Mindfulness Meditation Neuroimaging Study for Undergraduates

The mindful awareness practices (MAPS) intervention is based on an institutional program developed by the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) at UCLA, but takes a more practical and accessible approach that focuses specifically on the practice of mindfulness and its application in everyday life (as compared to the focus on stress and stress reduction in mindfulness-based stress reduction). Key components of the intervention include development of bodily awareness, managing pain, working with difficult thoughts and feelings, cultivating positive emotions and loving kindness, and relational mindfulness practices. Each session provides structured training and exercises in mindfulness, including formal meditation practices and strategies for the daily informal use of mindfulness, as well as opportunity for group discussion and sharing. Participants will be instructed to practice mindfulness techniques on a daily basis, beginning with five minutes and increasing to 20 minutes.