Mindvalley founder Vishen Lakhiani on the power of meditation ahead of Dubai seminar

The online learning platform is hosting sessions in the emirate this week that will focus on personal growth

Vishen Lakhiani says adopting personal growth strategies can help people to become leaders. Photo: Mindvalley

For Vishen Lakhiani meditation was a game changer.

The founder of online learning platform Mindvalley says it was his fascination for the discipline that, in 2002, pushed him to launch Mindvalley, an online learning platform that focuses on “enriching the mind, body and soul”.

He says personal growth areas that focus on soft skills, at the time, were often pushed aside, but he found these “gave me bigger advantages in life than anything I learnt from university”.

Now, Mindvalley is organising its first seminar in Dubai..

Held at Dubai Festival Arena on Saturday and Sunday, the sessions will be conducted by British therapist Marisa Peer, American “brain coach” Jim Kwik, bestselling author Shefali Tsabary, Motivating the Masses chief executive Lisa Nichols and Emirati entrepreneur Sara Al Madani, founder of Hala Hi.

Mindvalley, which Lakhiani says has trained about 200,000 students to date globally, features an array of classes, from techniques to improve memory to mindful parenting. “You learn things that can help you live healthily, optimise your mind, nurture your soul and have the healthiest relationships,” he explains.

The platform uses a gamified learning method, where students are required to complete 15 to 20 minutes of lessons per day.

The classes are organised across six categories — mind, body, soul, entrepreneurship, career and relationships ― and are taught by experts in their fields. Peer, for example, offers a session called Rapid Transformational Hypnotherapy for Abundance. Other programmes include The 6 Phase Meditation by Lakhiani, Super Reading by Jim Kwik and Conscious Parenting Mastery by Tsabary.

Mindfulness and success

Aside from the programmes, Lakhiani says Mindvalley has created a community of like-minded people, some of whom are "high-profile individuals", which he says is another benefit to being part of the organisation.

“Personal growth is always a main topic of discussion with every CEO or entrepreneur I converse with these days. They talk about the latest gym trends, latest meditation techniques and books about philosophy or improving the human condition,” he explains.

“Many people who embraced personal growth 10, 20 years ago, when these concepts weren't as popular, ended up becoming the leaders of today.”

Lakhiani, who is also the author of self-help books The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and The Buddha and the Badass, says Dubai has one of the highest concentrations of Mindvalley students. “Our students tend to be wealthy, highly educated and highly successful, and Dubai attracts these people,” he says.

Successful people, Lakhiani says, tend to pursue and embrace personal growth to a higher degree, alluding to the famed hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow, where self-actualisation only comes after tending to one's physiological needs.

Well-being also gained renewed focus during the Covid-19 pandemic, when people were not only concerned about the physical setbacks brought on by the virus, but also struggling with mental and emotional challenges. Lakhiani says Mindvalley grew stronger during this period.

He says people who pursue personal growth tend to be more successful in the long run. “If your body is happy, you are going to perform better at work,” he says, citing that the positive impact of meditation and other well-being practices — from coping with stress and anxiety to chronic pain — are well documented.

“If you are meditating, you are more likely to succeed at any career because of enhanced feelings of happiness, creativity and stress resilience, among others.”

Mindvalley memberships costs $99 per month or $499 annually; the in-person seminars in Dubai range from $499 to $999; more information is at mindvalley.com