Collective mindfulness: Somatic attention to group and self in meditation practice in Israel

Michal Pagis; Orly Tal

doi:10.1111/1467-8322.12708

Collective mindfulness: Somatic attention to group and self in meditation practice in Israel

Michal Pagis, Orly Tal

Anthropology Today April 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/1467-8322.12708 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract

Characteristics	Ethnography Peer reviewed
Population	Israeli practitioners of body-based mindfulness in Vipassana meditation settings, including group and virtual sittings and app users
Topics	Meditation
Citations	6
Key findings	Argues that mindfulness, though portrayed as solitary, is sustained by an intersubjective social space in which others shift from audience to bodily co-dwellers. Virtual settings paradoxically expose social identities while limiting embodied synchronization, and these spaces serve as liminoid sanctuaries offering relief from political and economic stress.

Abstract

Mindfulness is commonly portrayed as a solitary practice in which one turns attention inward to notice feelings, thoughts and sensations that arise in the mind and body. Yet the training and practice of mindfulness often take place in a group setting, indicating that the process of turning inward is dependent on an intersubjective space. Based on an extended ethnography of Israelis who train in body‐based mindfulness in the context of Vipassana meditation practice, we analyze collective mindfulness spaces, including group sittings, virtual group sittings and the use of mindfulness applications. We show that mindfulness offers a unique kind of togetherness. It opposes direct social engagement while still offering a supportive social space where others move from an audience to bodily co‐dwellers. We track the tensions in replicating this form of togetherness in virtual settings, where, paradoxically, the physical distance ends up exposing people's social identities while still limiting embodied synchronization. We illustrate how the social spaces of mindfulness serve as liminoid sanctuaries beyond everyday social‐interactive life, providing relief from the political and economic stress in which Israelis live.

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 3

Cites 1

The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003