Stillness · “Stillness Reveals”
TM-Sidhi Program
To ‘culture the ability to think and act from’ the settled, transcendental state by gently introducing a sutra (mental formula) into restful alertness, then letting it go — training the mind to operate from quietness.
TM-Sidhi practice in 5 lines: First do ~20 min of TM until the mind is settled and quiet. From that silence, gently introduce a sutra (mental formula) as a faint impulse — then let it go and return to stillness; repeat the cycle. For the body-space sutra (Yogic Flying), sit cross-legged on foam; the impulse may produce involuntary forward hops with bliss — never forced. Settle out slowly. Twice daily. (Advanced paid course; the literal “flying”/societal-effect claims are not credibly supported — practice it as deep meditation, not as magic.)
What it is
The TM-Sidhi program is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s advanced practice, introduced in 1976, built directly on top of Transcendental Meditation.
Where basic TM lets the mind settle to the silent, “restful alert” state, the Sidhi program teaches you to act from that settled state: after meditating, you gently introduce a specific sutra — a short mental formula drawn from Book Three (the vibhuti pada) of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras — as a faint impulse of thought, then let it go and return to silence.
The premise (Patanjali’s) is that holding the intention of a quality while the mind rests in pure awareness “cultures” that quality. Its most famous and most criticized component is “Yogic Flying,” based on the kaya-akasha (“body–space relationship”) sutra, which in practice produces a series of forward hops while sitting cross-legged, accompanied by a feeling of lightness and bliss.
This is a genuinely distinct doable practice from basic TM: the method here is the introduction-and-release of a sutra, not mantra repetition. A note on the evidence: this is a trademarked, in-person, paid program; specific sutra wordings are treated as proprietary and are not reproduced here. The literal “levitation/flying” claim is not supported — see §5.
The Method
As widely documented (the general structure, not proprietary wording):
- Do basic TM first. Each session opens with the ordinary ~20 minutes of Transcendental Meditation, letting the mind settle effortlessly to quiet, restful alertness. The Sidhi technique is only practiced after the mind is already settled — it cannot be done “cold.”
- From that quiet state, gently introduce the sutra. Without effort or concentration, you let a specific sutra (a short mental formula) arise as a faint, easy impulse of thought at the most settled level of awareness — the same “innocent,” non-grasping touch TM uses for the mantra.
- Then let it go — completely. You do not dwell on the sutra, repeat it, or try to make anything happen. You release it and let the mind return to silence, allowing whatever effect to unfold by itself. The rhythm is: faint impulse → release → return to settledness → faint impulse again. Effortlessness is, as in TM, the entire pedagogy.
- (Yogic Flying sutra) With the body-space sutra, practitioners sit cross-legged on foam padding and, from the settled state, introduce the sutra and let go. In the first (“hopping”) stage this characteristically produces involuntary forward hops with a reported surge of lightness, exhilaration, and bliss. Practitioners are taught not to try to hop — the movement is meant to arise on its own from the impulse, never forced.
- Sequence of sutras. The full program comprises a set of sutras (commonly described as around 18, from Patanjali’s vibhuti pada) addressing different qualities — strength, friendliness, the senses, the body-space relationship, and so on. They are introduced one at a time across the course, and a session cycles through the ones learned.
- Settle out. Each session ends as TM does: stop the technique, rest with eyes closed for a few minutes, then come out slowly before activity. The standard dose mirrors TM — twice daily, often as a longer “rounding” of TM plus Sidhis. (Sourcing note: “faint impulse of thought,” the introduce-and-let-go mechanic, and the body-space/Yogic Flying structure are documented features of the program, attributed to Maharishi’s teaching. Exact sutra texts are proprietary and not reproduced.)
Source & Lineage
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918–2008), founder of the TM movement and disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (“Guru Dev”), introduced the TM-Sidhi program in 1976, presenting it as a recovery of the practical technology embedded in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Book Three (vibhuti pada) — the chapter cataloguing the siddhis (accomplishments/powers) that arise from samyama (the combined focus of concentration, meditation, and absorption) on chosen objects.
Maharishi’s reframing was that samyama need not be effortful concentration but the effortless introduction of a sutra into the already-transcended state reached through TM. → (Maharishi); the basic technique it builds on is.
The Traditions' versions
Patanjali’s samyama on sutras — the original: directing the unified mind onto a quality/object to “perfect” it; the TM-Sidhi program is Maharishi’s effortless adaptation. → (concentration lineages)
- Tibetan deity-yoga / completion-stage practices — generating a quality from the subtle, settled mind, then dissolving it.
- Intention-setting from meditative depth — many traditions plant an intention at the quietest point of practice and release it (cf. sankalpa in yoga nidra).
- “Lung-gom” runners (Tibet) — the cultural cousin of “yogic flying” lore: accounts of meditators covering ground in a trance-like bounding state.
- Effortless return (TM, Centering Prayer) — the introduce-and-let-go mechanic is structurally the same gentle return used in and.
Common refinements
Trying to make the effect happen. The cardinal error — straining to hop, or forcing the sutra. Like TM, the whole mechanism is non-effort; you introduce faintly and let go.
- Doing Sidhis without first settling via TM. The technique presupposes the already-transcended state; skipping the meditation undermines it.
- Dwelling on / repeating the sutra. It’s a single faint impulse, then release — not a chant or a focus object.
- Believing the literal flying claim. Taking “yogic flying” as levitation sets up disillusionment and, worse, can be used to justify large payments and in-group pressure. Hold the metaphysics lightly.
- Hopping on a hard surface. Without adequate foam, the hopping stage stresses tailbone, spine, and knees.