Supportive Bibiliography

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Baun, M., Johnson, R., & McCabe B. Handbook on Animal Assisted Therapy: Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice (Fine, AH Ed.) 2006

Beck, A.M. The biology of the human–animal bond. Anim. Front. 2014, 4.

Beetz, Andrea, et al. Psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of animal-human interactions: the possible role of oxytocin. Frontiers in Psychology, 3,(2012) 234

Bell, T.P. (2015). Meditative practice cultivates mindfulness and reduces anxiety, depression, blood pressure and heart rate in a diverse sample. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 29, 343-355.

Beidermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them. Translated by James Hulbert. New York: Meridian, 1994.

Bierhorst, John. The Hungry Woman: Myths and Legend of the Aztecs. New York Quill, 1984.

Bergmann N, Ballegaard S, Bech P, Hjalmarson A, Krogh J, Gyntelberg F, Faber J. The effect of daily self-measurement of pressure pain sensitivity followed by acupressure on depression and quality of life vs treatment as usual in ischemic heart disease: a randomized clinical trial. PLoS One. 2014;9:e97553. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097553. 

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Brunke, Dawn Baumann. Awakening the Ancient Power of Snake: Transformation, Healing and Enlightenment. Rochester, Bear and Company, 2020.

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Burmeister, Alice & Monte, Tom. The Touch of Healing: Energizing Mind, Body, and Spirit with the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu. New York. Bantam, 1997

Campbell, Joseph. Masks of God: Occidental Mythology. New York:1964

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Chan, Cecilia, Petula Sik Ying Ho, and Esther Chow. "A body-mind-spirit model in health: an Eastern approach." Social work in health care 34, no. 3-4 (2002): 261-282.

Chang, B. H., Casey, A., Dusek, J. A., & Benson, H. (2010). Relaxation response and spirituality: Pathways to improve psychological outcomes in cardiac rehabilitation. Journal of psychosomatic research, 69(2), 93–100. 

Chen, Feisong. Hand Reflexology and Acupressure: A Natural Way to Health Through Traditional Chinese Medicine. Shanghai Press. 2019

Chiesa, A., Calatti, R., & Serretti, A. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15, 593-600.

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Cirulli, F., Borgi, M., Berry, A., Francia, N., & Alleva, E. (2011). Animal-assisted interventions as innovative tools for mental health. Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanità, 47, 341-348.

Cook, Richard, Geoffry Bird, Caroline Catmur, Clare Press, and Cecilia Heyes. “Mirror Neurons: From Origin to Function.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37, no. 2 (2014): 177-92.doi: 10.1017/S0140525X13000903

Cottingham, J. T., Porges, S. W., and Lyon, T. (1988a). Effects of soft tissue mobilization (Rolfing pelvic lift) on parasympathetic tone in two age groups. Phys. Ther. 68, 352–356. doi: 10.1093/ptj/68.3.352 

Cozad, Laurie. Sacred Snakes: Orthodox Images of Indian Snake Worship. Aurora, CO: Davies Group, 2004.

Daban C, Martinez-Aran A, Cruz N, Vieta E. Safety and efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation in treatment-resistant depression. A systematic review. J Affect Disord (2008) 110:1–15. 10.1016/j.jad.2008.02.012 

Dargert, Guy. The Snake in the Clinic: Psychotherapy’s Role in Medicine and Healing.London: Karnac, 2016.

Devonport T. (2015). “Understanding stress and coping among competitive athletes in sport: applying psychological theory and research,” in Sport and Exercise Psychology, ed. GillD. L. (London: Routledge), 139–165.

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Eckstein M, Mamaev I, Ditzen B, Sailer U. Calming Effects of Touch in Human, Animal, and Robotic Interaction-Scientific State-of-the-Art and Technical Advances. Front Psychiatry. 2020 Nov 4;11:555058. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.555058. PMID: 33329093; PMCID: PMC7672023.

Farb, N.A.S., Anderson, A.K., & Segal, Z.V. (2012). The mindful brain and emotion regulation in mood disorders. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 57, 70-77.

Ferrari, P. F., & Coudé, G. (2018). Mirror neurons, embodied emotions, and empathy. In K. Z. Meyza & E. Knapska (Eds.), Neuronal correlates of empathy: From rodent to human (pp. 67–77). Elsevier Academic Press.

Field, Tiffany. "Massage therapy, acupressure, and reflexology." (2009).

Fiocco, A. J., & Mallya, S. (2015). The importance of cultivating mindfulness for cognitive and emotional well-being in late life. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 20, 35-40.

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Fletcher D. Sarkar M. (2012). A grounded theory of psychological resilience in Olympic champions. Psychol. Sport Exerc.13, 669–678. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.04.007

Friedmann, E., Thomas, S. A., & Son, H. (2011). Pets, depression and long-term survival in community-living patients following myocardial infarction. Anthrozoös, 13(1), 43-47

Gach, Michael Reed, and Beth Ann Henning. Acupressure for emotional healing: A self-care guide for trauma, stress, & common emotional imbalances. Bantam, 2004.

Gallant, S. N. (2016). Mindfulness meditation practice and executive functioning: breaking down the benefit. Consciousness and Cognition, 40, 116-130.

Gee, N. R., Reed, T., Whiting, A., Freidmann E., Snellgrove, D., Sloman, K. A., (2019) Observing live fish improves perceptions of mood, relaxation, and anxiety but does not consistently alter heart rate or heart variability. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(17):3113. Aug 27. Doi:3390/ijerph16173113 

 Gomes AR, Fontes L, Simães C and Morais C (2026) Managing stress in sports: the Pro•Stress program. Front. Psychol. 17:1826419. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1826419

Green, Harry W. Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997.

Haeyen S. A theoretical exploration of polyvagal theory in creative arts and psychomotor therapies for emotion regulation in stress and trauma. Front Psychol. 2024 May 22;15:1382007. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1382007. PMID: 38840744; PMCID: PMC11150850.

Heeren, A., Van Broeck, N., & Philippot, P. (2009). The effects of mindfulness on executive processes and autobiographical memory specificity. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 47, 403-409.

Heyes, C., & Catmur, C. (2021). What happened to mirror neurons? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(1), 153–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691621990638

Hoffman, S. G., Sawyer, A. T. Witt, A. A. & Oh, D. (2010) The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 78, 168-183.

Islamy, Mohammad Rindu Fajar, Yedi Purwanto, Usup Romli, and Alwan Husni Ramdani. "Spiritual Healing: A Study of Modern Sufi Reflexology Therapy in Indonesia." Teosofi: Jurnal Tasawuf dan Pemikiran Islam 12, no. 2 (2022): 209-231.

Jain N. Sharma S. Mishra P. (2023). Enhancing performance and well-being: innovative stress management strategies for athletes. Internat. J. Multidiscipl. Res. Arts Sci. Technol.1, 33–37. doi: 10.61778/ijmrast.v1i4.22

Jha, A. P., Stanley, E. A., Kiyonaga, A. Wong, L. & Gelfand, L. (2010) Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience. Emotion, 10, 54-64.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003) Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144-156.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2018) A study in happiness – meditation, the brain, and the immune system. Mindfulness 9.5 1664-1667.

Kearney, Richard. Touch: Recovering Our Most Vital Sense. New York. Columbia University Press. 2021

Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur, Newberg, Andrew, et al. Kundalini Rising: Exploring the Energy of Awakening. Boulder. Sounds True, Inc. 2009

Kok BE, Coffey KA, Cohn MA, Catalino LI, Vacharkulksemsuk T, Algoe SB, et al. How positive emotions build physical health: perceived positive social connections account for the upward spiral between positive emotions and vagal tone. Psychol Sci (2013) 24:1123–32. 10.1177/0956797612470827 

Kumar J. S. (2025). Mental stress of athletes and its management strategies: a narrative review. J. Sports. Rehabilit. Sci.2, 180–183. doi: 10.32598/JSRS.2505.1100

Lane, Josh. Conscious Nature: The Art and Neuroscience of Meditating in Nature. Stone Ridge. Conscious Nature LLC Publishers., 2019

Larson, B., R., Looker, S., Herrera, D. M., Creagan, E. T., Hayman, S., R., Kaur, J. S., & Jatoi, A. (2010). Cancer patients and their companion animals: results from a 309-patient survey on pet-related concerns and anxieties during chemotherapy. Journal of Cancer Education, 25(3), 396-400

Lehnert, B. T., Santiago, C., Huey, E. L., Emanuel, A. J., Renauld, S., Africawala, N., Alkislar, I., Zheng, Y., Bai, L., Koutsioumpa, C., Hong, J.T., Magee, A. R., Harvey, C., Ginty, D. D., Mechanoreceptor synapses in the brainstem shape the central representation of touch. Cell, 2021 Doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.09.023

Liao M (2025) Mindfulness meditation as a tool for enhancing recovery and reducing burnout in elite tennis players. Front. Psychol. 16:1661724. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1661724

Li, L., Rutlin, M., Abraira, V. E., Cassidy, C., Kus, L., Gong, S., Jankowski, M. P., Luo, W., Heintz, N., Koerber, H. R., Woodbury, C. J., & Ginty, D. D., The functional organization of cutaneous low-threshold mechanosensory neurons. Cell, 2011; 147 (70) 

Linden, David J. Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart and Mind. New York. Viking, 2015

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Lovelock, James. The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth. New York: Norton, 1995

Mackenzie, M. J., Carlson, L. E., Paskevich, D. M., Ekkekakis, P., Wurz, A. J., Wytsma, K., et al. (2014). Associations between attention, affect, and cardiac activity in a single yoga session for female cancer survivors: an enactive neurophenomenology-based approach. Conscious. Cogn. 27, 129–146. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2014.04.005 

Maksimovic, S. Nakatani, N., Baba, Y., Nelson S., Marshal, K., et al. Epidermal Merkel cells are mechanosensory cells that tune mammalian touch receptors. Nature,2014 Doi: 10.1038/nature13250

Marr, C. A., French, L., Thompson, D., Drum, L., Greening, G., Mormon, J., & Hughes, C., W. (2000). Animal -assisted therapy in psychiatric rehabilitation. Anthrozoös, 13(1), 43-47

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Mattison, Chris. Snake: The Essential Visual Guide. New York: Smithsonian Enterprises. Penguin/Random House. 1999

McNamee, Gregory, ed. The Serpent’s Tale: Snakes in Folklore and Literature. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2000.

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Morgan, Diane. Snakes in Myth, Magic and History: The Story of a Human Obsession.Westport. Praeger, 2008.

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