An Exploratory Study on ‘Vancharya’ as a Therapeutic Approach to the Bio-field of Young Adults Using Electronic Photographic Imaging

Abstract

Background

Amid the fast-paced world, nature has a therapeutic modality for healing individuals both physiologically and psychologically. One such practice mentioned in an ancient Indian text is ‘Vanacharya’, which provides a deep connection with nature and a means of achieving overall well-being. Vancharya is a practice with profound roots in Indian spiritual and philosophical traditions that view the environment as a sacred and valuable source of knowledge and healing.

Purpose

This purpose of this experimental research is to explore the therapeutic benefits of ‘vancharya’, in healing subtle systems of energy or the biofield present within the body like Aura Field (AF), Overall Alignment of Chakra (OAC), Overall, Chakra Energy (OCE), Stress Level (SL), Overall Energy Level (OEL).

Methods

This research aims to evaluate the effect of ‘vancharya’, by examining 50 young adult participants over a one-week period (7 days). The study utilised a non-experimental single-group pre- and post-research design. The data collection was done using an advanced Biowell machine. The obtained data were analysed through a Paired Sample t-test by using SPSS software.

Results

The obtained results indicated significant changes in the AF, OAC, OCE, while showing no significant impact on participants’ SL and OEL. Subjects also reported improved sleep patterns, less impulsivity, reduced aggression and fewer fluctuations of mood during their sessions in day-to-day activities.

Conclusion

Therefore, the research indicates that ‘Vancharya’ as a therapeutic modality had a significant impact on the subtle systems of energy among young adults. The obtained result from this intervention programme clearly indicates that subtle systems present in the body can have an impact as early as within 7 days itself, whereas, for visible impact within the individual (for instance stress level or overall energy level of the body), the duration of the intervention can be increased.

Introduction

Nature therapy is inspired by the ancient concept of ‘Vancharya’, which means wandering in the forest. Vancharya is a Sanskrit term ‘van’ (forest) + ‘charye’ (wandering). As per ancient Indian literature, vancharya was a significant concept that promoted individuals’ holistic development and spiritual growth. Forests promote mindfulness and self-reflection by allowing individuals to detach from worldly worries and engage in deeper contemplation. ¹ Meditation in the wilderness helps later-stage spiritual seekers, significantly affecting their health.^{2, 3} Classical manuscripts like the Upanishads examine the relationship between individuals and their environment. Eknath Easwaran, a well-known spiritual teacher, connects the Upanishads and forests to achieve enlightenment and inner peace. ⁴ Many spiritual experts following Upanishadic traditions live in the woods to cultivate self-discipline, as the peaceful environment of the forest promotes consciousness expansion and spiritual development, which is also discussed very intensely in one of the longest Upanishads, the Brihadaranyaka text.^{5, 6} Apart from Upanishads, other specialised subsets are available in prehistoric texts like Aranyakas, which explicitly emphasise the concepts of Vancharya. ⁷ Engaging in greenery changes autonomic nerve activity. ⁸ A one-day forest treatment session led to a significant decrease in blood pressure readings among office personnel, and the effect was maintained for five consecutive days. ⁹ Forest-based therapy is a highly successful treatment for signs of anxiety and depression in patients with persistent strokes. It can help individuals who cannot receive treatment through traditional medication or electroconvulsive therapies.^10–12 Nature therapy has also proven to be an effective supplementary treatment option for breast cancer and demonstrates promising outcomes by enhancing their inherent ability to combat cancerous cells.^{13, 14} Studies have shown that brief forest bathing reduces oxidative load and pro-inflammatory levels while boosting vitality.^{15, 16}

Numerous researchers have concluded that engaging in forest-related or natural environment activities can foster inner tranquillity and personal growth and contribute to overall well-being.^17–19 Immersion in forest-related activities profoundly impacts metaphysical concepts like chakra(s) present in human beings. ²⁰ The Yoga Upanishads (600 bc) and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (200 bc) mentioned chakras as psychic centres that are present in the spinal column. These ethereal forces have seven primary chakras called energy centres.^21–23 They are connected by the ‘nadis’, the energy channels, and can consequently affect the psycho-physical states of individuals. Pleasure and unpleasant sensations arise in these power areas, contributing to well-being.^{24, 25} There are seven energy centres, also known as Chakras, which are present in the human body, each corresponding to a particular emotion. The first is Mooladhar Chakra, also known as the Root Chakra, which is located at the base of the spine and is the emotional survival instinct ‘I Am’. The second is the Swadhisthan Chakra, also known as the Sacral Chakra, which is in the pelvic region. The emotions associated with this are Kaam Vasna, which pertains to desire, and Srijanatmakta, which relates to innovation and can be understood as ‘I Feel’. The third is Manipur Chakra, also called the Solar Chakra, which sits precisely at the centre of the navel. The emotions linked to this chakra include Irshya (envy), Udarta (magnanimity), Lobh (avarice), and Santosh (satisfaction). It represents the thought of ‘I Have’. The fourth is the Anahada chakra, located precisely at the heart’s midpoint. The emotions associated with this chakra are envy, affection, apprehension, and unconditional love. The fifth is the lower area of the throat houses the Vishuddhi Chakra, also called the Throat Chakra, representing ‘I Speak’. Both gratitude and grief are deeply interconnected emotions that reside in this chakra. The region between the eyebrows is home to the Ajna Chakra, the sixth one known as the Third Eye. This chakra is associated with two emotions: gyan and krodh, which represent knowledge and fury. Above the head lies the Sahastrardha Chakra, the seventh and the last chakra, also called the Crown Chakra. This chakra is closely linked to the absolute euphoria known as ‘Aham-brahmasmi’.^{20, 23, 25–31}

Biowell Machine

Various technological advancements analyse and evaluate the subtle system of chakras and the energy levels that are present within the body. The Biowell machine is one of the most widely used machines for this. Using the Kirlian effect, this machine analyses weakened photon emissions. ³² The second-generation EPI GDV system incorporates advanced imaging, electronics, and computer algorithms, which assess an individual’s well-being.^{33, 34} The Biowell device measures the human biofield by quantifying low-intensity light from the fingertips using pulsed electromagnetic current. It measures individuals’ biofield energies, including aura, chakra, and overall energies of all the organs and particular organs, as well as the overall energy level of individuals, stress levels, and many other aspects associated with well-being.

Every individual has an aura that distinctively indicates their physiological, psychological, and ethereal states. The aura field can get disconcerted and thrown off balance if any of the states of an individual get flustered. Therefore, to ensure the well-being of a person, it becomes very rudimentary to assess their aura level. ³⁵ Previous research has found that outside stressors and associated thought patterns create physiological turmoil and jeopardise various systems, such as the cardiovascular and digestive systems. ³⁶ However, the Biowell device also measures the energies of different organs and systems in the human body, making it easier to predict future health issues. In research on energy science, it was found that exposure to a sacred object (Sri Yantra) result in changes in the physiological basis of individuals, that is to say, changes in an organ’s energy, which was very well measured by an EPI device also and this in turn proves the significance of this Biowell machine as well. ³⁷ Many organ energies can be measured by this tool to mention a few are the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, thyroid, urogenital system, pituitary gland, epiphysis, blind gut, immune system, and musculoskeletal system.^{38, 39} These organs have an overall energy level, and every living organism has the potential to maintain a potential energy reserve to carry on the process of life and perform various tasks throughout their lives, which can be referred to as an overall energy level.

Objectives

1. To study the impact of intervention on the aura field among young adults.

2. To study the impact of intervention on the overall alignment of all seven chakra(s) among young adults.

3. To study the impact of the intervention on the overall energy level of the chakra(s) present among young adults.

4. To study the impact of intervention on the stress level among young adults.

5. To study the impact of intervention on the overall energy level of young adults.

Hypothesis

1. There will be a significant positive impact of intervention on the Aura Field among young adults.

2. There will be a significant positive impact of intervention on alignment level of seven Chakras among young adults.

3. Young adults will show a significant increase in overall energy levels of chakras following ‘vancharya’ sessions.

4. ‘Vancharya’ as an intervention will result in a significant reduction in stress levels among young adults.

5. The overall energy levels of young adults will significantly increase after attending ‘vancharya’ as an intervention.

Method

Research Design

The current study used a non-experimental single-group pre- and post-research design. Data were collected in person using a test and Biowell machine.

Sample

The study’s sample size is 50 college-going adults aged 17–19, selected by convenience sampling. The homogeneity based on socioeconomic status and geographical location was maintained. The inclusion criteria were knowledge of the English language, not doing any nature walk or similar activity independently, and willingness to participate. The exclusion criteria were people diagnosed with any chronic mental and physical disease.

Procedure

The ethical board committee approved the study to ensure that all the ethical parameters were considered during and after the study. The sessions were designed based on the knowledge available on Vancharya, primarily from Indian scriptures. The intervention was sent to three subject experts of common interest for expert validation on dimensions like cultural sensitivity, structure, and clarity of instruction. After incorporating the suggestion, a pilot study was conducted with six college-going students to test the sessions’ feasibility, the comprehensibility of instruction, and the estimated time and resources for the actual intervention. After 7 days of the pilot study, minor changes were made in the instruction, and the intervention was finalised. Then, a call for participation was circulated on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. The selection of 50 participants was made based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All 50 participants were briefed about the study, and consent was obtained. After that, pre-assessment using the Biowell machine was conducted individually. All the participants were called at a familiar place on a standard time identified for the intervention and given them briefing. They all attended 1-hour vancharya-based group sessions and continued the same for 7 days. After the session, they were asked to share their experiences by asking open-ended questions like ‘Did you feel comfortable engaging with the activities?’ and ‘What difference do you feel before and after the session?’ daily. The researcher duly noted their responses. Individual post-assessments were started on the last day of intervention, and the post-assessment process took two consecutive days. After the intervention, data were compiled and cleaned. Analysis was done using SPSS software, and results were reported.

Tool Used

The Bio-Well machine used for the assessment, based on Gas Discharge Visualisation (GDV) and Electro Photonic Imaging (EPI) technology, developed in 1995 by Dr Korotkov, along with other Russian scientists present in his research team, worked on clinical research related to the subtle energy system present in the body for more than 20 years. This machine incarcerates the discharges released by electronic waves from human fingertips. The free electrons that create the gas discharge at the fingertips are extracted by the camera lens and photographed on the screen. The tips of the fingers are associated with minute neurons connected with parts of the body, enabling this machine to read the chakras present within the body and analyse the energetic states along with the stress states. This machine also helps to study the alignment of the chakras, the energy each chakra holds as well as the energy of overall chakras, understand the overall level of energy present within the body, the aura field of the people as well as all the energy present in each organ and body parts to mention few are like intestine, bones, joints, hypothalamus, pituitary. This software offers a graphical and visual comprehension of energy. This device can be used for the successful analysis and evaluation of latent systems of the body from both psychological and physiological parameters by many health and allied health professionals. The parameters used in the present study are the aura field, alignment of the seven chakras, overall chakras’ energy levels, stress levels, and total energy levels of an individual. The aura field reflects the subject’s bio-energetic state, while chakra alignment and energy levels assess balance and vitality across the body’s energy centres. Stress indicates physical and psychological strain and total energy levels are represented by overall vitality.

Intervention

Fifty college-going young adults aged 17–19 were given the forest setting-based intervention ‘vancharya’ for seven continuous days. ⁴⁰ A pre- and post-test design was employed to check the effectiveness of vancharya-based intervention techniques. Various activities were involved under the ‘vancharya’ intervention to assess the young adults’ seven chakras and related parameters. The subjects were given the intervention during the morning hours from 8:30 am to 9:30 am in the mango orchard areas where 57 full-grown trees were planted. The total area was 8,100 square feet, including mud, grasses, air, noise pollution-free areas, cemented seats, and wet ground. This setup is similar to the forest-based settings where meditation, walking, and other related activities can be performed extensively, which ultimately aligns with the concept of nature-based therapy. It was assured that there was no direct exposure to sunlight. The experiment was conducted in February at an average temperature of 28 degrees Celsius. Only after the subjects reached the mango orchard were instructed to submit their belongings, such as bags, mobile phones, or other valuables, to the facilitators. Then, they were instructed to remove their shoes and start alternate nostril breathing by sitting on the ground. After that, they were asked to take a stroll in the orchard, and with whichever tree they could connect, they had to hug that tree for 10 minutes. After that, subjects had to continue the remaining activity within the session, such as listening to the bird’s voice for another 5 minutes. Each session lasted for 1 hour for seven days, in which there were various activities of hugging the trees, walking barefooted on the grasses, scribbling/painting, writing poetry/songs, singing songs, laughing activity, and various breathing techniques. All the activities were divided within the time limit of 1 hour. Post-assessment was conducted on the last day of intervention using a biowell machine with no dropouts.

Results

Variables were evaluated before and after the intervention: aura field (AF), overall chakra alignment (OCA), overall chakra energy (OCE), stress level (SL), and overall energy level of participants (OEL) as shown in Table 1. After the quantitative analysis, significant improvements were found in the aura field (t = −12.40, p < .001), chakra alignment (t = −7.44, p < .001), and overall chakra energy (t = −8.44, p < .001) whereas, no meaningful changes were observed in stress level (t = 3.77, p = 1.000) or overall energy level (t = −1.13, p = .133) as shown in Table 1. However, in many previous research studies, exposure to natural settings has been proven to decrease stress levels. ⁴¹ Therefore, reduction in stress level can be further studied using more specific steps of vancharya.

Table 1. Showing Pre- and Post-intervention Scores and Paired Sample t-test.

Variable	Pre-intervention M (SD)	Post-intervention M (SD)	t (49)
Aura field (AF)	36.94 (11.15)	44.82 (12.54)	12.40**
Overall alignment of chakra (OAC)	63.52 (14.36)	79.72 (11.93)	7.44**
Overall chakra energy (OCE)	4.16 (1.19)	5.07 (1.41)	8.44**
Stress level (SL)	6.79 (1.83)	5.58 (1.83)	3.77
Overall energy level (OEL)	45.61 (22.14)	49.38 (9.56)	1.13

Note: M = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation. Degrees of freedom (df) = 49 for all tests. **p < .001.

Discussion

The present research examines the impact of ‘vancharya’ sessions on young adults’ bio-field parameters, including chakras energies, aura field, and stress levels. The qualitative data was also collected through the participants’ feedback, which indicated the efficaciousness of ‘vancharya’ sessions in regulating emotions and improving sleep quality. Individuals reported eliciting less emotional reactivity, fewer mood swings, and experiencing lesser impulses of anger. ⁴² Incorporating both psycho-physiological practices under the intervention of ‘vancharya’ appears to assist many benefits by encouraging a realistic and mindful approach to various emotions, thereby reducing the stances of low mood states.^{43, 44} The activities during ‘vancharya’ sessions are anticipated to have a meaningful impact on sleep quality. ⁴¹ Regardless of many possible benefits, several limitations need to be acknowledged. Since this research is a pilot study, the sample size is limited, limiting the generalisation of the results. In future studies, some physical measures like blood pressure or heart rate can also be used to identify the physiological benefits of vancharya practices. It can be speculated that if sessions are exposed for longer durations, then some meaningful changes can be expected. Therefore, to establish the reliability of this therapy, a diverse range of populations with varied demographic details exposed to a longer duration of vancharya sessions and different physiological assessments can be considered.

The findings revealed that ‘vancharya’, as one of the therapeutic techniques, facilitates well-being of the individuals. Although the results elicited that this nature-based therapeutic modality helps in significantly improving the chakra energies, alignment, and the aura field of the young individuals. Participants also reported about the improvements they experienced in their sleep-wake cycles, less impulsivity in emotions, and decreased aggressions, as well as mood swings on an everyday basis during the time they were involved in the vancharya-related exercises. However, there were no significant differences observed in stress levels or overall energy levels of the subjects. Therefore, with the obtained observations, ‘vancharya’ as a therapy can benefit people by improving the subtle energy systems present within the body on an immediate basis. However, the stress levels can be reduced using greenery-based therapy according to the existing literature, but measuring it through the bio-well machine might require more specific changes in the biofields of the subjects. ⁴⁵ Such nature-based interventions and exercises, particularly involved under ‘vancharya’, can be used in various wellness programmes, retreats, rehabilitation centres, education system, hospitals, or any other institutions dedicated to the healing and development of individuals as a whole. ‘Vancharya’ as a therapeutic modality can complement existing therapies in order to improve mental health symptoms from mild to moderate, like anger, anxiety, impulsivity, sleeplessness and frequent mood swings. This therapy can be further advanced on a larger number of populations, along with other symptoms, to understand its diverse benefits and applicability. The promising results of this vancharya intervention open avenues for integrating nature-based therapeutic approaches into college mental health programs and student wellness initiatives. Future research should explore long-term effects through longitudinal studies, include control groups, and investigate the potential for implementing such interventions across diverse educational settings and age groups. Additionally, these findings can inform institutional policies on creating green spaces within educational campuses and developing structured nature-based wellness programs that could be integrated into regular academic schedules.

Limitations of Study

The study was limited by its focus on immediate post-intervention effects, without long-term follow-up assessments that could have demonstrated the sustainability of vancharya’s impact over time. Additionally, the non-experimental research design without a control group made it challenging to conclusively attribute the observed changes solely to the vancharya intervention, as other confounding variables could not be fully controlled.

Authors Contribution

The conceptualization was done by Dr Pandey and Dr Rastogi. The literature and drafting of the manuscript were conducted by Dr Pandey, Ms Pal and Dr Rastogi. The editing and supervision were performed by Dr Gupta, Prof. Zaidi, Dr Agrawal and Dr Chakravarty. All authors have read and agreed to the final version of the manuscript.

Statement of Ethics

The approval was taken from the ethical board committee. The participants were also properly informed about the study and they have given the written consent to participate in the study.