In a recent article published in The Journal of Neurophysiology titled "Sensitivity to changes in rate of heartbeats as a measure of interoceptive ability," Larsson et al. (J Neurophysiol 126: 1799-1813, 2021) introduce a new method to evaluate the interoceptive ability and report a surprising tendency in humans to perceive fewer heartbeats during spontaneous increases in resting heart rate....
The purpose of the current review study is to shed light on the relationship between respiration and attention. Specifically, we examined whether and how respiration can provoke alterations in attentional states. Secondly, we investigated the benefits of breath-control training techniques in attention. Furthermore, we explored the effectiveness of virtual reality breathing training in improving...
Meditation has been practised for millennia but the neuroscientific understanding of the dynamics is still lacking. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) is an evidence based breathing based meditation technique that utilizes rhythmic breathing to induce a deep state of relaxation and calm. Multiple studies have found benefits of the SKY technique from genetic, physiological, psychological to behaviour...
Subjective experiences are hard to capture quantitatively without losing depth and nuance, and subjective report analyses are time-consuming, their interpretation contested. We describe Temporal Experience Tracing, a method that captures relevant aspects of the unified conscious experience over a continuous period of time. The continuous multidimensional description of an experience allows us...
Consciousness can be defined as the set of subjective, immediate, or remote knowledge that each being has about the world and himself and sensory perception of sights, sounds, and smells that are close to us. But our consciousness includes many more perceptions; any person, through introspection, is able to perceive through a lot of bodily sensations such as temperature, touch, different...
For decades, altered states of consciousness have been used as a form ofpsychotherapy in transpersonal psychology. Although there are well-known techniquesfor inducing altered states of consciousness, such as holotropic breathwork,neurotechnology provides an alternative method for not only generating these states fortranspersonal therapy but also for measuring the level of a state of...
Transpersonal psychology is the study of human nature that begins with theassumption that humans have potentials that go beyond the limits of their ego andintegrate spiritual experience into a broader understanding of the human psyche andconsciousness. For decades, altered states of consciousness have been used as a form ofpsychotherapy in transpersonal psychology. Although there are well-known...
Philosophy also holds a unique place in ancient Tamil literature. Thus, this study is carried out under the title of Yoga Philosophy in Tamil Literatures - Ancient Tamil Literature in Multiple Perspectives. Yoga is intended in a variety of senses. It is generally stated in most literatures that yoga is the union with the Lord. Some philosophers argue that separation from the world is yoga....
Ethereal Phenomena is an interactive installation in which a user meditates in front of a digital illustration based on Tibetan thangka art that reacts to the way they breathe. The biofeedback of the breath makes the artwork an extension of the user’s body and a reflection of their mind. By combining art, sound, and biofeedback, Ethereal Phenomena becomes a unique meditative experience that...
Yoga is an ancient system for integrating the mind, body, and spirit. In the hatha yoga ashtanga tradition (the eight limb Patanjali Yoga), three of the limbs are meditation, breathwork (pranayama) and physical postures (asana), which are widely practised in yoga classes. The benefits of yoga for mental and physical health are rooted in the practice's origins: in yoga, stress is said to be the...