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. 2018 May 7:2018:7275049.
doi: 10.1155/2018/7275049. eCollection 2018.

Wearable Sensors for Measuring Movement in Short Sessions of Mindfulness Sitting Meditation: A Pilot Study

Victor H Rodriguez  1 , Carlos T Medrano  1   2 , Inmaculada Plaza  1   2
Affiliations

Wearable Sensors for Measuring Movement in Short Sessions of Mindfulness Sitting Meditation: A Pilot Study

Victor H Rodriguez et al. J Healthc Eng. .

Abstract

Mindfulness techniques are useful tools in health and well-being. To improve and facilitate formal training, beginners need to know if they are in a stable sitting posture and if they can hold it. Previous monitoring studies did not consider stability during sitting meditation or were specific for longer traditional practices. In this paper, we have extended and adapted previous studies to modern mindfulness practices and posed two questions: (a) Which is the best meditation seat for short sessions? In this way, the applications of stability measures are expanded to meditation activities, in which the sitting posture favors stability, and (b) Which is the most sensitive location of an accelerometer to measure body motion during short meditation sessions? A pilot study involving 31 volunteers was conducted using inertial sensors. The results suggest that thumb, head, or infraclavicular locations can be chosen to measure stability despite the habitual lumbar or sacral region found in the literature. Another important finding of this study is that zafus, chairs, and meditation benches are suitable for short meditation sessions in a sitting posture, although the zafu seems to allow for fewer postural changes. This finding opens new opportunities to design very simple and comfortable measuring systems.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Meditation seats used in the short meditation sessions: (a) chair; (b) zafu; (c) meditation bench.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic location of sensors on the body.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Approximate orientation of the sensor with respect to the Earth's gravity force.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Direction of rotation angles with respect to glasses. Blue arrow = anterior-posterior (Axz); white arrow = left-right (Axy).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Signal before the filter (a) and signal after the filter (b).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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