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It has been suggested that Yuvashakti be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2006.

Sahaja Yoga (Sahaja meaning born with and Yoga meaning union) is a type of meditation, religion and yoga, created by a woman named Shri Mataji in 1970. The term Sahaja Yoga is also used to refer to the Sahaja Yoga International (Vishwa Nirmala Dharma) movement which she founded.

The practice is internationally popular, having spawned meditation centers in multiple countries, and its own television show. It was also notably once taught to prisoners at Rikers Island It has also come under criticism for having many cult-like elements. Many followers meditate directly on a picture of the founder, and many ex-members of the group, as well as academics, cite negative elements to the group such as a preoccupation with money, and "us vs. them" tactics to silence dissent.

Beliefs

Followers believe that there are seven energy points, or chakaras, on the body that can be balanced by awakening the kundalini, a normally dormant energy which exists in every human being. When self-realization is achieved, a person will feel a cool breeze on top of their head. If there is a feeling of burning, then the body has not achieved such balance. Sahaja Yoga claims to provide an easier method of attaining this state than other traditional methods such as Hatha Yoga.

Sahaja Yoga in medicine

There are case studies in which practitioners of Sahaja Yoga methods were tested in attempts to overcome diseases such as ADHD, asthma, and epilepsy.

In the test group practicing Sahaja Yoga meditation, it was found that there was a "significant improvement in VCS (Visual Contrast Sensitivity)", It was noted that Sahaja Yoga meditation appeared to bring about changes in some of the electrophysiological responses studied in epileptic patients. Other studies also show that Sahaja Yoga meditation results in fewer and less acute seizures

Results showed short-term effects on asthma: conclusions of the study found "Sahaja Yoga does have limited beneficial effects on some objective and subjective measures of the impact of asthma."

In the studies made, Sahaja Yoga was found to be more effective than generic forms of meditation in the reduction of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Sahaja Yoga International (Vishwa Nirmala Dharma)

Vishwa Nirmala Dharma or Sahaja Yoga International is an international nonprofit organization and new religious movement established in 1970 by Shri Mataji Nirmala Srivastava to teach Sahaja Yoga meditation. According to members, it has centers in over 75 countries.

Facilities

The Sahaja Yoga International organization maintains various yoga-related facilities, including:

• An international hospital in Bombay, India, the Sahaja Yoga International Health and Research Centre, which uses Sahaja Yoga methods. This hospital claims to have been successful in curing incurable diseases such as high blood pressure, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis.
• The International Sahaja Public School (ISPS) in Dharamsala, India
• The Vishwa Nirmal Prem Ashram, Delhi, a project for the rehabilitation of destitute women and orphaned children, which opened in 2003
• The Shri P. K. Salve Kala Pratishthan, an academy of Indian Classical Music and Fine Arts, Vaitarna (Maharashtra)

Activities

Activities of Vishwa Nirmala Dharma include:

• Free weekly meditation programs.
• Inner city programs and free drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs featuring Sahaja Yoga.
• Free Sahaja Yoga meditation programs in work environments, such as the National Institute of Health in Washington, DC, Twentieth Century Fox studios in Los Angeles, California, Motorola, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, Nortel Networks in Dallas, Texas; in hospitals; and in schools and colleges .
• Patronage of the arts, through creation of the Theater of Eternal Values, Poetry Enlightened, and other projects, and through use of Sahaja Yoga.
• The performance and recording of Indian and Indian-based spiritual music through groups such as Music of Joy (Australia), Nirmal Bhakti (Switzerland), many of whose members have trained at the Shri P.K.Salve Kala Pratishthan in Vaitarna.
• Radio Programs in Sydney and other parts of Australia.

Criticism

Some ex-members assert that the organization is a "cult which aims to control the minds of its members".

References

1. An Unlikely Source for Meditative Study - Queen's tribune online
2. Virginia University information on cults
3. Harrison, L.J., Manocha R., Rubia, K. "Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a Family Treatment Programme for Children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder", Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2004;9(4):479-497. URL:
4. Manocha, R. "Sahaja yoga in asthma", Thorax 2003;58:825-826. URL:
5. Manocha R, Marks G.B., Kenchington P., Peters D., Salome C.M. "Sahaja yoga in the management of moderate to severe asthma: a randomized controlled trial", Thorax 2003;57:110-115. URL:
6. Ramaratnam S., Sridharan K. "Yoga for epilepsy", Cochrane Database Syst Review 2000;(3):CD001524
7. Panjwani U., Selvamurthy W., Singh S.H., Gupta H.L., Mukhopadhyay S., Thakur L. "Effect of Sahaja yoga meditation on auditory evoked potentials (AEP) and visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) in epileptics", Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 2000;25(1):1-12
8. Panjwani U, Selvamurthy W, Singh SH, Gupta HL, Thakur L, Rai UC. Effect of sahaja yoga practice on seizure control & EEG changes in patients of epilepsy. Indian J Med Res 1996;103: 165-72.
9. Project description
10. "Shri Who Must Be Obeyed" Article from The Independent, July 13, 2001.

External links

• Sahaja Yoga - official website
• The Beginning of Sahaja Yoga video
• Woman's Hour BBC radio program] questions and answers by Nirmala Srivastava and two ex-members.
• Timeline
• Medical research literature on Sahaja Yoga meditation
• The Light of Sahaja Yoga online international newspaper
• Roman prison will begin offering meditation and yoga to inmates Mirror of an article appearing in Ansa
• Say 'No' to Drugs, Turn To Sahaja Yoga for Help Article in the Times of India

• Facts on Sahaja Yoga

• Articles to be merged from October 2006
• New religious movements
• Yoga
• Religious organizations
• Spirituality
• Meditation