Sri Sri Center for Peace and Meditation

After attending a couple of meetups, I decided to take the art of living course. I did get some good things out of it such as how to do pranayamas and ujjayi breath, but I think the reverence around the «guru» Sri Sri is a bit weird. I got a very cult-​like vibe… Like it was all about him and about spreading his message (however positive it may seem to be at first) to the world at any cost (time-​wise, money-​wise)… a kind of black hole that will draw you in and chew your essence out until you surrender all your being. I had been curious for a long time about what art of living was. Now I know and I’ll never return.

I attended a meetup meditation event here. The building is beautiful and the space and equipment provided was quite good and I had high hopes for the event. Then it began and I quickly realized that the entire thing was an advertisement for the services and community they provide.
I waited almost an hour with no real indication that a meditation was even about to start. Instead I sat there and listened to the life history of the speaker and random tidbits of spiritual teachings regurgitated in a haphazard fashion and treated as if they were profound. When someone else got up and left I decided to follow suit and save myself listening any more to what was in effect a rambling uninteresting story and an advertisement.
I will note that I didn’t stay the entire time so it’s possible things get better if you stay longer, but I couldn’t stomach any more of what I was getting and when I finally asked about when the meditation would start my question was blown off so I left. The DC world is full of words and speeches. I came to a meditation event for stillness and silence only to find poor words and bad speeches. If you’re looking for a place to meditate I’d recommend looking elsewhere, DC has several good alternatives, in my experience this one is just a waste of time.

This place has changed my life. I took one Art of Living class here about a year ago and have been coming back regularly – pretty much weekly – ever since. I feel like this place is my second home and feel so lucky to have found it.
Coming here is such a peaceful and relaxing experience. Blankets, cushions, and yoga mats abound, fresh flowers are placed everywhere, and breezes waft in through open windows. The building is majestic with creaky hardwood floors and lots of character, and it feels so cozy and welcoming from the moment you first walk in. The location right on the park is also ideal. And to top it off I’ve never met a nicer group of people than the folks who live and work here. I can honestly say I now count many of them among my best friends in DC.
Basically, I can’t say enough good things about this organization and the people who work here, and I would encourage everyone reading this who feels just a little bit curious about what they do to go see for themselves. Go to one of the free Mind and Meditation seminars that’s offered every Tuesday and Saturday, check out a Meridian Yoga Studio yoga class, and of course to sign up for the Art of Living Course! Your only regret will be that you didn’t do it sooner.

The breathing techniques and Meditations are life changing! Teachers are GREAT! Knowledge is invaluable… am very impressed with the Art of Living group

So I came here for a meet up group free meditation class and I ended up feeling relaxed and with a huge smile on my face! I loved it!
+s
Friendly, helpful, dedicated teachers
Interesting proposal to a better living
Metro/​bus accessible
What you should know is that this is the Center of the Art of Living worldwide organization. This is the real thing & they offer different king of classes and workshops. Their goal, as I understand it, is to teach you how to breath right to have a better quality of life. This means living in the present, making the most out of your time and finding happiness within. All good things!

One of my friend told me about this place to learn stress relieving techniques and I was skeptical. I went there for an intro session, they taught me some basic breathing which I felt ok. Out of curiosity I signed up for the course. They said it is one time fee of $ 350.00 and free for life time which I felt ok compared to iphone.
The first day started slowly with some stretching, deep breathing and power breathing… The second day was an amazing experience… Especially, the sudarshan kriya process. Overall, the course was phenomenal… I wish I could have take this program during my school which could have helped me to score better grades and improved my social skills. It is straight forward… The way you breathe is the way your mind works… It is neither Scientology nor Biology and it is simply about our physiology… Simple…Learn gentle yoga to relieve the stress in the body, learn three stage breathing to increase your lung capacity, learn sudarshan kriya to trash your garbage and stress and learn some time/​emotion management tips… they showed couple of small videos about the service project in various countries… After 6 days, I felt refreshed, great and very happy to know that my money is going for good cause.
My girlfriend sees a great change in my smile and she loves me more…