Art of Living Reviews

What is the Art of Living Silent Retreat?

October 9, 2021 By Art of Living Leave a Comment

The Art of Living Silent Retreat is a 4-5 day online immersion into the rejuvenating depths of inner silence. Expertly crafted and guided each day live online with certified instructors, you experience a transformative mix of restorative breathwork practices, daily yoga, profound wisdom, silence, and powerful guided meditations. All perfectly designed to provide optimal conditions for sinking deep within, breaking free from mental chatter to experience ultimate mental and physical renewal. You emerge recharged and refreshed, connected to an unshakable well-spring of inner calm, clarity, and joy.

Is silence really that powerful? Yes! The practice of silence—of consciously withdrawing the senses and attention from outer distractions—has been used in different traditions throughout time as a pathway to physical, mental, and spiritual renewal. The Silent Retreats’ unique meditation techniques take you beyond a usually active mind to experience an extraordinary sense of peace and vitality. The retreat is the ultimate vacation for the mind, body, and spirit—an opportunity to experience deep rest, release deep stress and gain enhanced self-awareness and connection.

On a Silent Retreat, you’re free from everyday distractions, to become aware of the nature of the mind, its fluctuations and patterns—and through the structured format of the retreat, you gain profound insight and connection to the awareness that you are more than the mind and its thoughts. It can help you drop limiting beliefs, regrets, and worries, bringing you more fully into the present moment. You discover the ever-present calm that resides within you—a place that provides deep peace and comfort regardless of circumstance.

What to expect: A set of special guided meditations, designed by meditation master, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, geared towards drawing out the deepest layers of stress and tension from the nervous system, leaving you with a feeling of lightness, freedom, energy, and joy. Immersion into practices that powerfully realign and reconnect you with your authentic self. And yoga, silent self-inquiry, wisdom, and live interactive sessions with certified instructors—your journey is expertly taken care of as you watch the busy mind quieten as peace and tranquility unfold.

Just a few days on a guided Silent Retreat can make the rest of your year more alive, productive, and full of energy. You feel centered, ready to take on life with greater focus and joy. Many return to the Silent Retreat annually to release the daily build-up of mental and physical stress accumulated throughout the year, to cleanse the mind-body system, gain fresh perspective, and reconnect to a lasting sense of ease. To learn more about the power of silence, click here or join a free online intro session.

Completion of the SKY Breath Meditation course is a prerequisite to enroll on the Silent Retreat. You can learn more about SKY here.

What is taught at the Art of Living Foundation?

October 9, 2021 By Art of Living Leave a Comment

The Art of Living Foundation is an international, non-profit organization that empowers individuals and communities through transformative, evidence-based techniques—taught via live courses with certified instructors and with opportunities for ongoing mentorship, community, and guided practice through their unique Journey app.

Rooted in ancient tradition and backed by science, the Art of Living Foundation provides the most comprehensive meditation experience available, with effective tools and techniques to alleviate stress and cultivate a powerful sense of well-being—that lasts.

Signature programs include SKY Breath Meditation—the world-renowned, effortless breath-based meditation technique introduced by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Art of Living founder and global spiritual guide, who has dedicated over 40 years to sharing the science and art of inner transformation.

It is an evidence-based practice, documented in over 100 independent, peer-reviewed studies, shown to significantly decrease stress and anxiety and increase physical and mental well-being—all through the science of breathwork. This powerful breath meditation practice works as an instant natural stress reliever, using specific rhythms of the breath to quiet the mind and create effortless meditation. Research has demonstrated that by practicing SKY Breath Meditation, levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, are reduced from the very first session. And there’s more—the practice has shown to increase immune cell count, improve sleep, lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and increase life satisfaction. _^[_{^{View research}}_^] The breathwork techniques enable you to raise your energy, manage your emotions, and find lasting ease.

You can learn SKY Breath Meditation techniques in a live 3-day online course format, guided by certified instructors with real-time feedback, connection to community, and live Q&A—you gain a life-enhancing breathwork technique that works from day one, a practice that has transformed the lives of millions around the world.

To learn more about SKY Breath Meditation, you can join a free live online intro session guided by a certified instructor. Click here to reserve your free spot.

Other signature programs include the Sahaj Samadhi Meditation™ course, a powerful mantra-based technique, and the guided Silent Retreat—an immersive experience into the profound restorative and reenergizing depths of inner silence.

The Art of Living Foundation provides life-enhancing, evidence-based techniques to shift stress, improve well-being, and empower lives.

What are some of the best/top-rated programs at Art of Living Foundation?

October 9, 2021 By Art of Living Leave a Comment

The top-rated programs at the Art of Living Foundation include the world-renowned, evidence-based SKY Breath Meditation course that’s globally transformed the lives of millions, along with their signature programs Sahaj Samadhi Meditation™ and the Silent Retreat.

Rooted in ancient tradition and backed by science, the Art of Living provides the most comprehensive meditation experience available, with tools and techniques to alleviate stress and cultivate a powerful sense of well-being—that lasts. With opportunities to deepen your experience beyond the course via ongoing guided journeys in their app to help you thrive and build a transformative habit.

Here’s a glimpse of their top-rated programs:

SKY Breath Meditation

Exclusive to the Art of Living Foundation, it is a 3-day live online course guided by certified instructors, with 2.5 hour daily expert-led sessions where you learn the powerful evidence-based breathwork meditation practice, SKY Breath Meditation.

Created by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Art of Living founder and master of meditation, SKY Breath Meditation has been documented in over 100 independent, peer-reviewed studies to significantly decrease stress and anxiety and increase physical and mental well-being—all through the science of breathwork. This life-enhancing practice works as an instant natural stress reliever, using specific rhythms of the breath to quiet the mind and create effortless meditation. Research has demonstrated that by practicing the techniques taught on the SKY Breath Meditation course, levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, are reduced from the very first session. And there’s more—the practice has been shown to increase immune cell count, improve sleep, lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and increase life satisfaction. SKY enables you to raise your energy, manage your emotions, and find lasting ease, all with tools for a lifetime. To learn more about SKY Breath Meditation, you can join a free live online intro session—click here to reserve your free spot.

Sahaj Samadhi Meditation™

Sahaj means effortless. Samadhi means a state of true meditation. Simply put, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation™ is an effective, personalized way to easily enter into a deep meditative state. Using the power of ancient sound, or mantra, to effortlessly cut through mental chatter and connect you with a state of deep rest and relaxation.

It’s a natural, evidence-based technique shown to boost mood and heart health, whilst providing a lasting calm with clear focus and reduced stress and anxiety. The benefits are immediate, tangible, and cumulative, and the practice itself is relaxing and enjoyable—and you can learn the technique, and become fully proficient, live online in just a few hours with a certified instructor! It’s also the perfect complement to SKY Breath Meditation. Learn more

Silent Retreat

The perfect vacation for the mind, body, and spirit. A 4-5 day online Silent Retreat is a profound spiritual immersion expertly guided and crafted each day, live online with certified instructors, featuring a mix of restorative breathing practices, daily yoga, deep wisdom, silence, and powerful guided meditations. You’ll watch mental chatter quieten as peace and tranquility unfold into the profound depths of inner silence. And with advanced practices to take your SKY Breath Meditation experience to the next level, you’ll release deep layers of stress to emerge deeply rested and rejuvenated, with an extraordinary sense of renewed vitality and perspective—benefits that have been said to last the year! You can learn more here or join a free online intro session to discover the hidden power of silence.

An Art of Living program is the beginning of an ever-deepening and evolving journey to living with more fulfillment and peace, with tools for daily life.

What is the science of meditation?

October 9, 2021 By Art of Living Leave a Comment

Over the past two decades, scientific research into meditation has grown exponentially and continues to. It’s known that a regular meditation practice provides a spectrum of mental and physical health benefits.

Here’s what science has discovered so far, plus an evidence-based meditation technique backed by rigorous research.

Studies have shown that meditation serves as a powerful mind-body tool for a diverse range of needs. From anxiety, depression, and stress reduction, to improved sleep and immune function, smoking cessation, reduced blood pressure, enhanced brain health, chronic pain management, and more. However, researchers have concluded that further studies into specific meditation techniques and their subsequent benefits on participants are needed. Currently, many studies view meditation as a generic practice—that all effects are equal—but it’s important to recognize that different techniques produce different results.

There’s mindfulness meditation, breath-based meditation, loving-kindness meditation, transcendental meditation, guided meditation—to name a few! And what’s rare is to find scientific studies that focus on the benefits of specific meditation practice, but they do exist.

What type of meditation is backed by science?

There are a few, and SKY Breath Meditation (SKY), exclusive to the Art of Living organization, is one of them. Over 100 independent studies conducted on four continents, and published in peer-reviewed journals, have demonstrated a comprehensive range of benefits from practicing the techniques taught on the 3-day live online SKY Breath Meditation course. This breath-based meditation is scientifically validated to support practitioners in the following areas:

Stress reduction: After just two weeks of practicing SKY, meditators had a 56% reduction in the stress hormone cortisol—with results from the very first session.

Improved sleep: SKY significantly enhances deep sleep. Plus, more time is spent in these deeper stages.

Anxiety and depression reduction: Research has demonstrated that SKY provides a uniform rapid response. From the very first SKY session, the well-being hormone prolactin begins to notably increase. And research shows within one month, there is a 68-80% remission rate for both depression and anxiety.

Immune support: The number of Natural Killer cells produced by the immune system is considerably higher in people who practice SKY than the population at large. Additionally, research shows lymphocyte count increases by 33% in SKY practitioners in just six weeks.

Heart health: SKY lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. And a recent study out of the University of Arizona/Harvard showed SKY practitioners showed fewer cardiac signs of stress before a stressful event.

Brain health: SKY participants have greater mental focus and an increase in alpha waves—found within the slow, relaxing meditative state. Additionally, SKY has been documented to increase the brain protein, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), responsible for laying down new neurons, new brain cells.

Life satisfaction: A recent Yale study supported previous independent studies that showed SKY significantly increased those qualities that make life most worth living—happiness, serenity, optimism, energy levels, social connection, and quality of life.

In conclusion, there are many practices out there, but if you want a specific technique that’s been scientifically validated to positively impact your mental and physical health, then it is worth exploring SKY Breath Meditation. ^_[^{_{View all independent research}}^_]
To learn more about SKY Breath Meditation, you can join a free live online intro session—click here to reserve your free spot.

What are the 12 poses of Surya Namaskar? / How to do Surya Namaskar / What is Sun Salutation yoga?

October 9, 2021 By Art of Living Leave a Comment

Sun Salutations, known in Sanskrit as Surya Namaskar (pronounced Sur-yah-Namah-skar), comprise a flowing sequence of 12 powerful yoga poses with profound benefits. Here you’ll find out what those poses are, how to practice them, and tips for a transformative experience.

12 poses of Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar)

Prayer Pose (Pranamasana)
Raised Arms Pose (Hasta Uttanasana)
Hand to Foot Pose (Hasta Padasana)
Equestrian Pose (Ashwa Sanchalanasana)
Plank Pose (Phalakasana)
Eight Points Salute (Ashtanga Namaskara)
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)
Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Equestrian Pose (Ashwa Sanchalanasana)
Hand to Foot Pose (Hasta Padasana)
Raised Arms Pose (Hasta Uttanasana)
Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

How to practice Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar)

The origins of Sun Salutations date back to the ancient Vedic period in India, where the sun was worshipped for health. The ancient Rishis recommended a regular Sun Salutation practice for when the sun falls on the solar (sun) plexus, considered the central point of the body, it expands creative and intuitive abilities, calms the mind, and more. Hence, Sun Salutations are usually practiced (on an empty stomach) at sunrise facing the health and life-giving rising sun.

Sun Salutations can be a stand-alone practice or used as a warm-up for a full asana practice (if the latter, traditionally three rounds are recommended).

There are several versions of Sun Salutation sequences—but it is best to choose one and develop your practice for maximum benefit. The following sequence is the most traditional version of the Sun Salute and actively engages all parts of the body. You can learn this sequence with certified instructors via a dedicated Sun Salutation class at the online Art of Living Yoga Studio.

Each Sun Salutation (one round) consists of two sets of the sequence. The first leading with the right leg, and the second leading with the left in the fourth and ninth positions (per the below sequence). Start by doing two to four rounds and gradually build up to twelve (or even 108!). And if you’re new to yoga, remember to do a short warm-up!

Click here for a full guide to Sun Salutations.

Sun Salutation Tips

1. Be consistent: To achieve the best results, practice regularly. It is better to be consistent with a short daily practice than be sporadic with long practice periods.

2. Listen to your body: Know your body and its limits. Each day will be different—allow your practice to reflect this. Honor and respect your body—that is true yoga.

3. Different speeds, different results: Faster is more toning and strengthening with increased cardio (an effective warm-up for a more advanced yoga practice), and slower is more mind-calming, meditative.

If you’re new to yoga and Sun Salutations, it’s best to learn with an experienced and certified instructor—for the correct technique (and to keep your body safe!), which will result in maximum benefit. Visit the online Art of Living Yoga Studio to begin your journey. Enjoy the practice!

What is Sattva Meditation? / What is the Sattva Meditation app?

October 9, 2021 By Art of Living Leave a Comment

The Sattva Meditation app (Sattva Meditation) draws from ancient Vedic principles of meditation. It is free to download via the App Store or Google Play and gives you access to a range of guided meditations. To unlock all the app features various subscription options are available from monthly to a lifetime!

If you’re new to meditation, you’ll find simple yet deep meditations starting from six minutes upwards, and you can set yourself goals to slowly build up your practice.

For seasoned meditators, there are hundreds of guided meditations, chants, mantras, and music tracks to accompany your practice. Or you can set yourself challenges, gain trophies when milestones are met and keep a track of your meditation journey via the in-depth stats tab. There is also integrated video so you can host live wellness sessions via the app or even just meditate with friends.

Sattva also provides collections and playlists to take away the stress and hassle of knowing what to use for your practice.

Features include:

Guided Meditations, Chants, Mantras, Music

Enjoy a rare collection of guided meditations, ancient chants, Vedic mantras, and blissful music to enhance your meditation journey.

Collections & Playlists

Use curated Sattva lists depending on your mood, desire, or time of day, either played in sequence or create your own from your favorites.

Meditation Timer, Tracker, and Stats

Monitor your progress! The what, when, where, how long of your meditation journey—view your stats on a calendar, map, chart, and graph.

Meditation Community

Listen to your friends’ playlists, motivate and inspire each other through group meditations, challenges, and integrated live video events.

Personalize

Your app, your way—personalize your dashboard to include your favorite and most used features using the ‘Widgets’ icon.

Mudras

Learn various mudras—hand positions or gestures that facilitate the flow of energy in the body—to easily incorporate into your yoga and meditation practice for an abundance of benefits.

Discover, explore, immerse and unwind with Sattva, where ancient meets modern in the palm of your hand—you’ll get inspiration to meditate every day.
As featured in Vogue, Elle, Forbes, Men’s Health, and more.

How does Art of Living help with self-improvement / self-development

October 9, 2021 By Art of Living Leave a Comment

The Art of Living has transformed millions of lives worldwide through life-changing evidence-based techniques designed for self-development that increase key markers of well-being, life satisfaction, and personal growth. The journey starts with a live course guided by certified instructors and continues with an in-app series that builds upon your experience to guide you deeper on an ever-evolving journey to living your best life.

Rooted in ancient tradition and backed by science, signature programs include the world-renowned breathwork practice, SKY Breath Meditation—documented in over 100 independent studies across four continents to show a measurable impact on the quality of life.

The unique techniques taught live online by certified instructors during the 3-day course provide you with a plethora of benefits that continue to evolve as your practice grows—and some are experienced from the very first session. One aspect of SKY is the gift of greater self-awareness and has been shown to:

Increase positive attitude
Increase critical thinking
Increase emotional intelligence
Heighten awareness
Reduce addictive behavior
Increase self-esteem
Improve communication skills

Recent Yale research shows that by practicing the techniques taught on the SKY Breath Meditation course, social connectedness, positive emotion, mindfulness, and conscientiousness are greatly improved—and there’s more! Studies have demonstrated that levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, are reduced from the very first session, immune cell count increases, sleep improves, cholesterol and blood pressure lowers, and life satisfaction increases.

SKY Breath Meditation is a powerful step on the path to personal growth and self-development. It helps you become more of who you really are and gives you life-long tools to live empowered, with more fulfillment, and the ability to manage life’s inevitable curveballs! Relationships improve, perspectives shift, the mind and body become vibrant tools for health and vitality—life transforms. You can learn more about SKY Breath Meditation at a free live online intro session guided by a certified instructor. Click here to reserve your free spot.

Other Art of Living signature programs include the Sahaj Samadhi Meditation™ course, a unique mantra-based technique that effortlessly quiets the mind, and the guided Silent Retreat—an immersive experience into the profound restorative reenergizing depths of inner silence.

Through the Art of Living, you’ll discover the most comprehensive meditation experiences available with effective tools and techniques to alleviate stress and cultivate a powerful sense of well-being—to live with more calm, energy, and ease in daily life. All the programs support your journey to ultimate health and a sense of peace and joy that’s sustainable day after day. You receive life-enhancing self-development tools that make a difference to you and those around you.