Dynamic meditation, developed by Indian spiritual leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho), is an hour-long series of activities that aims to release tension and tap into subconscious pressure. It involves chaotic breathing, expressing emotions through movement, chanting mantras and impromptu dancing. The technique has spread worldwide, and Osho’s other active meditation methods offer alternatives.
Indian spiritual leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who developed the nickname “Osho” in the late 1980s, is a mystical teacher who is world-renowned for his secular religious teachings and active meditation techniques. One such technique is known as dynamic meditation, an hour-long series of activities that are said to help release tension and tap into subconscious pressure. Osho, who died in 1990, lives in a Mumbai meditation center that bears his name. There, participants can experience a style of meditation that winds its way physically and psychologically through the forest of confusion in the brain. Catharsis is said to ease human frustration into healthier channels.
As one of the most common forms of active meditation, the benefits of dynamic meditation have spread throughout the world with Osho’s various pledges and retreat initiatives. Employing the principles of Western psychology by expounding negative thoughts and patterns before meditation sessions, the method caught on among American meditators when Osho established an Oregon satellite in the early 1980s. This eventually led to hardship, immigration violations and a return to India in 1985. However, the seeds of Osho’s methods were planted in cities around the world.
Dynamic meditation is not a complicated technique, although it is recommended to practice it in the morning for its energizing effects. It requires, however, a suitable environment in which the meditator can feel comfortable expressing instinctive sounds and movements. Prying eyes may limit natural meditative responses. For this reason, it is helpful to seek out an environment that is private or populated by like-minded meditators. Otherwise, a silent version of dynamic meditation can be practiced.
The first stage consists of 10 minutes of chaotic breathing through the nose, focusing only on exhaling, while standing or sitting, slowly building towards a state of frenzy. This is followed by 10 minutes in which the most predominant emotion at that moment is expressed, through the activity that best illustrates that emotion. This could mean dancing to illustrate joy or erratic yelling to express frustration or loss. The idea is to act deliberately, but instinctively.
The remaining phases bring the meditator back to the conscious state, through continuous but controlled action. After exactly 20 minutes, a 10-minute period of gently jumping up and down while chanting a mantra such as “Ha Ha Ha” begins. This is followed by 15 minutes of freezing in place, then another 15 minutes of impromptu dancing. It is during this final stage that meditators should attempt to think of ideas or situations that bring joy and a permanent sense of wholeness.
For those who don’t know if dynamic meditation is for them, Osho’s other active meditation methods may offer alternatives. Some methods, like a kundalini technique, are much more static and calming. This method is divided into four 15-minute periods: stretching and shaking; dance; sitting; then lying down.
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