Beyond Scientific Mechanisms: Subjective Perceptions with Viniyoga Meditation

Carrie Heeter; Marcel Allbritton; Chase Bossart

doi:10.3390/ijerph16122200

Beyond Scientific Mechanisms: Subjective Perceptions with Viniyoga Meditation

Carrie Heeter, Marcel Allbritton, Chase Bossart

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health June 1, 2019 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16122200 (opens in new tab)

Read Full Text

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract

Characteristics	Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Population	Meditation participants
Intervention	Viniyoga meditations
Topics	Meditation
Key findings	Four personal factors influence what happens in meditation: current life circumstances, system state, reactions to instructions, and prior experience with the meditation object.

Abstract

Healthcare professionals and research scientists generally recognize the potential value of mind–body practices grounded in ancient wisdom, but often have limited direct experience with such practices. Meditation participant self-reports provide a window into subjective experiences of three Viniyoga meditations and how and why those meditations could contribute to health and well-being outcomes. Each of the meditations in this analysis had a unique structure and used a different aspect of the ocean as a meditation object. Yoga philosophy and yoga anatomy models of the human system are used to help explain participants’ experiences and associated personal benefits and insights. Four aspects of the individual that can influence what happens for them in meditation are illustrated with tangible examples: (1) What is happening in generally in someone’s life; (2) the state of their system (mind, body, breath) around the time of the meditation; (3) reactions to the meditation steps and instructions; and (4) their prior experiences with the object of meditation. Summaries of the practices, and why and for whom each meditation might be beneficial are discussed. The authors’ perspectives are grounded in Viniyoga and yoga therapy.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.

Study	Year	Design	Participants
The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan...	2017	Qualitative study with mixed-methods
The Effects of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction on Nurse Stress and Burnout Nurses in a hospital system	2004	Implementation study with mixed methods
An exploratory mixed methods study of the acceptability and effectiveness of mindfulness -based cognitive therapy for patients with active depression and anxiety in primary care Primary care patients with recurrent depression or recurrent depression and anxiety	2006	Exploratory mixed methods study	n = 13
A qualitative study of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for depression Participants in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in a mental-health context	2001	Qualitative study	n = 7
Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report Meditators	2013	Qualitative study using grounded theory methodology

Citations in the library

Cited by 2

Cites 1

Meditation as an Intervention for Health: A Framework for Understanding Meditation Research