https://jspr.spr.ac.uk/index.php/jspr/issue/view/3/1
Abstract
Yoga, which traditionally includes meditative practices, can reportedly improve cognitive and perceptual functioning. This study aimed to investigate the effects of these practices on precognition. The study was conducted online during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Three online forced-choice precognition experiments and one questionnaire study were conducted. The first experiment consisted of a pre-/post-training programme involving a short-term yoga course (N = 104 participants). The second was a pre-/post-training design with meditation as an intervention (N = 103). The third was a one-time assessment of performance between students with low vs. high levels of experience with yoga (N = 164). The fourth study examined correlations between precognition performance and gender, age, education, and reports of unusual childhood experiences (N = 245). Three questionnaires, including the Gunas Scale, a Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), and a Mysticism Scale (M-scale), were used for these assessments. This study’s hypotheses were preregistered with the Open Science Framework website. The results showed that none of the experimental outcomes were statistically significant. Participants’ gender, age, and unusual childhood experiences did not significantly relate to precognition test outcomes, or with the Gunas Scale, MAAS, or M-scale questionnaires. Nevertheless, there were post hoc indications of psi-missing in each of the three experimental studies. Although the results of the planned study were not statistically significant, precognitive performance associated with yoga and meditation practice showed weak trends in the predicted direction. Further research on the relationship between precognition and yoga and meditation practices may benefit more by studying advanced meditators who report experiences described as a sense of ‘timelessness’.
