The first grant awarded from the Parapsychological Association Research Endowment created by Prof. Gertrude Schmeidler supports the research by Suneetha Kandi, Ph.D., from the Institute for Human Science and Service, Visakhapatnam, India. She proposes to explore the efficacy of various yoga practices in developing psi, based on ancient techniques described in the yoga treatises. Few studies have been conducted on yoga in parapsychology, although effects of meditation have been explored to some extent. Numerous techniques of yoga are regarded as preliminary but important in accessing the higher levels of consciousness by the individual. In this study, subjects will be given training in four different yoga techniques. Data will be collected in forced-choice and free-response ESP tests and personality tests will be used for broader perspective.

Dr. Kandi is herself a student of Yoga, and has published a number of papers on that and related topics. She intends to broaden her range to work in the challenging area of parapsychology. She is currently on the faculty of the Institute for Human Science and Service.