Embodied Rituals and Healing Practices in Turkish Health Culture: Implications for Contemporary Healthcare Environments
OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine March 2, 2026 Elif Özgen
Movement has historically served as a healing practice tied to meaning-making and social balance. This paper traces the continuity of movement-based performative practices in Turkish health culture, including religious and mystical rituals, folk dances, and music-associated healing traditions. Using a conceptual, historical-comparative, and interpretive framework from performance studies, health anthropology, art therapies, and architectural theory, it examines relationships among ritual, movement, healing, and space. The trajectory from ancient rhythmic body practices to Seljuk and Ottoman hospitals and contemporary complementary health approaches shows continuity of healing through bodily experience and spatial interaction. Ritual components such as rhythm, repetition, breath, and centering can inform design strategies for sensory regulation and emotional balance in wellness spaces. The argument provides a conceptual basis for human-centered, healing-oriented spatial approaches.