International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
September 17, 2022
Karin Matko, Peter Sedlmeier, Holger C. Bringmann
17 citations
All four 8-week treatments—mantra meditation alone, meditation plus physical yoga, meditation plus ethical education, and all three combined—similarly improved body awareness, emotion regulation, self-compassion, and distress tolerance in adults new to yoga and meditation. These benefits persisted at 2- and 12-month follow-ups despite declining home practice. Mantra meditation alone had the least favorable effect on daily affect, while adding physical yoga best prevented negative affective responses. The findings suggest that mantra meditation is the central component driving improvements in interoception, self-awareness, and embodied processing, even though it negatively influenced affect on its own.
Journal of clinical medicine
May 31, 2023
Karin Matko, Meike Burzynski, Maximilian Pilhatsch et al.
5 citations
An 8-week yoga-based mind-body intervention, Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM), reduced pain intensity and improved quality of life and pain self-efficacy in most of 17 women with chronic back pain, fibromyalgia, or migraines. The largest improvement was in pain self-efficacy, followed by average pain intensity and quality of life, with a smaller effect on most severe pain. Responses varied among participants, suggesting the intervention helps many but not all. The authors call for larger controlled trials and further exploration of yoga's ethical and philosophical aspects.
Current opinion in psychology
February 1, 2026
Karin Matko, Nicholas T. Van Dam
4 citations
Mindfulness and meditation can cause adverse effects, including anxiety, depression, and traumatic re-experiencing, with 25-87% of practitioners reporting such effects and 3-37% experiencing functional impairment like inability to work. It is unclear whether these effects are temporary or lasting. Retreat attendance and pre-existing mental health conditions may increase risk, though causality is not established. The review recommends thorough screening, informed consent, and ongoing monitoring in clinical practice, along with setting clear expectations, offering psychoeducational support, and adapting interventions when appropriate to balance benefits and risks.
September 15, 2021
Karin Matko, Peter Sedlmeier, Holger C. Bringmann
3 citations
preprint
A single-case multiple-baseline study with 57 healthy, inexperienced yoga practitioners tested how different combinations of yoga components—mantra meditation, physical postures, and ethical teachings—affect body awareness, emotion regulation, affectivity, self-compassion, and distress tolerance. All four treatments (meditation alone, meditation plus physical yoga, meditation plus ethical education, and all three combined) improved body awareness, emotion regulation, self-compassion, and distress tolerance to a similar extent. Meditation alone had the least favorable effect on daily affect, whereas adding ethical education enhanced positive valence most, and adding physical yoga best prevented negative affective responses. The authors suggest mantra meditation is the core driver of improvements in interoception and self-awareness, despite its negative influence on daily affect.
Scientific Reports
May 19, 2026
Karin Matko, Cate Bailey, Julieta Galante et al.
Seventy percent of adults in Australia and New Zealand engaged in contemplative practices such as meditation, yoga, or breathing techniques in the past year, most commonly meditation (31%). Practitioners reported higher psychological distress and greater use of mental healthcare than non-practitioners. After adjusting for sociodemographic differences, the association with distress disappeared for yoga and relaxation practitioners but remained for breathing techniques, which were linked to increased distress in all models. Among those with unmet healthcare needs, meditators and relaxation practitioners reported less distress than non-practitioners with unmet needs. The findings suggest contemplative practices may serve as complements to mental healthcare, but their complex relationships with mental health require further study.