NEW DELHI: The department of personnel and training, in association with Isha Foundation, organised a five-day in-service leadership programme for over 100 officers from the IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IPS (Indian Police Service), IFoS (Indian Forest Service) and other central services.
The Inner Engineering Leadership Retreat Programme, specially designed by Sadhguru, was conducted at the Isha Yoga Center in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore from January 29 to February 2.
The programme’s content is designed for government officials holding senior leadership positions in Central and state governments.
The primary objectives of the programme include enhancing one’s ability to handle stressful situations, improving inter-departmental collaboration to achieve governance objectives, enhancing interpersonal relationships, and fostering personal and professional clarity along with a deep sense of inner peace and fulfillment.
The programme included meditation sessions guided by Sadhguru, a holistic set of yoga postures, engaging discourse with Sadhguru, and initiation into Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya — a powerful 21-minute process that helps build a foundation of health, joy, and exuberance.
In a post on X, Sadhguru said: “Wonderful to see so many civil service officers invested in Inner Engineering for inner wellbeing and higher possibilities. As the frontliners in crafting social, political and economic change, your inner wellbeing will determine and impact the wellbeing of all lives around you. Congratulations on taking a significant step towards making it happen. Best Wishes & Blessings.”

The Isha Foundation has trained over 800 civil servants so far under the Inner Engineering Leadership Programme at Isha Yoga Center.
Sharing her experience, IAS officer Sonal Goel, resident commissioner (Tripura Bhawan), said: “It was truly overwhelming, fantastic, and wonderful. I frankly came without any expectations and just to experience something new and positive in my life. After doing the programme, I truly felt energised and reconnected with my own self, gaining a sense of self-awareness.”
IAS officer Saravanan Murugan, divisional commissioner (Saran Division, Bihar), said: “What I think inside, I manifest outside. If my thinking is clear, my actions will become better. This will directly contribute to the decision-making in my service. The Inner Engineering Program has provided me with the ideas, perspectives, and processes to achieve the competencies needed to transform my life and career.”
IPS officer Neha Yadav, principal police training centre in Arunachal Pradesh, said: “We all encounter issues, often involving interactions with others. Typically, we perceive the other person as an opponent who doesn’t understand us. After completing the programme, I will now consider the person as also being a part of me to whom I need to explain the situation. The other person has their perspective; let both perspectives meet and come up with a solution. Previously, I always treated the other person as an opponent, never as a part of me. This shift in perspective, I believe, will make a difference as I reflect on my issues.”