Mindfulness is a skill of paying deliberate, non-judgemental attention to your body, feelings, thoughts and surroundings in the present moment. The word comes from the Pali term sati, central to Buddhist meditation, and secular forms draw on Theravada, Chan and Tibetan practices. Since the 1970s and 1980s, clinicians such as Jon Kabat-Zinn, Zindel Segal and Mark Williams built mindfulness into health programmes and psychotherapy. Clinical studies have since reported mental and physical health benefits, though early research was criticised for weak methods.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.