What to Know About Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is belied by its lofty name, at least in its technique. Essentially it requires two tune out (mediation) sessions a day and a personal mantra. After that, rinse and repeat.

History

TM originated from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. Maharishi began teaching the technique publicly in 1955. He initiated thousands of meditators into the TM movement and established a teacher training program to help it spread. Celebrities and scientifically proven benefits have also hastened TM’s spread, all the way up to current day. The TM movement now has millions of teachers and followers from around the world.

Method

The mantra is the starting point for new TM followers. It is a sound, thought or phrase that is repeated by the practitioner during meditation. There are two daily meditation sessions lasting from fifteen to twenty minutes each. Of the mantra Maharishi said, "By using this mantra, the practitioner experiences the thought of that sound and starts minimizing that thought to experience the finer states of that thought – until the source of thought is fathomed and the conscious mind reaches the transcendental area of being.” You’ll probably need to read that one over a few times.

TM is meant to be taught by a qualified instructor. Once you get past the simple beginnings of TM practice there is much fine tuning that is best done with a trained TM teacher. You’ll have to sign up for a class to find out just what that fine tuning entails. The price of a four day TM course in the U.S. will run you around $1,000.

Benefits

Science has proven that TM benefits one’s immune system, blood pressure, eating habits, sleep, stress levels and ability to focus. Another interesting benefit is that the effects of TM are almost immediate. TM practitioners report feeling effects after just their first session and the brain wave imaging taken from beginners and masters do not vary greatly. TM mastery it turns out is readily available.

Are you ready to level up your meditation game? Learn more about mediation styles that boost mental performance.