Table 1.

Summary of Differences Between Mindfulness and Relaxation.

Mindfulness	Relaxation
Theoretical foundation
Third-wave CBT approach	Traditional CBT approach
Automatic reaction patterns can contribute to suffering	Chronic stress and/or an overactive stress response cause disease
Experiential avoidance maintains psychological rigidity, exposure fosters flexibility	Eliciting the relaxation response counters the stress response to reduce chronic stress
Taking thoughts as facts can be problematic, cognitive de-centering undermines dominance of discursive thinking	States of relaxation provide access to psychological resources that build resiliency to improve health outcomes
Intention of practices
Noticing present moment events as they are facilitates conscious choice	Elicit parasympathetic dominance
Emphasis on accepting present moment internal events to reduce struggle with own thoughts and feelings	Emphasis on changing present moment internal events
Examples of types of practices
Body scan (notice physical sensations as they naturally occur throughout the body, raising interoceptive awareness and reactions to discomfort)	Progressive muscle relaxation (purposefully relax muscles by systematically tensing and releasing specific muscle groups)
Awareness of breath (notice the breath as it naturally occurs, redirect attention back to the breath when it wanders, letting go of attempts to control automatic processes)	Deep breathing (purposefully slow and deepen the breath)
Sitting meditation (sequentially notice internal and external events such as sounds, thoughts, raising awareness of automatic patterns of thinking and reacting)	Guided imagery (generate imagined scenarios)
Psychological outcomes and mechanisms
Improvements in mood, stress and general well-being	Improvements in mood, stress, and general well-being
Improvements in nuanced emotional processes, including following brief, single-session practices	Potential improvements in nuanced emotional processes but usually only after multi-session interventions