What is the state of meditation? 

Meditation is not a mental activity, but a state of being, where you are fully aware of the present moment. However, this awareness is devoid of thought. The aim of any meditation therefore is to reach a state of mental silence, where the mind is attentive yet calm.  ​

What is Sahaja Yoga meditation? 

Sahaja in Sanskrit means 'born within' and yoga means 'union with self'. Sahaja Yoga meditation is based on ancient knowledge and was developed as a current practice by its founder Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi in 1970. This meditation practice helps become thoughtless by awakening our own inner energy, the Kundalini.

Sahaja Yoga meditation does not require any special clothing or poses. Practitioners who run the meditation classes do so on a voluntary basis to share the benefits they've experienced themselves. Since the foundation of Sahaja Yoga is our own inner energy, the Kundalini, the knowledge and experience of Sahaja Yoga is always 100% free and unconditional. 

What are the benefits of Sahaja Yoga meditation?

A more relaxed state of mind

Rai et al. (n.d.) found that Sahaja Yoga meditation led to a wakeful hypo-metabolic state that decreased sympathetic nervous activity related to the fight or flight response and increased parasympathetic activity that's responsible for rest and relaxation. Regular practice of Sahaja Yoga meditation was also found to reduce one's perceived stress by improving the ability to cope (both subjective as well as behavioural). ​

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Improved attention

A study by Barrós-Loscertales et al. (2021) showed that Sahaja Yoga meditation increased functional connectivity (FC) between ventral and dorsal frontal regions within brain networks related to attention and cognitive control. It reduced FC between the left insula and the bilateral mid-cingulate as well as between the right angular gyrus and the bilateral precuneus/cuneus cortices, leading to weakening of mind wavering. 

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A more positive perspective

A study (Hendriks et al., 2022) surveyed 310 people who practice Sahaja Yoga meditation and found that it helped improve seven signature character strengths relative to non-meditators. These were spirituality, forgiveness, gratitude, self-regulation, teamwork, appreciation of beauty, and hope. ​Additionally, engaging in meditative practice as a part of a group was found to further assist in personal growth. 

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Reduced work related stress

An 8-week study (Black et al., 2011) of 178 adult workers revealed significantly greater improvements in the mental wellbeing of the people following Sahaja yoga meditation.
​The study showed that the the aspect of thoughtless-awareness or mental silence, specific to Sahaja Yoga, was especially
​effective in reducing occupational stress. 

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Reduced academic stress

A study (Hotkar, 2017) of grade eight school girls in India showed that daily Sahaja Yoga meditation practice for six weeks had a significant reduction in the study related
stress of the participants. The study
concluded that a sustained Sahaja Yoga meditation programme would be beneficial
​for schools and students. 

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More control over emotions

An ERP study (Reva et al., 2014) of 20 long term Sahaja Yoga meditators supported the concept that Sahaja Yoga meditation helped in better control of attention and emotions. The evidence showed that it enhanced frontal top-down control over fast automatic salience detection, based on amygdala functions. It helped meditators have more flexible responses to affective challenges.

Source (not publicly available): Reva, N., Pavlov, S., Loktev, K., Korenyok, V., & Aftanas, L. (2014). Influence of long-term Sahaja yoga meditation practice on emotional processing in the brain: An ERP study. Neuroscience, 281, 195-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.09.053