Self-reports from meditation participants reveal how three distinct Viniyoga meditations, each using a different aspect of the ocean as a meditation object, can contribute to health and well-being. Yoga philosophy and anatomy models help explain participants' experiences and benefits. Four personal factors influence meditation outcomes: current life circumstances, the state of one's mind-body-breath system, reactions to meditation instructions, and prior experience with the meditation object. The authors, grounded in Viniyoga and yoga therapy, discuss why and for whom each meditation may be beneficial.
The brain and body work together to create a felt sense of presence in the material or virtual world. The brain generates bodily feelings that represent emotions and thoughts, and directing attention to present-moment bodily sensations produces embodied presence. Meditation increases the capacity for embodied presence. Virtual worlds are experienced through a system grounded in bodily sensations. This essay explores implications of neuroscience and meditation for designing and studying self-presence in virtual worlds, explaining presence as a dynamic internal process resulting from sustained directed attention.
A new framework for describing meditation interventions aims to improve scientific rigor in research and clinical practice. The framework distinguishes seven essential components: the individual, object, experience, immediate effects, approach (foundation and source), outcome (intended goals and longer-term effects), and engagement (duration, spacing, frequency, and quality of attention). The authors argue that the lack of a consistent framework has hindered study design, interpretation, and comparison across research. Examples are provided from Yoga Therapy and published research. The goal is to start a dialogue with experts in other meditation traditions to adapt and respond to the proposed framework.