Bodyfulness VR: Exploring Virtual Reality as a Medium for Somatic Meditative Practices

Within body-centered HCI, growing attention has been given to the body not only as an instrument of the mind but as a source of experience and presence. Dance meditation exemplifies this orientation by fostering mindful connection to the body through spontaneous, unstructured movement. In this context, VR has been widely adopted for structured instruction in static meditation and choreographed dance, yet its potential to foster freer, meditative bodily engagement has received little attention. To address this gap, we collaborated with dance meditators and co-designed Bodyfulness VR, a four-module system supporting (1) somatic awareness, (2) movement exploration, (3) emotional release, and (4) physical relaxation. Using the system as a design probe, we examined how VR could mediate somatic meditative practices. Findings from our user study indicate that VR could lower barriers to dance meditation by reducing self-consciousness and supporting bodily engagement, while movement-guiding affordances may also redirect attention toward task-oriented action, constraining bodily expression. By articulating this tension, our work contributes design implications for balancing structure and openness in VR systems that aim to support somatic mindfulness.