No. There’s no “certification” process for our instructors.  The growth of an individual using Sahaja meditation is a living, dynamic, and evolutionary process. It happens within the person at the subtlest level and does not lend itself to establishing standards or qualifications.  However, our instructors have typically been Sahaja practitioners for many years and feel a deep desire to voluntarily share Sahaja Yoga with others.  The knowledge they share comes from a combination of their own meditation experience as well as familiarity with Sahaja books, websites, videos, etc.  Some were even fortunate enough to learn directly from Sahaja’s founder, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi during her lifetime.  At the end of the day, each practitioner, whether new or experienced, must ultimately rely on their own deepening ability to know what’s right for them.  Our instructors are more like guides along the way.  They’ll be the first to encourage new practitioners to develop themselves independently, even though the collective class experience has its own benefits.   

Yes!  Our practitioners are always willing to help and answer any questions. If you live near a class site and can attend, you’d be able to meet and talk in person with an instructor.  If you can’t attend a class, there are still ways for you to get in touch with a practitioner by contacting us .  Keep in mind that all our instructors are volunteer practitioners, so they may not be able to respond immediately, but they will do their best to help you in every way they can.

It is helpful to have a mentor, but not entirely necessary. With Sahaja Yoga meditation you can be your own teacher.  The meditation unlocks the pure knowledge which is within each of us.  Intuitively we begin to know what is right and what is wrong.  You feel which techniques work for you and which don’t.   But, at the same time, you will always benefit greatly from the experience of others.  Through group meditation, local classes (link), and contact with those who practice Sahaja Yoga, you can get support—your questions can be answered and your growth can be accelerated.

Sahaja Yoga meditation is spiritual in nature. There are facets of all the major religions that match seamlessly with the qualities of our chakras . Because of this, Sahaja Yoga acknowledges and celebrates many teachings of religious founders, such as the Prophet Mohammed, Buddha, Jesus Christ, and more. Many practitioners find that Sahaja Yoga strengthens their own religious beliefs, since the Kundalini energy gives us a direct experience of the love and presence of God.  With a newfound spiritual context for their own beliefs, many practitioners spontaneously widen those beliefs to include the teachings of the other major religions. 

The term “yoga” means “yoke,” which refers to the union of one’s individual energy with the divine energy all around us.  Thanks to the awakening of our Kundalini, this union happens spontaneously with Sahaja Yoga meditation.   There are many other kinds of yoga, such as those involving postures.  Most of those practices have their roots in ancient Eastern traditions, where the goal was also uniting with the divine power.  Some of those practices retain that goal, although in the West, many focus more on proper physical alignment within poses or connection with one’s breath. If one’s goal is to experience the true “yoga,” Sahaja Yoga meditation is a safe and effective way to do so.  It is performed without any physical demands on our bodies.

There are several ways one can work on their own chakra blockages.  With your attention or your hand on the chakra, you can say an affirmation relating to the chakra’s specific spiritual quality.  You can also recite mantras associated with the chakra.  Another way is to place your right hand close to the chakra and make clockwise circles (the natural spin direction of a balanced chakra).  For more details on these methods as well as to learn other specific techniques, it is helpful to attend a group class or ask for help from a practitioner of Sahaja Yoga.

Find a comfortable, quiet place in your home or outside in nature.  Sit on a chair with the spine straight, or sit comfortably on the floor or ground with your legs crossed.  The idea is not to be too rigid or too loose—just be comfortable so that you can meditate without being distracted by the body.  An experienced instructor can help you learn the affirmations used to balance the chakras and channels.  Until you learn them, you can just sit with your hands open on your lap with the palms facing upward.  Ask your Kundalini to rise and help you become thoughtlessly aware.  You can also awaken your Kundalini and then try other guided online meditations .

Sahaja Yoga meditation is completely safe to practice with no known adverse effects.  The awakening of the Kundalini energy within us is a spontaneous, natural event that every human being was uniquely designed for.  The effect of this awakening, and the meditative state it brings, has been described as peaceful, joyful, and free.

While mindfulness can be a useful tool to promote wellness and relaxation, it is different from meditation.  With mindfulness, one passively observes one’s thoughts.  With true meditation, there are no thoughts to watch at all. It is a state of complete mental silence.  Some people find practicing mindfulness helpful to calm the mind before they reach mental silence.  Specifically in Sahaja Yoga meditation, the Kundalini allows mental silence to occur spontaneously and effortlessly, while  mindfulness involves continuous concentrated activity.  Sahaja Yoga also has the benefit of gradually transforming us, with continued practice, into joyful, peaceful beings as our chakras become nourished and strengthened.

The best way to benefit is to allocate time to practice your meditation at home daily. It may be difficult at first as you figure out where a daily meditation fits into your lifestyle, but without a daily practice, you are not going to be able to realize the full potential of your personal evolution.  Meditating once in a while may work to temporarily reduce stress, which is surely useful, but the real growth happens gradually over time with sustained practice.  Instead of using meditation to calm down after a stressful situation, daily practitioners may no longer perceive the situation as stressful to begin with.  In addition, we sometimes find that newcomers to the practice want to read about Sahaja Yoga more than they want to sit and meditate.  Gaining conceptual knowledge is useful and recommended to some extent, but it is not going to “fast track” a person to higher levels of consciousness. That can only come through meditation practice.  It is worth the effort!