWB also improved, though not significantly.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>The MB program significantly improved participants’ positive mental health and interoceptive awareness. This likely resulted from better recognition and management of positive physiological sensations, a stronger link between physical sensations and emotions, enhanced confidence in one’s body, and increased autonomy.</p></sec>