When your schedule is overbooked and you feel overworked, all-nighters can get anyone stressed out of their minds. You may even feel like you need a breather or else you’ll explode. Luckily, there are ways to cool down, relax and get a clear mind right here at Georgia State. Enter: the Sahaja Meditation Club.
Sahaja Yoga is a unique method of meditation based on an experience called self-realization, or Kundalini awakening, that can occur within each human being. According to Sahaja Yoga International, the Kundalini is an energy located at the base of the spine. This form of meditation differs from other forms because it focuses more on spirituality and how to get to the highest amount of “inner energy” possible. It seeks to help the body become more balanced and efficient.
The organization’s faculty advisor Ruchi Bhatnagar personally lives by this form of meditation and has been practicing since 1997. Bhatnagar feels that meditation is integral to academic success with the prevalence of modern stress.
“Everybody on the Georgia State campus [has] stress as an integral part of our [lives],” Bhatnagar said. ”We are always running to achieve the max deadline and there is always so much work and there is no break from it but it’s important for us to mentally calm down, relax and feel a few minutes of silence within.”
The Sahaja Meditation Club took notice of the stress that anyone can have whether it be faculty, student or staff. The club’s main focus is to help work through stressful situations in a positive manner.
The organization isn’t new. It was founded in 2011 by Yash Pakala, a student at the time in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, who wanted to provide students an opportunity to achieve inner bliss.
The club meditates every Friday in Student Center East at 6 p.m., no prior sign-up required. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, simply come prepared with a yoga mat and desire to open your Kundalini.
Each class begins by telling participants a history of the yoga practice before starting the meditation session. The instructors provide a detailed description of the steps and mantra that go along with each pose. But students shouldn’t feel discouraged if they can’t attend in person. Sahaja Yoga meditation can be performed in the comfort of your own home or even chair.
