Mind–body interventions

Mind–body interventions (MBI) or mind-body training (MBT) are health and fitness interventions that are intended to work on a physical and mental level such as yoga, tai chi, and Pilates. The category was introduced in September 2000 by the United States National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a government agency, and encompasses alternative medicine interventions. It excludes scientifically validated practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Cochrane reviews have found that studies in this area are small and have low scientific validity. Since 2008, authors documenting research conducted on behalf of the NCCIH have used terms mind and body practices and mind-body medicine interchangeably with mind-body intervention to denote therapies, as well as physical and mental rehabilitative practices, which "focus on the relationships between the brain, mind, body, and behavior, and their effect on health and disease." According to the NCCIH, "mind and body practices include a large and diverse group of procedures or techniques administered or taught by a trained practitioner or teacher". The United States National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) defines mind-body interventions as activities that purposefully affect mental and physical fitness, listing activities such as yoga, tai chi, pilates, , guided meditation and forms of meditative praxis, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, and prayer, as well as art therapy, music therapy, and dance therapy. The Cochrane Library contains 3 systematic reviews that explicitly cite and define MBI as MBT. The reviews consider biofeedback, mindfulness, autogenic training, hypnotherapy, , meditation, and prayer as MBT despite them focusing more strictly on the mind. One review uses a narrower definition, defining MBT as an ‘active’ intervention in which mental and physical exercises are alternated. A web search will yield mentions of mind-body training in offerings of entities that give yoga, pilates, or meditation training, but explicit definitions are rare.