Physiological Responses to Activity by Novice vs. Advanced Ikebana Practitioners
Event Type
Presentation
Start Date
12-10-2017 9:00 AM
End Date
12-10-2017 12:00 PM
Description
Meditation has been studied to determine its impact, if any, on neurophysiological, behavioral and psychosocial state. One study showed marked differences in brain wave activity between novice and advanced meditation monk practitioners. There are several mindfulness techniques and all of them are a form of meditation. Ikebana, an ancient Japanese tradition of arranging flowers employs mindfulness.
Recommended Citation
Carrasco, R., Lacertosa, T., McCastle, A., Pitts, J., Stallings-Sahler, S., Reinoso, G., & Arnold, T. (2017), Physiological Responses to Activity by Novice vs. Advanced Ikebana Practitioners, Presentation, Third Annual Research Colloquium, https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ot_colloquium/third/events/9
Physiological Responses to Activity by Novice vs. Advanced Ikebana Practitioners
Meditation has been studied to determine its impact, if any, on neurophysiological, behavioral and psychosocial state. One study showed marked differences in brain wave activity between novice and advanced meditation monk practitioners. There are several mindfulness techniques and all of them are a form of meditation. Ikebana, an ancient Japanese tradition of arranging flowers employs mindfulness.
Comments
Objectives: Current study investigated whether or not there is a difference in neurophysiological changes before and after performance of Ikebana, between novice and advanced practitioners and combined groups, between self-report of anxiety state, and, between how the novice and advanced Ikebana practitioners evolved their mindful practice.
Methods: This study utilized a mixed method, pretest, posttest, continuous, between groups design. Researchers recruited two groups of Ikebana practitioners, novice and advanced, from local Ikebana International chapters. Using iWorx, the researchers collectedthe participants’ heart rate (HR),respiratory rate (RR), blood pressure (BP), alpha and beta frequencies using an electroencephalogram (EEG). They also administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and conducted a semi- structured interview.
Results: Neurophysiological data, was inconclusive due to the low number of participants. Likewise, STAI pre- and post-test data approached, but did not reach significance in comparison and combined groups, and also proved inconclusive. Several themes surfaced from the semi structured interview, namely: manner of introduction to Ikebana, frequency and reason for making arrangements, reason for continuing practice, creative process approach, and the impact of Ikebana in life.
Conclusion: Previous experiments have shown impact of Ikebana on wellbeing and stress management. Quantitative measures in current project proved inconclusive due to low number of participants; continuation of project with a larger sample is planned. Themes drawn from interview transcripts provided an insight on the difference in the evolution and practice of Ikebana by novice and advanced artists.