Health and Emotional Modulation through Vipassana Meditation: A Pre-experimental Study.
Tilottama Wankhade, Sujata R Lavangare, Akanksha P Dani
Annals of African Medicine December 9, 2025 DOI: 10.4103/aam.aam_426_25 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-experimental study Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 152 |
| Population | First-time participants at Khadavli Vipassana Center |
| Intervention | Vipassana meditation |
| Duration | 10-day intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Chronic illness Maladie chronique Vipassana meditation Bien-être émotionnel Emotional well-being Health improvement Méditation vipassana Pleine conscience Pre-experimental study Étude préexpérimentale |
| Key findings | A 10-day Vipassana meditation camp led to small improvements in physical health measures and emotional well-being among first-time participants. |
Abstract
Vipassana meditation (VM), a mindfulness-based practice, has been known to promote good health all the way. Global chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hypertension often bring physical and mental pain together. Through developing emotional regulation and helping to reduce stress, VM can be used as an alternative medicine in combination with the conventional therapies now used for treating this condition. The aim of the study was to evaluate how VM alters key health measures, including body weight, blood pressure and sugar levels, pulse rate, body mass index (BMI), and emotional state. It also sought to identify changes in emotional spectrum of reactions, such as fear, expectations, and concern before/after the 10-day VM camp. A pre-experimental study was done at Khadavli Vipassana Center, from which time it admitted 156 first-time participants. After excluding four participants, the final sample size was 152. Health indices were assessed before and after the meditation using standard tools, while the emotional spectrum was ascertained with a unstructured questionnaire. Paired samples t-tests and analysis of the content of emotional responses were conducted on the data. There were significant improvements in physical health: the participants' mean weight decreased by 0.8 kg, BMI dropped 0.3 kg/m², and their systolic and diastolic readings were slightly reduced. This was accompanied with reduced random blood sugar (by 8.8 mg/dl). Oxygen saturation (SpO2) increased by 0.92%. Emotional responses demonstrated a marked reduction in fear and a corresponding increase in positive affect, including enhanced feelings of peace and well-being, observed upon completion of the 10-day intervention period. People said that they had found peace of mind and taken away stress. VM has a significant impact on the physical health system and psychological health, which suggests that it may be not only useful in relieving chronic illness but also could become an adjunct to standard medical treatment. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 9
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- A systematic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations Psychological Medicine November 27, 2009
- Mental and Physical Health Impacts of Mindfulness Training for College Undergraduates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Mindfulness September 1, 2023
- Mindfulness-Based Pain Management (MBPM) for Chronic Pain: a Randomized Clinical Trial Mindfulness December 1, 2022
and 4 more in the library