Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between a form of spiritual pursuit, Siddha Yoga, and the level of stress in psychotherapists. The subjects were 119 psychotherapists who practice psychological counseling, 50 Siddha Yoga practitioners and 69 Non Siddha Yoga practitioners, surveyed nationally by mail, using the Essi Systems StressMap and a Background Information Questionnaire designed by the researcher to draw out information regarding demographics, spiritual practice of all participants and level of practice for those S's who were involved in Siddha Yoga. Some support was found for stress management benefits of Siddha Yoga using an analysis of covariance, with factors of age of respondent and percent of time spent in private practice contributing significantly to the variability between the two groups of therapists regarding level of stress. A measure of spiritual pursuit was developed and applied to the total 119 S's. There was a statistically significant relationship found between level of spiritual practice and level of stress using both groups combined. The behavior and intention of relating to our higher Self appears to provide stress management benefits for psychotherapists and should be considered a viable coping strategy