Holistic Health
The Subtle Science of Inner Healing
Though beneficial in many ways, mainstream medicine often fails at in-depth and long-term treatment of psychosomatic and psychiatric disorders because it addresses symptoms rather than causes, and treats these separately rather than in the context of the whole organism.
Shri Mataji studied medicine for several years until political events after the partition of India compelled her to abandon it. Coming from a holistic tradition that acknowledged the connection between spirituality and health, she devoted time to meditation and to observing the impact of meditation on the mind and the body.
In this process, she not only rediscovered a subtle energetic system of channels and nerve plexuses that governs the human body, but also realized the key to this system: a nourishing, feminine energy referred to in ancient Indian scriptures as Kundalini. Shri Mataji studied human behavior and its effects on this energy and the subtle system. She saw how imbalanced behavior could lead to physical, mental or emotional extremes, resulting in ill health.
Shri Mataji emphasized that though having curative benefits, the purpose of Sahaja Yoga is not to cure but to awaken this energy and awareness in people through self-realization.
In her conferences, Shri Mataji presented this internal energy system as a hypothesis, encouraging the public not to accept it blindly but to test it with an open mind. As a result, a growing number of medical doctors and scientists practicing Sahaja Yoga and witnessing important improvements in their personal health conditions have conducted studies in different countries and scientific contexts – all published in peer-reviewed medical journals.
Dr. Ramesh Manocha, an Australian General Practitioner and Research Fellow in the Natural Therapies Unit of the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney, has reported convincing results on the effects of Sahaja Yoga meditation in the treatment and prevention of disorders including hypertension, menopause-related disorders[1], stress-related symptoms[2], ADHD[3]and asthma[4]. The mental silence established during Sahaja Yoga meditation is according to Dr. Manocha “associated with a unique pattern of physiological activity.”
He specifies that among multiple meditation methods and relaxation techniques, only Sahaja Yoga Meditation proved to be efficient in terms of therapeutic effects.
In 1996, Shri Mataji founded The International Sahaja Yoga Research and Health Centre in Belapur, near Mumbai, India. The clinic continues to serve local as well as international patients who receive diagnosis and treatment with Sahaja Yoga techniques in addition to traditional ayurvedic and allopathic medical care. Meditation treatment in the Health Centre was associated with significant improvements in quality of life, anxiety reduction and blood pressure control compared to conventional western medicine.[5]
Shri Mataji described the human subtle system as an inverted tree which has its roots in the brain and the branches and fruits in the body. The roots of the energy system in the body lie in the brain and absorb the cosmic spiritual energy to nourish the branches of the tree. These constant feedback processes between the subtle system in the brain and the energy centers in the body during meditation culminate in progressive balance and integration of body and mind. To keep this tree healthy and strong, we have to turn our attention to the roots, which are in the brain, and this can be achieved through Sahaja Yoga meditation practice.