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SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

Articles on this page: To list a few ... 

  • The Benefits of Sahaja Yoga Meditation

  • Skin Temperature changes with Mental Silence

  • Sahaja Yoga Meditation proven to be Highly Effective for Treatment of STRESS & DEPRESSIVE MOOD

  • Studies: Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder - ADHD

  • Meditation (health befits)

For Further Research Studies, please visit: 

RESEARCHING MEDITATION by Dr Ramesh Manocha

http://www.researchingmeditation.org/

Studies carried out on: 
The Benefits of Sahaja Yoga Meditation

There have been extensive studies carried out using the effect of Sahaja Yoga meditation upon general physical wellbeing, as well as upon specific illness. Many of these studies have been written about and published.

 

Listed below are some of the main findings:

  • Highly effective improvement in ADHD and other attention problems (Royal Hospital for Women at Randwick, Sydney, Australia)

  • Studies conducted by the University of Vienna showed highly positive effects on addiction to drugs and alcohol (Hackl, W, “The Effects of Sahaja Yoga on the consumption of drugs. Die Auswirkungen von Sahaja Yoga auf das Drogenkonsumverhalten” PhD thesis presented at the University of Vienna, 1995) 1995).

  • Significant improvements in stress management (Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, Delhi, India)

  • Comparative studies on the treatment of psychosomatic diseases through techniques of Sahaja Yoga (Prof. U.C Rai - Sahaja Yoga Hospital Centre, Mumbai India)

Skin Temperature Changes with Mental Silence

The 'Cool Breeze'proven by Science...

This study demonstrates a skin temperature reduction on the palms of the hands during the experience of mental silence, arising as a result of a single 10 minute session of Sahaja yoga meditation. However when people (non-meditators) were asked to do a simple relaxation exercise, under the same conditions, their skin temperature increased which is the opposite of what occurred for those using the mental silence approach to meditation.

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The outcomes of this study therefore suggest that “thoughtless awareness” may be both experimentally and physiologically different to simple relaxation. Interestingly, all other studies of meditation that have studied skin temperature show changes similar to that of relaxation (ie that skin temperature rises) and none show reductions, adding further scientific weight to the idea that the mental silence definition of meditation may well be the best way to differentiate meditation from relaxation, hypnosis, sleep and other forms of behavior therapy!

http://www.researchingmeditation.org/blog/skin-temperature.html

Sahaja Yoga Meditation Proven Highly Effective For
Treatment of STRESS and DEPRESSIVE MOOD

In one of the most thoroughly designed studies of meditation ever published, full-time workers who used Sahaja Yoga meditation became much less stressed and depressed compared to more conventional approaches to relaxation or even placebo, according to a paper published this week in the online journal Evidence Based Complementary Medicine, a leading publication in its field.

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A team of researchers, at Sydney University’s Meditation Research Programme, monitored stress levels of full-time Australian workers in Sydney’s CBD to determine the effectiveness of meditation in combating this widespread and expensive problem.

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The 8 week clinical trial provides strong evidence that there are measurable,

practical and clinically relevant effects that appear to be specific to Sahaja Yoga meditation.

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The study divided volunteers into three groups. And those who used Sahaja Yoga meditation showed significant reduction in their stress levels compared to those who used other methods of meditation that didn’t involve thoughtless awareness, which usually only generate a placebo effect at best.

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It’s one of only a few meditation studies in the world that clearly demonstrates an effect

that is much greater than just placebo hence it has broad and important implications for all levels of society.

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Work stress is described by many experts as a modern epidemic. It costs the Australian economy $15 billion per year and the US economy more than $300 billion. It is a leading cause of absenteeism, causing both mental health problems such as anxiety and physical problems such as heart disease. Sahaja Yoga can now be confidently put forward as a simple, low cost intervention that can help prevent this.

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The strategies currently available to tackle work stress often have limited effectiveness. This is where this study is remarkably relevant. It shows that a simple, mental silence orientated meditation skill, reduces stress significantly more than other often more expensive approaches to stress management.

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Another remarkable aspect of the study was the impact on depressive mood.

Depression is a major problem in our society, so any low cost intervention that reduces the risk of depression is of great public health significance. This study, along with the evidence from other research that we have done, indicates that strategies such as Sahaja Yoga should be used to prevent some of the major mental health problems that are facing our community.

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A substantial proportion of depression in the community starts as works stress, says recent Australian research. Given the shortage of other options to prevent the mental health epidemic that threatens the younger generation, we should seriously examine the potential of this unique finding to stem the tide of depression that affects our communities.

Stress is not just limited to the workplace. In western countries, studies estimate that more than 70% of medical consultations feature stress as a major issue. Until now medical practitioners have been at a loss to know what to recommend that is safe, effective and scientifically evaluated to tackle this stress.

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This study clearly says that Sahaja Yoga is something that health professionals can

confidently recommend to both prevent and reduce stress.

 

http://www.researchingmeditation.org/blog/sahaja-yoga-meditation-proven-highly-effective-for-treatment-of-stress-and-depressive-mood.html

Studies - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder - ADHD

Title
Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a Family Treatment Programme for Children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

Author
LINDA J. HARRISON Charles Sturt University,Australia, RAMESH MANOCHA University of New South Wales,Australia, KATYA RUBIA Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, UK

Journal
Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 1359–1045

Website: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1359104504046155​
 

Summary
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as a treatment for children diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is widespread, but little is known on the effectiveness of many such therapies.

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This study investigated meditation as a family treatment method for children with ADHD, using the techniques of Sahaja Yoga Meditation (SYM). Parents and children participated in a 6-week programme of twice-weekly clinic sessions and regular meditation at home. Pre- and post-treatment assessments included parent ratings of children’s ADHD symptoms, self-esteem and child–parent relationship quality. Perceptions of the programme were collected via parent questionnaires and child interviews. Results showed improvements in children’s ADHD behaviour, self-esteem and relationship quality. Children described benefits at home (better sleep patterns, less anxiety) and at school (more able to concentrate, less conflict). Parents reported feeling happier, less stressed and more able to manage their child’s behaviour. Indications from this preliminary investigation are that SYM may offer families an effective management tool for family-oriented treatment of childhood ADHD.

www.researchingmeditation.org/studies/adhdstudies

Meditation- Health benefits

About fifteen years ago in India, Professor U.C. Rai accomplished some pioneering work with a technique of meditation called Sahaja Yoga. He was head of the Department of Physiology at Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi. He himself had suffered serious angina attacks and was surprised to find that this technique of meditation seemed to alleviate his medical condition. Professor Rai, impressed by this personal experience, sought to scientifically document the effects of this technique. He set up a multifaceted research project. Part of this was a study on the effects of Sahaja Yoga meditation on chronic illnesses such as epilepsy and asthma.

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Rai’s research team found that regular practice of this technique reduced the frequency, severity and duration of his patients’ epileptic seizures.11 Moreover, when Rai taught another group a mimicking exercise, which resembled but was actually not the real technique, the same improvement did not occur!12 Some years later, we, a handful of health workers in Sydney, came across Rai’s work. The results that he had achieved in conditions ranging from asthma to high blood pressure were very encouraging so we decided to test this technique under scientific conditions here in Australia.

 

This was the beginning of the Meditation Research Program. Our first goal was achieved when we established the Mind-Body Meditation Clinic. This was a non-profit service that offered instruction in meditation to patients looking for a more holistic approach to the treatment of their condition. A wide variety of patients were sent to us with many different problems; most of them chronic conditions for which there was little to offer within the mainstream of medicine. Within a few sessions of instruction most patients reported improvements.

Some of the toughest cases, to our amazement, remitted completely with diligent practice of the technique.

http://www.researchingmeditation.org/meditation-research-summary/sahaja-yoga

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