The facts on transcendental meditation: II. "TM relaxes some people and makes them feel better"

Author(s):  
Gary E. Schwartz
1997 ◽  
Vol 89 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 15-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stig R. Wenneberg ◽  
Robert H. Schneider ◽  
Kenneth G. Walton ◽  
Christopher R.K. Maclean ◽  
Debra K. Levitsky ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-19
Author(s):  
Gene R. Thursby

The category of Hindu new religious movements is conventional and useful, but has imprecise boundaries. Scholars tend to include within it some groups that have claimed they are not Hindu (Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission) or not religious (Transcendental Meditation). Within its wide range are world-affirming groups dedicated to transforming the physical and social world as well as world-transcending groups that find the status of the world doubtful and their purpose at another level or in another realm. The four articles in this special issue of Nova Religio on Hindu new religious movements represent several aspects of this category, and the potential for accommodation of basic differences, social harmony, and even world-transcendence.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vernon A. Barnes ◽  
Gaston K. Kapuku ◽  
Frank A. Treiber

Background. An early sign of ventricular remodeling is increased left ventricular mass (LVM) which over time may lead to left ventricular hypertrophy, the strongest predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, other than advancing age.Methods. 62 (30 TM; 32 CTL) African American adolescents (age16.2±1.3years) with high normal systolic BP were randomly assigned to either 4-month Transcendental Meditation (TM) or health education control groups. The echocardiographic-derived measure of LVM index (LVMI = LVM/ht2.7) was measured before and after the 4-month TM study and at 4-month followup. 2D-guided M-mode echocardiography using a Hewlett Packard 5500 echosonograph was used to determine LVMI.Results. The TM group exhibited a greater decrease in LVMI at 4-month followup compared to the CTL group (−2.6 versus +0.3 gm/ht2.7,P<0.04). The TM group exhibited a lesser increase in BMI at 4-month follow-up compared to the CTL group (0.2±1.6versus1.1±1.4,P<0.03).Conclusion. These findings indicate that among a group of prehypertensive African American adolescents, 4 months of TM compared to heath education resulted in a significant decrease in LVMI, and these changes were maintained at 4-month follow-up.


1984 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 607-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Wolkove ◽  
H. Kreisman ◽  
D. Darragh ◽  
C. Cohen ◽  
H. Frank

We studied the effect of transcendental meditation (TM) on breathing using 16 experienced meditators and 16 control subjects. In controls, there was no significant difference in minute ventilation (VE), respiratory pattern, or hypercapnic response, whether breathing with eyes open-awake (CA), or with eyes closed-relaxing (CR). In meditators, VE decreased significantly during quiet breathing from 14.0 +/- 0.7 1/min with eyes open-awake (MA) to 12.4 +/- 0.6 1/min during meditation (MM) (P less than 0.02). The change in VE during meditation was due to a decrease in tidal volume (VT) resulting from a shortened inspiratory time (TI). Meditation was associated with a decreased response to progressive hypercapnia from 3.7 +/- 0.4 to 2.5 +/- 0.21 X min-1 X Torr-1 during MA and MM trials, respectively (P less than 0.01). During meditation VT was smaller at a given alveolar PCO2 than during MA studies because of a decrease in mean inspiratory flow rate (VT/TI). These observations suggest that an alteration in wakefulness, more subtle than sleep or the unconscious state, can significantly affect the chemical and neural regulation of breathing.


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