@article{Schooler2025,
       author = "Schooler, Rachel and Ravenhall Meinke, Geoffrey",
       title =  {{Situated Contemplation: How Groups and Place Influence Yoga and Meditation Experiences}},
       howpublished = "\url{https://ir.hamilton.edu/do/f10d09fc-7807-4da0-a5dd-6e0890300689}",
       institution = {Hamilton College},
       year = 2025,
       month = aug,
       school = {Sociology},
}

Creator

Date

August 20th, 2025

Description

This study dissects the influence of groups and individual settings amongst different places on people’s contemplative practices, mainly yoga and meditation. Through interviews, we found that these factors play a converging role. We propose 4 key patterns: 1. Practicing in a group has the benefit of community, motivation, and a spiritual energy from other practitioners; however, it can yield to undesired competition and social comparison. 2. The place of the yoga studio can influence people’s experience. People connected the place to who was there. 3. Practicing alone is less competitive and more focused on personal needs. However, the lack of structure can make people feel disorganized. 4. Places for individual practice were often specific, conditioned places filled with meaningful and sacred objects. To conclude, we address possible implications of our study and suggestions for future research.

Type of Work

• Research Paper

Institution

Hamilton College

Area of Study

• Sociology

Advisor

Sponsor

• Levitt Public Affairs Center

Series

Levitt Research Fellows Program

Part of Collection

Levitt Public Affairs Center

Rights Statement

The copyright for this work is held by its creators and Hamilton College. More information