Mapping Contemporary Yoga and Meditation Research (2021–2025): An Indian Knowledge System Perspective Using Scientometric and Topic Modelling Techniques

Abstract

The present study provides a comprehensive review of recent studies undertaken on yoga and meditation, assessing the publication trends, collaboration patterns, and problems associated with the topic from an Indian knowledge viewpoint. Bibliographic data were collected from the Scopus database, and a list of studies on yoga and meditation conducted between 2021–2025 was prepared, and after removing the duplicates, the total number of studies was 13,087. Microsoft Excel was used for basic analysis on year-wise rise of number of studies published, productivity of publishing authors, sources and affiliations. Additional analyses were conducted in RStudio using both simple and complex approaches like path analyses (co-authorship networks), global cooperation maps, and thematic appraisal of the study.

Most of the publications were published after 2021, which indicates huge expansion and increasing global interest in this area. In research production, a few important authors may be identified, co-authorship is moderate and international collaboration is significant, particularly between industrialized countries and especially India. The topic review states that majority of the studies focus on health-related clinical and psychological applications with an emphasis on therapeutic ways for healing. This analysis presents a broad conceptual framework for improving understanding of the fast changing research landscape and for enabling the merging of traditional knowledge with present-day science.