From body to mind: how body-mind axial awareness training enhances body awareness, mindfulness, positive embodiment and mental health in healthcare students.

Abstract

Background: Healthcare students face intense emotional and academic stress, leading to anxiety and poor mental health. Body-Mind Axial Awareness (BMAA)-a movement-based, body-centered practice-integrates bodily awareness and interoceptive attention to promote mind-body regulation and mental health.

Methods: A pretest-posttest controlled design was used with 38 students in the BMAA group and 27 in the control group. Group differences arising from non-random enrollment were statistically adjusted using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and within-group changes were examined using paired t-tests and repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Participants completed eight weeks of BMAA training involving weekly two-hour sessions and daily home practice. Assessments before and after intervention included four domains of psychological functioning, measured using validated instruments: body awareness (Body Awareness Ability Inventory; Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness), mindfulness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale), positive embodiment (Experience of Embodiment Scale), and mental health (Adult Mental Health Scale; Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait; Satisfaction with Life Scale).

Results: After controlling for baseline differences, the BMAA group showed greater gains than the control group in body awareness, mindfulness, positive embodiment, and mental health. Within-group analyses further indicated that BMAA participants demonstrated significant pre-post improvements across most body awareness and mindfulness subscales (except Not-Distracting and Not-Worrying), as well as across embodiment dimensions (except Resisting Objectification), along with enhanced emotional awareness and expression, reduced anxiety, and higher life satisfaction (p < .05 for relevant comparisons). Despite the absence of random assignment and modest group-size imbalance, ANCOVA and within-group findings demonstrated consistent effects.

Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that BMAA training enhances multiple facets of body-mind functioning, including bodily awareness, mindfulness, positive embodiment, and mental health. As healthcare students encounter cognitive and emotional demands, BMAA may offer a feasible embodied approach for strengthening psychological resilience and adaptive stress management during professional training.