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2nd UN WORLD MEDITATION DAY
Interactive & Introspective: Together on World Meditation Day
Marking the 2nd UN World Meditation Day on December 21st — also observed globally as the Winter Solstice—the Raja Yoga Center organized a full-day spiritual retreat themed ‘Sanctuary of Serenity’ at Good Earth Organic Farm, Ajman.
More than 85 participants from across the UAE attended the retreat, representing different nationalities and cultures, all coming together in a shared spirit of increasing inner awareness and harmony.
Surrounded by nature, the retreat featured a thoughtfully designed program of activities and workshops aimed at deepening each one’s inner awareness and appreciation of meditation
practices. Participants engaged in an “exchanging blessings” session that encouraged the sharing of positive intentions, followed by a spiritual virtue hunt that made self-discovery both interactive and meaningful. Dedicated self-reflection time allowed individuals to pause, reconnect, and contemplate their inner journey.
A panel discussion addressing common myths about meditation proved especially insightful, helping participants better understand the practice and its relevance in everyday life. Creativity and calm blended seamlessly during a mandala art session, where attendees expressed inner balance through artistic expression.
The retreat reached its peak with a deeply immersive one-hour meditation dedicated to the self, the community, nature, and the world.
Guided commentary, accompanied by live soft music, created a powerful atmosphere of stillness and collective positivity, resonating strongly with the spirit of World Meditation Day and the Winter Solstice.
CHAMPIONING COLLABORATIVE
WELLBEING & POSITIVE WORKPLACE
Raja Yoga Center’s 2025 outreach brought meditation, leadership, and wellbeing programs to professionals and industrial workers across the UAE, highlighted by the Brothers for Inner Wellbeing initiative—an uplifting series of sessions where male facilitators connected with 300 blue collar employees through a spirit of camaraderie, practical guidance, and shared inner strength.
Throughout 2025, Raja Yoga Center has engaged hundreds of professionals and workers in various organizations across the UAE to participate in different types of workshops and seminars. These were held in educational institutions, consulting firms and even in industrial facilities.
Some of the themes covered during the sessions include positivity and leadership in early education, inner leadership and work-life balance, balancing strength with serenity, and discovering the power of meditation, among others.
Brothers for Inner Wellbeing
One of the key milestones of providing invaluable services include multiple sessions with blue-collar workers in Ducast, one of the leading industrial companies in Abu Dhabi’s KEZAD Industrial Area. Held on 2nd and
24th November 2025, a mental health and wellness program brought 300 male employees into a warm circle of learning, connection, and inner upliftment. What made the initiative stand out was its spirit of brotherhood—brothers teaching meditation to brothers, led by male meditation facilitators at the Raja Yoga Center. Facilitators Prakash Chugani, Vishant Abhayam, Ajay Yadav, Girish Bhai, Ravi Raj, and Piyush Ahuja led the program with genuine camaraderie, offering guidance not as instructors speaking from a distance, but as peers sharing something valuable and meaningful with fellow men.
If you wish to organise a self development course for your workplace or your community, please contact us at 04 4569771 or write to us at meditate@rajayogacenter.org
WHY I TURNED TO RAJA YOGA MEDITATION AS A TEEN...
I was introduced to Raja Yoga meditation in my late teens. I must have been around 17 or 18, maybe even a little younger. Before that, meditation was a word I had heard, not something I had experienced. I grew up fairly religious, in the sense that I always believed there was a higher power looking out for me. That faith was always there. But spirituality, as a practice, wasn’t.
Like most teenagers, I grew up with a flood of emotions — anxiety, impatience, sensitivity, and a tendency to feel everything very deeply. I was emotionally reactive, sometimes explosively so. If I was hurt, it often came out as anger. If I was sad, I cried easily. At the time, I thought this was just life. That emotions were something you endured, not something you could work with. After all, no one teaches you emotional regulation in school. You simply learn to live with the turbulence.
What shifted everything for me was watching my mother change. She had begun exploring Raja Yoga meditation herself. I remember her watching spiritual talks at home, quietly learning, and never forcing it on me. Over a few months, I noticed something subtle but powerful — she became calmer, more patient, less reactive. Our relationship softened. Arguments become less frequent.
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Experiencing the practice at a formative age offered a new framework for understanding identity beyond labels, roles and emotional patterns
Somya Mehta Senior Features Writer, Khaleej Times
For the first time, I saw proof that people could change their inner responses. And that emotional patterns weren’t permanent life sentences.
That’s what drew me in. At that age, what clicked instantly was the idea of soul consciousness. Until then, my identity was built entirely on labels — my name, my body, my roles, my achievements, my personality traits.
Raja Yoga asked a different question altogether: Who am I beyond all of this? The answer was simple, yet deeply empowering. It taught me that I am a soul, a point of light, carrying innate qualities like peace, clarity, love, and strength.
For a teenager wrestling with anxiety and identity, this was revolutionary. Meditation stopped feeling like an escape and became an act of agency.
I realised that life wasn’t just happening to me, I had a role in shaping my inner world. If I felt angry or upset, I didn’t have to spiral for days. I could pause, change my thought, and shift my emotional state. That sense of inner control gave me confidence I didn’t know I was missing. Growing up as a third-culture kid in Dubai added another layer of confusion. Between family values, global influences, social pressure, identity often felt like a complex concept.
Like many in my generation, I struggled with anxiety, panic, and a constant sense of lacking the feeling of being rooted. Raja Yoga gave me an internal anchor that didn’t depend on place, culture, or validation.
Years later, as a journalist working in fast-paced newsrooms, this grounding has become invaluable. Media can be intense. It’s a high-press environment, deadline-driven, and emotionally demanding. Your name is attached to everything you produce. Success and failure can feel deeply personal.
Raja Yoga introduced me to the idea of being a trustee — doing the work with sincerity, but without attachment to outcome.
The practice gave me ability to step back, observe situations without being consumed by them, and move forward with clarity. Stress still exists. Mistakes might still happen. But I now know how to reset, replenish, and return to myself instead of carrying emotional residue day after day. Meditation didn’t remove life’s challenges, but it gave me tools to tackle them differently!
Meditation Course for Beginners is conducted regularly at Raja Yoga Center
FOCACCIA BREAD
Ingredients:
•4 cups (512 g) all-purpose flour or bread flour
•2–3 teaspoons (10–15 g) kosher salt
•2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast
•2 cups (455 g) lukewarm water
(Half cup boiling water + 1.5 cups cold water)
Method:
1. Make the Dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add the lukewarm water and mix using a rubber spatula until all the liquid is absorbed and a sticky dough forms. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
2. Stretch & Fold
With a wet hand, grab one edge of the dough, stretch it upward, and fold it toward the center. Repeat this 8–10 times, rotating the bowl as you go. Notice how the dough transforms—becoming smoother, softer, and more alive under your hands.
3. Cold Proof
Lightly rub the surface of the dough with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours (and up to 48 hours for deeper flavor).
4. Prepare the Pan
Line two pie trays with parchment paper, or grease generously with butter.
AS WE PREPARE THIS DISH, LET’S PAUSE AND REFLECT...
“With peace and awareness, I allow gratitude to guide my hands. With awareness, I prepare food with the intention to nourish the body and purify the soul with pure thoughts and vibrations for every ingredient.”
•Butter, for greasing
•4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
•Sea salt to sprinkle on top of the bread
•1–2 teaspoons whole rosemary leaves
•Cherry tomatoes & black olives (optional)
5. Shape & Dimple
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and place a rack in the middle. Transfer the dough into the prepared pan(s). Scatter with rosemary leaves, cherry tomatoes, and black olives over the dough. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over each dough. Rub your hands lightly with oil and press straight down with your fingers to create deep dimples all over. Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt.
6. Bake
Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the underside is golden and crisp and the top is beautifully blistered. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing, or cool completely if using for sandwiches.
Storage:
Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.