Body image/body schema (BIBS) is within the larger realm of embodied cognition. Its interdisciplinary literature can
inspire Virtual Reality (VR) researchers and designers to develop novel ideas and provide them with approaches to
human perception and experience. In this paper, we introduced six fundamental ideas in designing interactions in VR,
derived from BIBS literature that demonstrates how the mind is embodied. We discuss our own research, ranging from
two mature works to a prototype, to support explorations VR interaction design from a BIBS approach. Based on our
experiences, we argue that incorporating ideas of embodiment into design practices requires a shift in the perspective or
understanding of the human body, perception and experiences, all of which affect interaction design in unique ways. The
dynamic, interactive and distributed understanding of cognition guides our approach to interaction design, where the
interrelatedness and plasticity of BIBS play a crucial role.
The research program aims to explore and examine the fine balance necessary for maintaining the interplays between
technology and the immersant, including identifying qualities that contribute to creating and maintaining a sense of
"presence" and "immersion" in an immersive virtual reality (IVR) experience. Building upon and extending previous
work, we compare sitting meditation with walking meditation in a virtual environment (VE). The Virtual Meditative
Walk, a new work-in-progress, integrates VR and biofeedback technologies with a self-directed, uni-directional
treadmill. As immersants learn how to meditate while walking, robust, real-time biofeedback technology continuously
measures breathing, skin conductance and heart rate. The physiological states of the immersant will in turn affect the
audio and stereoscopic visual media through shutter glasses. We plan to test the potential benefits and limitations of this
physically active form of meditation with data from a sitting form of meditation. A mixed-methods approach to testing
user outcomes parallels the knowledge bases of the collaborative team: a physician, computer scientists and artists.
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