IMBT revisited

A little while back I mentioned Integrative Mind-Body Technique in this blog. It gained a large number of hits and quite a high rank on a certain well-known search engine. I said then that I couldn't tell what it involved but that I was concerned that it might be a money-for-old-rope thing like TM was. Well It would seem from Contemplative Mind in Life that it is a combination of mindfulness techniques and bodily posture/relaxation techniques. See here: "stresses no effort to control thoughts, but instead a state of restful alertness that allows a high degree of awareness of body, breathing, and external instructions from a compact disc. It stresses a balanced state of relaxation while focusing attention. Thought control is achieved gradually through posture and relaxation, body–mind harmony, and balance with the help of the coach rather than by making the trainee attempt an internal struggle to control thoughts in accordance with instruction. Training is typically presented in a standardized way by compact disc and guided by a skillful IBMT coach"
So I would counsel readers to be wary: the current hype following the scientific study looks very like the precursor to a sales campaign. If I'm right in seeing this as a rehash of basic techniques known by various religious traditions -including Christian- then you may well be as well going along to a good local church or diocesan centre where such things are bing taught perhaps for free or perhaps for a fee which is more related to the costs than to the fashionableness of the the thing.