Responses in light, sound and scent: a therapeutic interactive yoga system

We describe an interactive system that uses gesture recognition to enhance the yoga experience through visual, auditory and olfactory feedback. Ancient theories associated with Kundalini yoga provide the theoretical basis for this research. The sensory feedback provided by the Therapeutic Interactive Yoga System promotes an immersive, multisensory experience that corresponds to the system of sensory stimuli outlined by chakra theory. As a user performs yoga, the system monitors the user’s body and responds with colour, sound and scent appropriate to the user’s yoga postures. Testing reveals that the Yoga System succeeds in producing an “enjoyable” and “relaxing” environment — one that seems to enhance the personal, meditative and therapeutic experience of yoga.