Benefits of Meditation

Many people today are aware that meditation is good for improving health, creativity, longevity, social relations, and many other areas of life. However, different meditation techniques offer different benefits, and more research is needed comparing the various techniques.

There has been extensive scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation technique. Over 600 studies in the past 40 years have enumerated and validated the universal benefits of practicing TM across different populations, age groups, occupations, etc.

Improvements are seen in brain functioning, creativity, stress reduction, social relations, and in society as a whole. How can one simple technique have such a broad range of benefits? Simply put: Stress relief!!!

We know that many diseases are stress-related. Stress impacts our thinking, creativity, relationships, and even social behavior. Stress is the “black plague” of our time. Everyone is aware of it, those practicing meditation have a way to deal with it.

While practicing TM, as your mind experiences quieter, subtler levels of the thinking process, and then transcends thought altogether, your body gains a state of profound rest, much deeper than ordinary relaxation. This deep, healing rest allows accumulated knots of emotional and physical stress to be released. The body gradually removes imbalances and returns to its normal state of homeostasis, balance.

Research has found that TM practice has a truly holistic effect on health, including normalization of hormone levels and blood pressure, and measurable improvements in diabetes, cholesterol, cardiovascular health, and brain functioning. The body starts to maintain a more rested, calm, and energetic style of functioning even outside of meditation, making us more resilient to stress.

Over 600 scientific research studies have verified the health benefits of TM practice—the National Institutes of Health has given over $26 million in research grants to scientists over the past 20 years to further study the technique’s health effects.