Mindfulness & Bodyfulness: A New Paradigm

The word mindfulness, though it has been used for centuries, may be both poorly defined and poorly used. Though the word connotes mental processes, the construct often includes embodiment practices such as yoga, sensory tracking, conscious breathing, tai chi, and qi gong. This can generate confusion, conflation, muddled research, and an anti-somatic bias. The author proposes the invention of a new term, bodyfulness, in order to centralize the often marginalized voice of the body in therapeutic, empirical, sociocultural, and contemplative practices