Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It is practiced by millions worldwide and is known for its simplicity and claimed benefits. TM involves
the use of a private mantra and is practiced for 20 minutes twice a day while sitting comfortably with closed eyes. Advocates of TM claim that it promotes a state of relaxed awareness, stress relief, creativity, and efficiency, along with physiological benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
The Practice of Transcendental Meditation
The TM technique is recommended for 20 minutes twice per day. Practitioners sit comfortably with closed eyes and silently repeat a mantra with gentle effortlessness. The mantra is said to be a vehicle that allows the individual's attention to travel naturally to a less active, quieter style of mental functioning. TM instruction encourages students not to be distracted by random thoughts and to easily return to the mantra once aware of them. This practice is described as an easy, natural technique or process, leading to a wakeful hypometabolic physiologic state.
The TM organization explains that focused attention is not prescribed, and the aim is a unified and open attentional stance. Practice of the technique includes a process called "unstressing," which combines effortless relaxation with spontaneous imagery and emotion. TM teachers caution their students not to be alarmed by random thoughts and to attend to the mantra.
Claimed Benefits of Transcendental Meditation
Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a state of relaxed awareness, stress relief, creativity, and efficiency. Physiological benefits are also purported, such as reducing the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. The technique is said to allow practitioners to experience higher states of consciousness, and advanced courses supplement the TM technique with the TM-Sidhi program.
However, the methodological quality of scientific research on the therapeutic benefits of meditation in general is poor, due to varying theoretical approaches and frequent confirmation bias in individual studies. A 2012 meta-analysis found that TM performed no better overall than other meditation techniques in improving psychological variables. A 2014 Cochrane review found it impossible to draw conclusions about TM's effectiveness in preventing cardiovascular disease due to limited scientific literature and serious risk of bias.
The Global Reach of Transcendental Meditation
Worldwide, four to six million people over the decade 2003 to 2013 have been reported to be practitioners of TM. The technique became popular with students in the 1960s, and by the early 1970s, centers for the Students International Meditation Society were established at a thousand campuses in the United States, with similar growth occurring in Germany, Canada, and Britain. The Maharishi International University was established in 1973 in the United States and began offering accredited degree programs, further expanding the reach and influence of TM.
