The Centre meets on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday every week of the year, as follows:-
NEWCOMERS: Dhyana Yoga courses (occasional Sundays, in-person)
Meditation tuition consists of courses on Sundays dovetailing with weekday evening practice groups (both online and in-person, see Intermediate below).
Dhyana Yoga (The Path of Meditation) tuition involves two separate courses, Introductory and Intermediate, each comprising two workshops on consecutive Sundays:-
Introductory: the first week covers the basic theory and mechanics of meditation as a spiritual discipline, broadly following the Raja Yoga system laid down by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, including the systematic use of breathing and chakras. The second week develops this with the use of mantra and devotional visualisation.
Intermediate: this course inclines towards Self-Enquiry/Jnana Yoga, using more refined chakral techniques to develop Self-attention (Atma Dhyana). This is coupled with an introduction to the use of mudras and pranayama as significant aids to meditation practice.
See here for a fuller synopsis of the course.
Course attendance: learning meditation as a spiritual discipline involves a lot more than just attending a one-off course. It necessitates personalised guidance, encouragement and continuing support in addition to the formal basis that an introductory course can provide. It is for this reason that tuition is run on a bespoke basis rather than offered publicly, and is therefore only for those who are able to attend the Centre’s classes on a regular basis. Some prior experience of meditation is necessary, this is not for beginners. If you are interested in learning Dhyana Yoga, please email the Centre in the first instance then attend an OM Healing session where you will be able to discuss your requirements with the course leader.
PLEASE NOTE that there are no formal courses planned at present (2026); instead the Centre currently runs induction sessions for small groups of existing meditators, either during the weekday classes or on Sunday evenings.
INTERMEDIATE: Ramakrishna Group (Tuesdays/Fridays 7pm: in-person or online)
Following on from the introductory sessions is the Ramakrishna Group, named after the famous 19th century Indian saint who was the living embodiment of religious harmony (as in this photograph, left: a contemporary of Sri Ramakrishna was Lahiri Mahasaya, the archetypal householder yogi, pictured below. These two great souls are the principal inspirations behind the Dhyana Centre).
In-person sessions: drop-in group meditations run from 7pm – 9pm twice monthly on Fridays with two periods of silent meditation, the first for 30 minutes and the second for 40 minutes. There is a break at 8pm to allow participants either to arrive or leave. These classes take place at Essex Unitarian Church, Notting Hill Gate and are for Centre members and invited students only; they are not open to the public, even if they have prior yogic experience. See here for dates, no booking required.
Online sessions via Zoom: classes take place on Tuesday and Friday evenings, 
plus mini-retreats on Sunday mornings. Sessions normally last about an hour or slightly longer but take different forms:
- ‘dhyana on Zoom’ normally involves one 45 minute period of silent meditation but may also consist of two 20 minute periods instead, depending on who is attending.
- ‘Open Forum’ consists of a spiritual reading (currently from “Conscious Immortality”, conversations with Sri Ramana Maharshi) followed by one 20 minute period of meditation, then a Question & Answer/discussion period.
- ‘Sunday retreat’ is a 2 hour silent meditation drop-in, no discussion.
See the weekly activities table for dates/times of these sessions.
Silent meditation retreats: traditionally, these one day retreats have occurred three times a year on Sundays (12 noon – 6pm); however, since the pandemic, they have taken place as mini-retreats online instead. It is hoped that in-person retreats will resume in due course but there are none planned at present. However, there is a 2 hour mini-retreat on Zoom every Sunday 10am – 12 noon under the auspices of the Lahiri Group (which no longer functions in-person) and this may be extended for particular Sundays eg. Easter.
OM HEALING: regular public session (in-person)
45 minutes of audible chant followed by 15 minutes silent meditation; Tuesdays twice a month in central London and open to all. Please see the OM Healing page for more information.
Free of charge: the Dhyana Centre is run as a community service and all its activities are free of charge. It is funded entirely by voluntary donations from its members and participants.
Click for the Calendar page on which all event dates can be viewed.