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| Thursday, November 19, 2009 |
| Transcendental Meditation…Oh So Good for You |
This morning’s headline definitely got my attention. I knew that meditation helped reduce heart disease risk, but I never would have estimated by 50%. All the better for me then. I have been meditating “inconsistently” for 20 years. But four months ago I learned the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. This was a real change from the Silva Mind Control method that I learned in 1989 and then later when I trained as a hypno-therapist. TM is the easiest technique to learn and practice. It’s totally different compared to my previous methods as one is not trying to control the mind. Although all meditation, using any technique brings health benefits, I believe TM may be the preferred method for clinical trials.
According to Robert Schneider, M.D., FACC, lead author and director of the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention,Previous research on Transcendental Meditation has shown reductions in blood pressure, psychological stress, and other risk factors for heart disease, irrespective of ethnicity. But this is the first controlled clinical trial to show that long-term practice of this particular stress reduction program reduces the incidence of clinical cardiovascular events that is heart attacks, strokes and mortality."
The nine-year, randomized control trial followed 201 African American men and women, average age 59 years, with narrowing of arteries in their hearts who were randomly assigned to either practice the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique or to participate in a control group which received health education classes in traditional risk factors, including dietary modification and exercise.
All participants continued standard medications and other usual medical care. The study found:
- A 47 percent reduction in the combination of death, heart attacks, and strokes in the participants
- Clinically significant (5 mm Hg average) reduction in blood pressure associated with decrease in clinical events
- Significant reductions in psychological stress in the high-stress subgroup
These are impressive results and a motivator in continuing to practice TM or any other meditation method. I wouldn’t have been a good subject for this study since I don’t have heart disease or hypertension, but two years ago a study found that meditating or “mindfulness training” enhanced performance and the ability to focus attention.
It’s funny how I can’t find 20 minutes to exercise each day but now I can find 20 minutes twice a day to meditate. Like exercise, my body and mind benefit, but my arms are still “soft”. But most importantly I am doing it consistently and intend to do so because I can feel it now and expect to reap the results from today on.
By the way, our mantra is not OM!
Peace and love.
- Josée
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posted by My Sensei @ Thursday, November 19, 2009   |
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