Abstract: Integral Education, Integral Transformation and
The Teaching of Mind-Body Medicine
By Dr. Joel Kreisberg, DC, MA, Adjunct Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Holistic Studies

Traditionally Mind-body Medicine (MBM) is taught as a balance of objective and subjective perspectives. Scientific evidence is mixed with experiential pedagogy and while often thought of as an interior approach, the experiential learning aspects often focused on the empirical aspects of learning. An integral pedagogy for Mind-Body Medicine must include all four quadrants in intent and classroom design. Heuristic experiential practices are balanced with correlatives of behavioral practices. Collective experiences create a culture of transformation that facilitate personal transformation as well as a larger discussion of the social systems involved in the practices of medicine and personal growth.

In this case study of a masters program class in Mind-Body Medicine, students were asked to commit to a regular practice of Integral Transformative Practice (ITP) created by George Leonard and Michael Murphy. ITP includes daily practices for body, mind and spirit and commitments to mindful eating, regular exercise, intellectual inquiry, community engagement and most importantly affirmations and transformative goals. With this regular commitment as a backdrop for the class, students then explore the field of MBM from an AQAL perspective, presenting MBM techniques in student lead modules using AQAL as the template for cognitive and experiential learning.

Finally, a developmental perspective is introduced using Spiral Dynamics which requires students to identify stages of personal transformation and how these differ in more individual memes versus more community or collective oriented memes(yellow versus purple-integrative versus integral). This developmental assessment supported a more complex transformative awareness that opened up potentials for collective transformation. Though always available, often personal transformations are less about communities goals. What emerges is an educational prerogative that supports both personal and collective transformation that can be achieved in an integral classroom that supports several aspects of Integral Methodology in its pedagogical design and implementation.

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