EMOTIONAL REGULATION THROUGH YOGA AND MEDITATION IN INDIAN PSYCHOLOGY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v14.i4.2026.6879Keywords:
Indian Psychology, Emotion Control, Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama, Gunas, Patanjali, Mindfulness, Self-Control, Mental HealthAbstract [English]
The control of emotions is one of the most important topics of modern psychology as it determines stress and resilience, social functioning, and susceptibility to mental illnesses. In recent models, emotion regulation is defined as the mechanisms by which individuals control the kind of emotions that they experience, when they experience them, and how they experience or express those emotions. Such models also differentiate rather adaptive tactics like cognitive reappraisal and more expensive tactics like expressive suppression. Indian psychology considers the same issue based on a wider and older framework. Instead of depending on the view of emotion as an independent mental event, it connects affective disturbance with desire, attachment, ego-involvement (ahamkara), ignorance (avidya), and the interaction of the three gunas sattva, rajas and tamas. The yoga and meditation in this model are not only ways of relaxation to the person but rather coordinated methods of changing the individual via morals, poses, control of breathing, control of senses, training of attention and reflection. The paper is a narrative review of the classical Indian psychological concepts versus modern scientific discoveries about yoga, pranayama, and meditation. The student, community, and clinical evidence indicate better stress, anxiety, negative affect, self-compassion, adaptive coping, emotional maturity, and cognitive reappraisal, and mechanistically supported by interoception, decentering, autonomic regulation, and neural response supporting emotional salience research. Meanwhile, the literature itself is still heterogeneous in terms of methods, and yoga is not, in general, superior to all the active controls. This paper maintains that Indian psychology has a unique and useful contribution to make the regulation of emotions can never be a matter of holding feelings back but is rather a matter of transforming oneself by means of self-control consciousness.
Downloads
References
McRae, K., & Gross, J. J. (2020). Emotion Regulation. *Emotion, 20*(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000703 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000703
Gross, J. J. (2002). Emotion Regulation: Affective, Cognitive, and Social Consequences. *Psychophysiology, 39*(3), 281–291. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0048577201393198 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0048577201393198
Ramaprasad, D. (2013). Emotions: An Indian Perspective. *Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55*(Suppl. 2), S153–S156. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105514 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105514
Gautam, S., Jain, A., Marwale, A. V., & Gautam, A. (2020). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Yoga and Other Alternative Therapies for Patients with Mental Disorders. *Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 62*(Suppl. 2), S272–S279. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_776_19 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_776_19
Keshavan, M. S., & Bhargav, H. (2025). Dhyana Yoga, the Path of Meditative Being: Psychotherapeutic Insights from the East. *Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 108*, Article 104483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2025.104483 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2025.104483
Tolbaños-Roche, L., & Menon, P. (2021). Applying the S-ART Framework to Yoga: Exploring the Self-Regulatory Action of Yoga Practice in Two Culturally Diverse Samples. *Frontiers in Psychology, 12*, Article 585300. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.585300 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.585300
Patel, N. K., Nivethitha, L., & Mooventhan, A. (2018). Effect of a Yoga Based Meditation Technique on Emotional Regulation, Self-Compassion and Mindfulness in College Students. *EXPLORE, 14*(6), 443–447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2018.06.008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2018.06.008
Ranjani, H., et al. (2023). The Impact of Yoga on Stress, Metabolic Parameters, and Cognition of Indian Adolescents: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. *Integrative Medicine Research, 12*(3), Article 100979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imr.2023.100979 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imr.2023.100979
Kumar, R. S., Britto, J., Ilavarasu, J., & Rajesh, S. K. (2022). Study of Emotion Regulation Based on Yogic Personality Using Implicit, Explicit, and Eye Tracking Techniques. *International Journal of Yoga, 15*(2), 122–129. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_36_22 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_36_22
Novaes, M. M., et al. (2020). Effects of Yoga Respiratory Practice (Bhastrika Pranayama) on Anxiety, Affect, and Brain Functional Connectivity and Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial. *Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11*, Article 467. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00467 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00467
Mandlik, G. V., et al. (2024). Effect of a Single Session of Yoga and Meditation on Stress Reactivity: A Systematic Review. *Stress and Health, 40*(3), Article e3324. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3324 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3324
Karri, R. R., et al. (2023). Methodological Issues in Yoga Therapy Research Among Psychiatric Patients. *Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 65*(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_464_22 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_464_22
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Jetal J. Panchal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
