The Effectiveness of School-Based Sahaja Yoga Meditation in Dealing with Problematic Internet Use Among Adolescents in India.
Sanchita Singh, Navin Kumar, Sadananda Reddy Annapally
International Journal of Yoga Therapy February 17, 2026 DOI: 10.17761/2025-d-24-00061 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental study with pre-post test and waitlist control group Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 119 |
| Population | Students in grades 9 to 11 at a government school in northern India; experimental group mean age 13.00 ± 1.46 years, control group mean age 13.67 ± 1.92 years |
| Intervention | Sahaja Yoga Meditation (SYM) |
| Duration | 12-week program with five 40-minute sessions per week |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Yoga Adaptation, psychological Self concept Internet Adolescent India Female Coping skills |
| Key findings | The Sahaja Yoga Meditation program was associated with significant improvements in self-esteem and adaptive coping and reductions in problematic internet use and maladaptive coping (p < 0.01), with large within-group effect sizes and apparent interaction effects favoring the experimental group over the waitlist control. The authors state the study examined associations rather than causal effects and that further research is needed before clinical recommendations. |
Abstract
In the era of globalization, evolving technologies have become integral to modern life. With the normalization of unrestricted internet access, many young people face harmful impacts from excessive use, which can affect their self-esteem. Adaptive coping strategies may mitigate these effects. The present study examined the effectiveness of the Sahaja Yoga Meditation (SYM) program for improving self-esteem and adaptive coping that may reduce problematic internet use and maladaptive coping. We used a purposive sampling technique to select participants from among 119 students from 9th to 11th grades in a government school in northern India. The study followed a quasiexperimental research design with a pre-post test and a waitlist control group. The experimental group underwent a 12-week SYM program with five 40-minute sessions each week. The experimental group (n = 56) included 26 boys and 30 girls with a mean age of 13.00 ± 1.46. The waitlist control group (n = 63) included 30 boys and 33 girls with a mean age of 13.67 ± 1.92. The experimental group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in self-esteem and adaptive coping and reductions in problematic internet use and maladaptive coping (p < 0.01), with large within-group effect sizes. These findings provide evidence for the efficacy of the SYM intervention, with apparent interaction effects indicating differential gains over the waitlist control group. SYM may hold potential as a scalable approach to support self-esteem, encourage adaptive coping strategies, and reduce problematic internet use among adolescents. However, as the study only examined associations rather than causal effects, further research with more robust designs is required before clinical recommendations can be made.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |