Abstract
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have gained significant traction in public health, education, and clinical settings due to their demonstrated benefits for stress reduction and psychological well-being. However, these interventions often originate from Eurocentric frameworks that insufficiently reflect the cultural, historical, and structural contexts of diverse and historically marginalized communities. This commentary proposes a Culturally Relevant Mindfulness (CRM) framework that centers the lived experiences, healing traditions, and epistemologies of underrepresented populations. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature and critiques of conventional mindfulness models, the article articulates four guiding principles of CRM: cultural identity affirmation, historical consciousness, ancestral integration, and community-centered practice. Rather than merely adopting existing approaches, CRM reimagines mindfulness as a justice-oriented and contextually grounded practice—one that affirms cultural integrity and engages with the realities of intergenerational trauma, structural inequity, and collective resilience. By situating mindfulness within broader efforts toward equity and inclusion, this framework offers a more responsive model of contemplative practice. In doing so, it provides a pathway for mindfulness to ethically and effectively contribute to both individual well-being and community transformation.
Recommended Citation
JOHNSON, M., & Ratliff, C. (2026). Advancing Culturally Relevant Mindfulness in Public Health. The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors, 28(1). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/jramp/vol28/iss1/1
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