People have been coming together to meditate or pray for centuries. Today, group meditations are becoming more and more common. Beyond the benefits of personal meditation, many meditators also enjoy the power of collective meditation, involving a group of people meditating together. During collective meditation, each person is integrated into the collective group.

The Benefits and Impact of Collective Meditation

In Sahaja, collective meditation means that individual meditators leverage the power of meditating together with a large group of meditators in the same session, led by one of our instructors.

Power

Gabrielle Bernstein, New York Times bestselling author and speaker explains, “Meditating in a group is very powerful. The shared intention of the group elevates each individual. When one or more gather with the intention to heal and grow, great shifts occur. The group’s collective energy has a massive impact on the world.”

Connection

Group meditations are useful to strengthen your sense of connection to others and feel supported by a larger group with similar goals. In the fast-paced world seemingly full of connections, many of us spend much of our time alone. While many of us are uber-connected via social media and instant communication, we are ultimately sending these tweets and texts alone. Isn’t it true that practically everything is better when shared?

Habit

Just knowing that others are there, even if you are simply meeting in the cloud, can help you establish a habit. Sometimes when we set an intention for our own practice, it is easy to let other things get in the way. When we connect with others, we are more likely to stick with it.

According to Steve Ross, the yogi who helped Dr. Oz learn to meditate, “The fundamental reason why group meditation works well, especially for beginners, is that the group dynamic uplifts and empowers everyone present. This doesn’t require belief, just observation and experience.”

Change

In 1988, a group of people in Merseyside, England set an intention to come together every day – twice a day – to meditate as a group for the betterment of community safety. The impact was studied and tracked in an experiment entitled Study 33. Interestingly, over the years, the community of Merseyside began to have the lowest crime rate in all of England. In addition to reducing crime, their economic health increased, and there were substantial savings for the local government.

Change is possible.

Led by a seasoned Sahaja practitioner, new meditators can learn from their experience, while longtime meditators can learn through teaching. Beginners and advanced practitioners alike can benefit from the motivation of a committed group.