Year: 2026 | Month: February | Volume: 16 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 228-237
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20260226
Health Benefits of the Isha Samyama Sadhana Meditation Programme: A Scoping Review
Selvaraj Giridharan1, Mrunmai Godbole2
1Consultant Oncologist, Department of Medical Oncology, Tawam Hospitals, Al Ain, UAE
2Assistant Professor of Yoga, Department of Psychology, School of liberal Arts and Social Sciences, JSPM University, Pune, India
Corresponding Author: Dr. Selvaraj Giridharan
ABSTRACT
Background: Samyama, an advanced eight-day residential meditation programme delivered by the Isha Foundation, integrates the classical yogic processes of dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi, preceded by rigorous preparation encompassing a vegan diet and foundational yoga practices. Despite growing interest in intensive contemplative interventions, empirical evidence regarding Samyama's health effects remains limited. This scoping review maps the extent and nature of research on the Isha Samyama programme, synthesising findings across psychological, physiological, neurophysiological, genomic, lipidomic, and microbiome domains to evaluate preliminary implications for mental and physical health.
Methods: Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched from January 2015 to October 2025. Following duplicate removal and screening, six observational studies were included.
Results: Consistent beneficial effects emerged. Psychological outcomes included reduced depression, anxiety, and stress, with enhanced mindfulness, vitality, resilience, and non-attachment. Physiological benefits comprised persistently lower systemic inflammation, improved glycaemic and lipid profiles, and acute endocannabinoid-like lipid shifts. Neurophysiological changes involved increased salience-default mode network connectivity and trait/state relaxed alertness. Genomic analysis revealed transient robust antiviral immune activation without proinflammatory excess. Microbiome shifts demonstrated sustained enrichment in beneficial genera three months post-programme.
Conclusion: Emerging evidence suggests that Samyama is associated with multidimensional health benefits, potentially offering a promising non-pharmacological intervention for stress-related and inflammatory conditions. However, observational designs and the shared cohort limit causal inference. Randomised controlled trials are needed to confirm efficacy and disentangle underlying mechanisms.
Key words: Samyama, Isha Yoga, meditation, contemplative neuroscience, mental health, inflammation, microbiome, lipidomics