Vipassana meditation: one woman's narrative.
Collegian January 1, 2011 Pamela Van der Riet
Vipassana meditation, a practice widely accepted in Thai culture, offers a strategy for managing stress and anxiety by addressing somatic responses. This article presents a first-person narrative of the embodied experience of practicing Vipassana meditation in Thailand, describing what occurred and how it unfolded. The narrative aims to provide insight into the personal, lived experience of this traditional therapy, which is increasingly attracting Western visitors to Thai Buddhist centers for preventative health and well-being. The cultural acceptance of such complementary therapies in Thai health care may offer lessons for contemporary Western health care.