What is Osho Meditations?
Osho Meditations are a collection of active meditation techniques developed by the Indian spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931–1990), later known as Osho. Unlike traditional seated meditation practices, these techniques have been designed to enable practitioners to consciously express repressed feelings and emotions before entering silence. The methods involve physical exertion, emotional release, and subsequent stillness to facilitate energy flow and inner silence, introduced in the early 1970s during meditation camps in India. The most well-known technique, OSHO Dynamic Meditation, consists of five sequential stages: chaotic breathing, catharsis, mantra chanting (“Hoo”), stillness, and celebration.
Origins & Lineage
Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; December 11, 1931 – January 19, 1990), also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and later as Osho, was an Indian spiritual teacher and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He claimed to have experienced spiritual awakening in 1953 at age 21, and in 1966 resigned his post at the University of Jabalpur as a lecturer in philosophy to begin traveling throughout India.
In 1970, Rajneesh introduced the practice of “dynamic meditation,” which he asserted enables people to experience divinity. On September 26, 1970, he initiated his first disciple or sannyasin at an outdoor meditation camp. He first initiated people into his order of neo-sannyasins in the early 1970s and set up the movement’s headquarters in Pune, India, in 1974.
In 1981, Rajneesh brought his movement to the United States, creating a community known as Rajneeshpuram in Antelope, Oregon. Following legal troubles and deportation in 1985, Rajneesh returned to India. In February 1989, he took the name “Osho Rajneesh,” shortened to “Osho” in September. On January 19, 1990, he died of heart failure at one of his communes in Pune, India. The Osho International Foundation (OIF) is managed by an “Inner Circle” set up by Rajneesh before his death, and they jointly administer Rajneesh’s estate and operate the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune.
How It’s Practiced
Rajneesh posited that active meditation practices first exhaust the body’s chaotic energies before allowing meditative awareness, contrasting with Eastern traditions focused on sitting stillness. He argued that the modern mind is restless and chaotic, and chaotic methods are required because the modern man has changed so much that new methods are needed.
The flagship technique, OSHO Dynamic Meditation, lasts one hour and has five stages. The first stage involves breathing chaotically through the nose—intense, deep, fast, without rhythm, concentrating always on the exhalation, with the body taking care of the inhalation—done as fast and hard as possible until you literally become the breathing. The second stage instructs practitioners to “EXPLODE!” and let go of everything that needs to be thrown out, following the body. The third stage involves jumping up and shouting the word “hoo,” the fourth stage requires simply freezing on the spot in silence, and the fifth stage celebrates with dance.
Other techniques include OSHO Kundalini Meditation (shaking, dancing, stillness, and lying down), OSHO Nadabrahma Meditation (humming and hand movements to bring harmony to mind and body), and variations adapted from Sufi and Tantric traditions. Techniques such as Dynamic, Kundalini, Natraj, Nadabrahma, No Dimensions, Gourishankar, Mandala, and Whirling were created by Osho. The meditations are performed with specific OSHO meditation music, which indicates and energetically supports the different stages.
Osho Meditations Today
The Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune attracts some 200,000 people from all over the world each year. The resort spans 40 acres and is a retreat designed amidst lush greenery, known for paying homage to Osho and his teachings, beckoning visitors with yoga and meditation programs. The focus at the resort is overwhelmingly on meditation, with Osho teaching that meditation is the only path to enlightenment.
There are independently operating Places to Meditate including OSHO Meditation Centers, OSHO Information Centers, OSHO Institutes, and locations with Meditation Activities—some are fully staffed meditation centers with complete daily programs, events, and festivals, while others may be smaller and offer occasional meet-ups. Online, iOSHO is the web area and App where users find music and instruction videos to participate in OSHO Meditations from home, and online meditation days are available on OSHO International Online. The Osho International Foundation in Pune runs stress management seminars for corporate clients such as IBM and BMW.
Common Misconceptions
Osho Meditations are not therapy, though cathartic release is central to many techniques. The methods are designed to lead to witnessing consciousness, not emotional processing in the psychotherapeutic sense. Dynamic meditation as a term is a contradiction—dynamic means effort and much activity, while meditation means silence, no effort, no activity—yet the process allows meditation to emerge through active movement.
The techniques should not be confused with traditional Hindu or Buddhist meditation lineages. Rajneesh rejected institutional religions, insisting that spiritual experience could not be organized into any one system of religious dogma. While Osho drew from Zen, Tantra, Sufism, and other traditions, his methods are modern syntheses rather than faithful transmissions of ancient practices.
The Rajneesh movement’s history includes significant controversy. The Oregon commune caused tensions with the local community for attempts to take over nearby towns, and in a bioterror attack, Salmonella bacteria poisoned several hundred people; Rajneesh was deported from the United States in 1985. In 2003, sociologist Stephen Hunt wrote that “the movement has declined since 1985, and some would argue it is now, for all intents and purposes, defunct.” However, the meditation techniques themselves continue to be practiced independently of the movement’s organizational history.
How to Begin
Begin with OSHO Dynamic Meditation, ideally in a group setting. You can do this meditation alone, but to start with it can be helpful to do it with other people. The meditation is meant to be done in the early morning, when “the whole of nature becomes alive, the night has gone, the sun is coming up and everything becomes conscious and alert.” Purchase the official OSHO Dynamic Meditation music recording, which provides timing cues for each stage. Wear loose clothing and commit to at least seven consecutive days before judging the practice.
For those unable to engage in vigorous physical activity, passive techniques such as breath-watching or OSHO Nadabrahma (humming meditation) offer gentler entry points. Locate an OSHO Meditation Center through the official osho.com directory, or explore online offerings through the iOSHO app. The Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune offers immersive multi-day programs for serious practitioners. Key texts include Osho’s Meditation: The First and Last Freedom, which provides instructions and philosophical context for the techniques.