Sahaja yoga in asthma
- Natural Therapies Unit, Royal Hospital for Women, Locked Bag 2000, Randwick 2031, Australia; r.manocha{at}unsw.edu.au
Since the publication of our paper on Sahaja yoga in the management of moderate to severe asthma1 we have received a large number of enquiries. One issue that has been raised about the technique used in the study warrants clarification and further acknowledgement.
The Sahaja yoga meditation technique used in the study was not developed by the authors. The technique was taught to subjects in the intervention group by experienced Sahaja yoga practitioners free of charge. The technique itself was developed by yoga expert H H Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi and she permitted the investigators to conduct the study on the following reasonable conditions: (1) that no part of the technique be misrepresented, misappropriated or commercialised by the investigators; (2) that the founder and practitioners of the process be appropriately acknowledged as the true source and custodians of the technique and its associated knowledge; and (3) that it be made clear that the Sahaja yoga technique is, as a matter of policy and philosophical conviction, always made available free of charge.
The authors sincerely regret any misunderstanding that may have led readers or members of the public to believe otherwise. They sincerely and gratefully acknowledge the important and crucial role played by HH Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi and the Sahaja yoga practitioners of Australia in the execution of this study, and sincerely regret not having made more appropriate acknowledgements in the original article.
