Learn to meditate and experience effortless, life-changing, deep rest.
There are a lot of different meditation techniques out there! On this page I’ll explain what Vedic Meditation is, so that you can make an informed decision about whether it’s right for you.
Simple, effortless, natural
Simple
We repeat a sound (mantra) silently in our mind during meditation
Effortless
We don’t try to meditate. The repetition of the mantra does the work for us
Natural
We work with the nature of the mind, instead of against it
How does it work?
Each student of Vedic meditation receives a personalised mantra by their qualified teacher. The mantra is essentially a sound vibration which has no intended meaning. The repetition of this sound vibration triggers the experience we have in meditation, naturally drawing the mind inward, and the body to settle down and access deep rest. You can read more about the mantras below.
Vedic meditation is what we refer to as a transcending technique. What that means is that during meditation, through correct practice we can arrive at a state/experience where there is no more mantra and no more thought. We go beyond all thought and experience the state of pure consciousness. This place is also referred to as Being, Bliss or turiya in Sanskrit, the fourth state of consciousness. It might sound very abstract and “unachievable” having never experienced it before, however this is actually our most natural state, and is available to anyone who practices this technique.
It’s here that we experience the deepest state of rest. Our mind is quiet. The body rests deeply.
When our bodies rest this deeply, accumulated stress chemistry stored in our physiology is released. Regular practice of Vedic meditation leads to mental and physical health benefits, reduced levels of fatigue, anxiety and depression as stress chemistry is released, and the nervous system is normalised.
The practice of Vedic meditation comes from the ancient body of knowledge known as the Veda, which originated in India over 5,000 years ago. Indian philosophy, preventative medicine/life science (Ayurveda) and yoga also come from this source. The technique is time-tested, with proven benefits* and a rich history.
What makes Vedic meditation different to other techniques?
It’s OK to have thoughts
The very nature of the mind is to think. In Vedic meditation, we go with the flow. We don’t need to concentrate, focus or try and clear the mind.
20 minutes, twice a day
Wake up feeling more rested and avoid the afternoon energy crash. Rest and recharge was never more simple.
Scientific evidence
The proven benefits of meditation* include increased resistance to stress, physical and mental health benefits, and sleep quality improvements.
Meditate anywhere
When you practice Vedic meditation, you just appear to be resting. You can meditate anywhere you feel comfortable closing your eyes. No yoga pants required.
Noise is no issue
You don’t need a silent room or a special chair. This technique is for busy people, with busy lives. Partners, kids, pets, neighbours, even the garbage truck, will not alter the success of your meditation.
“Learning Vedic meditation changed my life. It was an honor and a pleasure to learn Vedic meditation from Tanya who is a very empathetic and charismatic person.”
— Jasmin, Project Manager
Course format
Vedic meditation is taught in person over four consecutive days, for 90 minutes per day.
Tanya offers group courses in Vedic meditation once a month in Paris. Private courses are also available.
Day 1
Receive your personalised mantra
Witness a gratitude ceremony
Practice meditating for the first time
Day 2-4
Refine your technique
Meditate together
Learn how to use your mantra effortlessly
Understand how to integrate the technique into your daily schedule
Discover the mechanics of meditation and how stress is released
Explore the long-term normalisation of the nervous system, states of consciousness and habit building
“I can’t stress enough how much Tanya’s training surpassed my expectations. I was blown away by how easy it was for me to get into the meditation and how positively my body responded to it. Clearly my body was calling out for help. Thank you!”
— Lindsey, Social Media Manager
Vedic Meditation Parent Program
As the mother of a vivacious, independent and strong-willed three year old, I understand first hand the challenges of raising a child. I rely on my meditation practice to rest deeply after a night of broken or no sleep, to calm my nervous system and to raise my level of adaptation energy, so that I can meet the ongoing demands that motherhood brings.
Vedic meditation is a powerful tool that can help with self-regulation, as it systematically calms the nervous system, provides deep rest. It also wipes away fatigue and lowers the level of stress chemistry in the blood, leading to improved mental and physical health.
The Vedic Meditation Parent Program is specially designed to support parents from conception all the way through the early years of their child/children’s lives. Courses are available in English and French.
Get in touch to find out more about how meditation can help.
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Vedic meditation is a wonderful practice to learn before or during pregnancy, as it supports the nervous system, body and baby during this precious time.
When we meditate the body is flooded with “bliss chemistry” — countering the effects of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline which are released into the body when we have stress reactions. “Bliss chemistry” or happy hormones are passed to the baby through the placenta, so you and baby reep the benefits.
Practising Vedic meditation is also a wonderful way to prepare for birth, especially if you are feeling some anxiety around the event. The practice strengthens the connection to Self, putting you more in touch with your inner strength and confidence. Mothers report feeling a strong connection with their baby during pregnancy, and feeling ready to give birth when the time comes.
I am very happy to share my personal meditation experience with expecting parents and care givers and would be honoured to accompany you on this wild and wonderful journey.
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The days, weeks and months following the arrival of a baby can be stressful and tiring. Even if everything goes to plan waking every three hours to feed a precious little one is taxing and can leave new and seasoned parents feeling strung out and overwhelemed.
The level of rest obtained from Vedic meditation is 2-5x deeper than the rest we access in deep sleep. It is a simple and practical solution to counter the effects of fatigue suffered by parents, in particular those caring for newborns or young children waking many times during the night.
Vedic meditation can be practiced while nursing your baby, with baby in your arms or safely in your lap, or with other adults or children in the room. You don’t need a silent space or to be alone. We meditate sitting in a comfortable chair, on the couch or on the bed.
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Most parents I know suffer from interrupted sleep and increased levels of stress in the early years of their children’s lives. Left unchecked, long-term stress and fatigue can lead to more serious mental and physical health problems. Vedic meditation improves our resistance to stress, and provides systematic deep rest for the mind and body.
Vedic meditation can be practiced anywhere you feel comfortable closing your eyes.
Parental Superpowers
Vedic meditation can be practiced while nursing your baby, with kids in the room, and even with little ones crawling on you.
It is the ultimate meditation technique for parents because it does not require a silent room and zero distractions to provide consistent results. Noise is no barrier to regenerative meditation.
Regular meditation will dramatically reduce levels of fatigue and improve your resistance to stress.
Get in touch to find out more about the Vedic Meditation Parent Program and how meditation can help you break the stress and fatigue cycle.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Vedic meditation is a transcending technique. To transcend means to go beyond, which is the process of the mind settling down into deeper states of awareness. In meditation we go beyond the surface of the mind. If you have never meditated before this word transcend might be new and a bit disconcerting, so if you’re thinking that’s for other people or there’s no way I could do that, never fear! Practicing this technique is as easy as thinking a thought. It’s simple and effortless, and feels very natural.
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The Veda is a 5000-year-old body of knowledge that originated in ancient India. Vedic meditation and its teachings, along with some types of yoga, and the Indian life science of Ayurveda (preventative medicine) are all derived from this ancient wisdom. While it is an ancient technique, it has never been more relevant in our busy, demanding world.
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When practicing Vedic meditation you are not asked to focus or concentrate or observe your thoughts. In fact, thoughts are a very normal, natural part of meditation because it is the nature of the mind to think. The great misconception about meditation is that we must use effort to somehow get rid of our thoughts. In Vedic meditation we let the mantra do the work for us, helping our mind to settle down to deeper states of awareness (where naturally, thoughts become more subtle, or disappear completely).
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When you learn to meditate your teacher gives you your personal mantra, which is chosen for you to create the most effortless meditation experience. The mantras used in Vedic meditation come from the category of mantras called bija mantras, which means seed in the ancient Sanskrit language. This mantra, which is essentially a sound vibration with no intended meaning, draws the mind inward where it is able to access a very deep state of rest.
When you meditate, you sit in a chair, or on the couch, or wherever you are most comfortable, close your eyes and silently think your mantra. The mind and body then begin to settle down into a deep state of rest, unwinding accumulated stresses in the body.
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I agree there is a small (or perhaps for a some, a big) leap of faith required to invest in a new practice that claims to be so simple, and improve and enhance your life in so many different ways. The experience of meditation is by nature, experiential – meaning that it can only be experienced first hand by someone curious enough to decide to learn. I was personally so relieved when I found this practice, because I had tried many different styles of meditation and was never able to meditate consistently, with any feeling of success or satisfaction. This technique is practiced by millions of people worldwide, who experience the benefits on a daily basis.
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Practicing Vedic meditation does not require you to make any lifestyle changes (other than meditating!). You do not need to quit caffeine or alcohol or become vegetarian. You can meditate anywhere you feel comfortable closing your eyes.
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Everyone is different. People who are experiencing a high level of stress often feel more of a ‘contrast’ to those experiencing lower levels of stress when they first take the course. And this doesn’t at all mean the meditation is more effective for one person than another. Some people will feel a gradual and more subtle shift, and others might notice big changes. It all depends on our personal experience and where we are at when we start meditating. We make daily meditation a priority, as consistency is the key to experiencing the most benefits.
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Meditating is exceptionally beneficial during pregnancy as it provides deep rest for the body, which is busy creating and nourishing a baby, as well as building an organ (the placenta). When we meditate we are also producing mood-stabilising neurohormones such as dopamine, serotonin and melatonin which benefit you and your baby. I am happy to discuss my personal experiences meditating while pregnant with you. A special program is available for pregnant people and new parents to help support the extra demands experienced during these times.
If you would like additional support during pregnancy, you can also consult my Empowered Birth Preparation programme.
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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was a revered spiritual teacher from the Shankaracharya lineage of the Vedic tradition.
Tanya Dyhin teaches Vedic Meditation and was trained to teach this form of meditation by Thom Knoles. Thom was trained as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation (“TM”) by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (“Maharishi”), and taught it for over 25 years with organizations affiliated with Maharishi. Since 1997, Thom has continued to teach this meditation as he learned it from Maharishi, and has done so independently and separately from the TM organizations, using the terms “Vedic Meditation". Thom Knoles trained Tanya to teach meditation as Thom was trained to teach meditation by Maharishi. Tanya teaches Vedic Meditation independently and separately from TM organizations, and is not affiliated with those organizations.
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The form of meditation that Thom Knoles* teaches, and taught for over 25 years with the TM organizations as “Transcendental Meditation,” has been the subject of hundreds of scientific studies showing a wide range of benefits from regular practice. These studies, which refer to this form of meditation using the name “Transcendental Meditation” or “TM”, support the benefits obtainable from regular practice of Vedic Meditation. These benefits include:
Increased resistance to stress
Increased levels of energy
Relief from depression and anxiety
Relief from insomnia
Improved relationships with other people
Improved, memory, concentration and learning ability
Reduced risk of heart disease and tumours
Relief from migraines, headaches and asthma
Normalisation of blood pressure
Reduced cholesterol levels
Normalisation of weight
Reversal of ageing
Increased self esteem
Faster reaction times
Improved sports performance
Reduced use of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs
* Thom Knoles trained Tanya Dyhin to teach meditation as Thom was trained to teach meditation by Maharishi.
*Tanya Dyhin is an independent meditation teacher who was taught to teach meditation by Thom Knoles. The form of meditation that Thom Knoles teaches, and taught for over 25 years with the TM organisations as “Transcendental Meditation,” has been the subject of hundreds of scientific studies showing a wide range of benefits from regular practice. These studies, which refer to this form of meditation using the name “Transcendental Meditation” or “TM”, support the benefits obtainable from regular practice of Vedic Meditation. These benefits include:
Increased resistance to stress
Increased levels of energy
Relief from depression and anxiety
Relief from insomnia
Improved relationships with other people
Improved, memory, concentration and learning ability
Reduced risk of heart disease and tumours
Relief from migraines, headaches and asthma
Normalisation of blood pressure
Reduced cholesterol levels
Normalisation of weight
Reversal of ageing
Increased self esteem
Faster reaction times
Improved sports performance
Reduced use of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs
Vedic Meditation is not a substitute for professional medical diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding any medical condition.