Although the literature indicates that meditation has beneficial effects on several aspects of human functioning, few studies have specifically investigated the effects of meditation on various domains of attention. This study was conducted to examine the differences in various domains of attention between long-term concentrative meditators versus matched controls. 15 practitioners of Vihangam Yoga (> 10 yr. experience) were enrolled in the study. Controls matched on age, sex, and years of education were recruited. Both groups were administered the Stroop, Trail-Making, and Digit Symbol Substitution tests as well as the Digit Forward and Digit Backward tests. The group of Vihangam Yogis had significantly better mean performance on all tests of attention. Long-term Vihangam Yoga meditation improves attention span, processing speed, attention alternation ability, and performance in interference tests.

Although the literature indicates that meditation has beneficial effects on several aspects of human functioning, few studies have specifically investigated the effects of meditation on various domains of attention. This study was conducted to examine the differences in various domains of attention between long-term concentrative meditators versus matched controls. 15 practitioners of Vihangam Yoga (> 10 yr. experience) were enrolled in the study. Controls matched on age, sex, and years of education were recruited. Both groups were administered the Stroop, Trail-Making, and Digit Symbol Substitution tests as well as the Digit Forward and Digit Backward tests. The group of Vihangam Yogis had significantly better mean performance on all tests of attention. Long-term Vihangam Yoga meditation improves attention span, processing speed, attention alternation ability, and performance in interference tests.

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Introduction: Stuttering is a developmental speech disorder with multiple etiological factors. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has shown effectiveness in reducing anxiety symptoms and dysfluent speech in adults who stutter (AWS). So we planned to study the comparative efficacy of CBT and CBT combined with mindfulness training (MT) in AWS. Aim: The aim of this preliminary study was to examine and compare the efficacy of CBT and CBT combined with MT in reducing anxiety symptoms, and dysfluent speech and increasing communication attitude, quality of life, self-esteem and speech fluency in AWS. Method and Materials: A matched two group pretest and posttest interventional design was employed. The sample consisted of ten adults with the diagnosis of stuttering (ICD-10, 1992) who were randomly allotted to Group One (CBT; N=5) and Group Two (CBT+MT; N=5). The therapeutic program included 15-20 sessions of one hour each. Statistical Analysis: Obtained data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test for within the group, before and after intervention comparison and Mann Whitney U Test for between group comparisons. Results: Significant difference in both CBT group and CBT+MT group is observed in the area of communication attitude (U=1.00, p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings of the study show that CBT and CBT+MT are effective in the treatment of AWS, but CBT+MT is more effective than CBT alone.

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