Procedure for MT

The MT consisted of 8 weeks of practice of mindfulness using a modified version of a mindfulness program titled Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). The modification consisted of reducing the required home practice, which is 45–60 min daily in the canonical MBSR program (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), to 20 min daily. This modification was made to match the daily homework in the active control group and to enhance adherence to the program. A certified MBSR instructor taught the MT program. A structured group format (n = 26) was applied whereby participants attended weekly group sessions that introduced them to formal meditation practices and to moment-to-moment, and non-judgmental awareness. Each group session lasted 2.5 h. The MT program also included a full day of meditation between the sixth and seventh meeting sessions. Participants were required to attend at least seven of the eight group sessions and the full-day session to be considered compliant with the training protocol. In addition to group meetings, participants were asked to practice meditation on non-class days for 20 min a day with the assistance of guided meditation CDs. The formal meditation practices included breath monitoring, body scans, and attention to sounds, thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. Participants were instructed to maintain a daily log of practice completion, which was collected by the course instructors at every weekly session. In addition to class attendance, participants were required to complete at least 50% of the recommended daily homework. All subjects in the MT group completed the 8-week training program including meeting the minimum training requirements (class attendance and daily homework).

The average daily amount of time spent on home exercises as measured by daily practice logs was 13.6 min (SD = 5.7) for the MT group.