Research

About Our Scientific Approach

The Sadhguru Center uses scientific approaches to integrate medical and contemplative sciences to improve brain health and general well-being. Our team conducts research that employs both clinical and mindfulness-based interventions such as multimodal intraoperative general anesthesia, and opioid-sparing effective pain control in the postoperative period to improve post-operative outcomes, particularly related to cognitive decline and delirium that often occur in aged patients.

The Center's work will provide insight into how consciousness, cognition and compassion are aided by meditative practices. With the aid of enhanced functional MRI (fMRI) tools developed over the last decade, there has been a substantial increase in research conducted on how meditative practices change the brain size and neural network connectivity. There are ongoing clinical studies conducted in the Center that explore how meditative practices affect consciousness and cognition, as well as emotional well-being. Work is also underway to create a database of people who have integrated meditation into their daily routine with the goal of evaluating long-term benefits of regular meditation on emotional well-being. Combined, these approaches will help elucidate how meditative practices influence the potential physiological changes.

Ongoing Clinical Trials 

Publications 

  1. Isha Kriya reduces anxiety and depression within 2 weeks of practice. Hariri S, Vishnubhotla RV, Reed PU, Rayapuraju A, Orui H, Balachundhar P, Sadhasivam S, Subramaniam B. Online guided meditation training (Isha Kriya) improves self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression within 2 weeks of practice-An observational study. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Sep 23;13:944973. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.944973. PMID: 36213913; PMCID: PMC9539931.
  2. Impact of One-Time Guided Meditation (Isha Kriya) on Stress & Mood Disturbances. Rangasamy, V., Thampi Susheela, A., Mueller, A., F. H. Chang, T., Sadhasivam, S., & Subramaniam, B. (2019). The effect of a one-time 15-minute guided meditation (Isha Kriya) on stress and mood disturbances among operating room professionals: a prospective interventional pilot study. F1000Research, 8, 335. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.18446.1
  3. Yogic Breathing (Isha Kriya and Simha Kriya) Techniques & COVID-19 Related Stress. Rain, M., Subramaniam, B., Avti, P., Mahajan, P., & Anand, A. (2021). Can Yogic Breathing Techniques Like Simha Kriya and Isha Kriya Regulate COVID-19-Related Stress? Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.635816

  4. Simha Kriya & Isha Kriya for Covid Patients and Health Care Workers. Rain, M., Puri, G. D., Bhalla, A., Avti, P., Subramaniam, B., Kaushal, V., Srivastava, V., Mahajan, P., Singh, M., Pandey, N., Malhotra, P., Goel, S., Kumar, K., Sachdeva, N., Maity, K., Verma, P., Dixit, N., Gupta, S. J., Mehra, P., Nadholta, P., … Anand, A. (2022). Effect of breathing intervention in patients with COVID and healthcare workers. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 945988. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.945988

  5. Reducing Distress Related to Covid-19 Pandemic with Simha Kriya. Wagner, R. W., Mallaiah, S., Anderson, C. R., Engle, R., Vasu, V., Bruera, E., Subramaniam, B., Cohen, L., Narayanan, S. Effects of the Brief Simha Kriya Breathing Practice for Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine. 2024 Mar 28. https://doi.org/10.1089/jicm.2023.0692

  6. Yoga Breathing Techniques (Simha Kriya) for Health Care Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic. Narayanan, S., Tennison, J., Cohen, L., Urso, C., Subramaniam, B., & Bruera, E. (2021). Yoga-Based Breathing Techniques for Health Care Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic: Interests, Feasibility, and Acceptance. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 27(8), 706–709. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2020.0536

  7. Integrating Upa-Yoga (Nadi Shuddhi) in the Classroom and the Impacts to Emotional Regulation. Nagpal, M., Lin, T. J., Park, H., Anderman, E., Bihari, T., Madrid, L., Ford, J., & Subramaniam, B. (2024). Technology-enhanced mindfulness-based collaborative social reasoning to improve adolescents’ social-emotional competencies. Journal of Research on Adolescence. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12971

  8. Upa Yoga (Nadi Shuddhi and Yoga Namaskar) for Student Mental Health & Well-Being. Chang, T. F. H., Ley, B. L., Ramburn, T. T., Srinivasan, S., Hariri, S., Purandare, P., & Subramaniam, B. (2022). Online Isha Upa Yoga for student mental health and well-being during COVID-19: A randomized control trial. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12341

  9. Impact of Yoga (Inner Engineering) on Individuals’ COVID-19 Response. Upadhyay, P., Narayanan, S., Khera, T., Kelly, L., Mathur, P., Shanker, A., Novack, L., Sadhasivam, S., Hoffman, K., Pérez-Robles, R., & Subramaniam, B. (2021). Perceived stress, resilience, well-being, and COVID-19 response in Isha yoga practitioners compared to matched controls: A research protocol. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 22, 100788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100788

  10. Inner Engineering Online Program for Reducing Stress. Upadhyay, P., Chang, T. F. H., Hariri, S., Rallabandi, S., Yathavakilla, S., Novack, V., & Subramaniam, B. (2022). The Effect of Inner Engineering Online (IEO) Program on Reducing Stress for Information Technology Professionals: A Randomized Control Study. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2022, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/9001828

  11. Inner Engineering Online Program for Well-being & Positive Work Outcomes. Chang, T., Ramburn, T. T., Pundir, S., Purandare, P., & Subramaniam, B. (2022). The Effect of the Inner Engineering Online Program as a Positive Intervention on Subjective Well-Being and Positive Work Outcomes. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 28(3), 278–282. https://doi.org/10.1089/jicm.2021.0180

  12. Inner Engineering Completion Online Program on Stress & Well-Being. Upadhyay, P., Joshi, A., Mishra, I., Kelly, L., Novack, L., Hariri, S., Kveraga, K., & Subramaniam, B. (2022). Short Term Effects of Inner Engineering Completion Online Program on Stress and Well-Being Measures. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.814224

  13. Yoga & Meditation (BSP) associated with Cannabimimetic Effects & Mental Health. Sadhasivam, S., Alankar, S., Maturi, R., Vishnubhotla, R. V., Mudigonda, M., Pawale, D., Narayanan, S., Hariri, S., Ram, C., Chang, T., Renschler, J., Eckert, G., & Subramaniam, B. (2020). Inner Engineering Practices and Advanced 4-day Isha Yoga Retreat Are Associated with Cannabimimetic Effects with Increased Endocannabinoids and Short-Term and Sustained Improvement in Mental Health: A Prospective Observational Study of Meditators. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2020, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8438272

  14. Meditation (Samyama) & Vegan Diet’s Effect on Gut Microbiome. Raman, M., Vishnubhotla, R., Ramay, H. R., Gonçalves, M. C. B., Shin, A. S., Pawale, D., Subramaniam, B., & Sadhasivam, S. Isha yoga practices, vegan diet, and participation in Samyama meditation retreat: impact on the gut microbiome & metabolome – a non-randomized trial. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 23(1), 107. 2023 Apr 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-023-03935-8

  15. Advanced Meditation (Samyama), Vegan Diet, & Blood Lipid Levels. Vishnubhotla, R. V., Wood, P. L., Verma, A., Cebak, J. E., Hariri, S., Mudigonda, M., Alankar, S., Maturi, R., Orui, H., Subramaniam, B., Palwale, D., Renschler, J., & Sadhasivam, S. (2022). Advanced Meditation and Vegan Diet Increased Acylglycines and Reduced Lipids Associated with Improved Health: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1089/jicm.2022.0480

  16. Meditation (Samyama) to Boost Immunity—Evidence from Gene Expression. Chandran, V., Bermúdez, M. L., Koka, M., Chandran, B., Pawale, D., Vishnubhotla, R., Alankar, S., Maturi, R., Subramaniam, B., & Sadhasivam, S. (2021). Large-scale genomic study reveals robust activation of the immune system following advanced Inner Engineering meditation retreat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(51). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2110455118

  17. Advanced Meditation (Samyama) Program to Improve Mental & Physical Health. Sadhasivam, S., Alankar, S., Maturi, R., Williams, A., Vishnubhotla, R. V., Hariri, S., Mudigonda, M., Pawale, D., Dubbireddi, S., Packiasabapathy, S., Castelluccio, P., Ram, C., Renschler, J., Chang, T., & Subramaniam, B. (2021). Isha Yoga Practices and Participation in Samyama Program are Associated with Reduced HbA1c and Systemic Inflammation, Improved Lipid Profile, and Short-Term and Sustained Improvement in Mental Health: A Prospective Observational Study of Meditators. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.659667

  18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.745344Advanced Meditation (Samyama) & Resting-State Brain Network Connectivity. Vishnubhotla, R. V., Radhakrishnan, R., Kveraga, K., Deardorff, R., Ram, C., Pawale, D., Wu, Y. C., Renschler, J., Subramaniam, B., & Sadhasivam, S. (2021). Advanced Meditation Alters Resting-State Brain Network Connectivity Correlating With Improved Mindfulness. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.745344

  19. Barriers to Compassionate Care in the Intensive Care Unit. Siddiqui, S., Mohamed, E., Johansson, A., Rock, L., Hartog, C., & Subramaniam, B. (2023). Understanding the Intricacies of Delivering Compassionate Care in the Intensive Care Unit and What Hinders It: A Qualitative Study of Members of 2 Critical Care Societies. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 137(1), 162–168. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000006295

  20. Perceptions of Compassionate Care within Intensivists. Siddiqui, S., Mohamed, E., Subramaniam, B., Orui, H., Nurok, M., Cobas, M. A., Nunnally, M. E., Hartog, C., Gillon, R., & Lown, B. A. (2022 Sep 22). Intensivists’ perceptions of what is missing in their compassionate care during interactions in the intensive care unit. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1188. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08584-0

  21. Consciousness, Cognition, and Compassion. Subramaniam, B., Chang, T. F. H., & Sadhasivam, S. (2022). Editorial: Consciousness, cognition, and compassion. Frontiers in Psychology, 13:998315. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.998315