The body of scientific evidence for Sahaja Yoga has grown over the last few years:

• Asthma research. Dr Ramesh Manocha of the Natural Therapies Unit, Royal Hospital for Women, Australia and others set up a trial to study the effects of Sahaja Yoga meditation. In technical terms, a double blind, randomised controlled trial was conducted. A large group of severe asthma suffers was selected and two groups were established – one practicing Sahaja Yoga meditation and the other a popular relaxation technique. Checks were made at the beginning of the study and then again after 16 sessions of meditation. The study concluded that there are tangible benefits associated with practicing Sahaja Yoga meditation for sufferers of asthma. See (1) below.
• Hot flushes. Hot flushes are very common for women in menopause and are associated with flushed skin, feeling hot and sweating. A pilot study was set up with ten women enrolled for eight weeks of Sahaja Yoga meditation. Their symptoms were recorded before and after the eight weeks and the results were quite astonishing. All women experienced improvements and 90% of them established a 50% improvement while 60% experienced an improvement of 65-70%, which is typically seen in a hormone replacement therapy program! This study was also completed by Dr Ramesh Manocha – see (2) below.  See Sahaja Yoga Medical Research on hot flushes for more details.
• ADHD. Another study conducted at the Natural Therapies Unit in conjunction with the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK showed that Sahaja Yoga meditation can result in significant improvements in ADHD. Twenty six children with ADHD, who were aged between four and twelve, participated in a six week program of Sahaja Yoga Meditation in addition to their usual treatment (i.e. some of them were already receiving medication for ADHD) and these were compared to a control group who received no treatment. It was discovered that children who meditated experienced a significant reduction in attention problems, impulsiveness and hyperactivity, as compared to the control group. See (3) below.

This is just a small sample of studies that have demonstrated that Sahaja Yoga can be very effective in treating diseases without requiring the use of medicines.

References:

(1) Sahaja yoga in the management of moderate to severe asthma: a randomised controlled trial, R Manocha, G B Marks, P Kenchington, D Peters, C M Salome, Thorax 2002

(2) A Preliminary Study of Efficacy and Safety of Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a Treatment for Hot Flushes and Other Symptoms of the Perimenopause, Manocha, M, Semmar B, Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, in press.

(3) Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a Family Treatment Program for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Children, Harrison, L., Rubia, K., Manocha, R., Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2003, 9 (4), 479-497