Dr. Oz recommends meditation for heart health, high cholesterol and diabetes

Meditation is emerging as a powerful stress-buster. Research shows that it can have health benefits equivalent to or better than some of the leading medications for reducing high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Dr. Oz, a meditator himself, talks about how the Transcendental Meditation technique reduces the three main risk factors for heart disease.

"As a heart surgeon, I see the effects of stress on the heart as the leading cause of death in the Western world. This meditation, we believe, can help a lot of people. It's important to understand exactly how TM reduces stress and stress-related disorders."

Stating that high cholesterol is the first major risk factor for heart disease, Dr. Oz cited a one-year study on people with high cholesterol who practiced the TM technique. The study found that cholesterol was reduced by 10 percent, or 30 milliliters. "Now, if you are on medication for cholesterol, we hope you can get 30 milliliters lower," he said.

The second risk factor for heart disease, cautioned Dr. Oz, is high insulin or diabetes. "A randomized clinical trial funded by the NIH found improvements in insulin resistance, glucose and even insulin levels themselves, after just four months of TM practice, in over 100 people who had coronary blocks. This dramatic change was significantly better than just teaching people about their health."

Meditation also helps reduce hypertension -- the third main risk factor -- according to a randomized control study on people suffering from high blood pressure. "Those practicing the TM technique had a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, of 11 and 6, respectively. Those are big numbers. We don't get these kind of results all the time with medications."


The outcome of a long-term randomized trial on patients with coronary heart disease showed similar promise. Those practicing the TM technique during this 10-year period were found to have 47 percent less incidence of mortality, heart disease and stroke. "This impact in the TM group is stunning -- unimaginable. When you talk about these causes of death and you can reduce them by that much, as well as non-fatal strokes and non-fatal heart attacks, these are spectacularly large impacts."

If we're under stress, it's even harder -- we're more likely to overeat and find ourselves less motivated to exercise and more susceptible to smoking, drinking and other addictive behaviors. Meditation adds a powerful engine to your health resolutions. What's more, it's easy!

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Feminism: Can meditation add a new dimension?

Great article on the evolution of feminism appeared in the Huffington Post today. The author points out that although women have achieved greater freedom and responsibility, fewer women like to think of themselves as feminist. 


Since the rise of feminism in America, many women have taken on more challenges and have become more taxed by the stress of multi-tasking and increased pressures of career and family life. More women are on anti-depre­ssants and Prozak than ever before. We have become more stressed out and thereby less powerful in our natural ability to be nourishing and harmonizin­g to family, friends and co-workers­.


I think a woman's greatest resource is her consciousn­ess—the clarity or her mind and depth or her heart. As a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique for women, I see women gain enormous strength and respect when they are able to draw on their inner power—the energy, intelligen­ce and vibrancy of their own Being. Adding this spiritual dimension of developing the divine feminine at the core of our consciousn­ess will allow us to be more resourcefu­l, more relaxed, more creative and successful in our endeavors.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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World Alzheimer's Day and Women

Today is National Alzheimer’s day. Reports are drawing attention to the epidemic of the disease and its impact on women. Maria Schriver states, “Women are at the epicenter of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's disproportionately affects women, who are not only nearly two-thirds of those who suffer from Alzheimer's, women are also nearly two-thirds of the caregivers for those who have the disease.”

Lifestyle factors such as stress, lack of physical and mental exercise, diet and routine are some of the main risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s. Addressing the onset of dementia or mental deterioration through preventative measures such as a meditation practice can go a long way in maintaining mental agility. Research findings on the Transcendental Meditation technique show increased blood flow to the brain, greater EEG coherence and more efficient, integrated brain functioning. Better education about the risk factors for Alzheimer's and the options for prevention should be part of this discussion. 

As women all across America are nurturing the next generation while simultaneously caring for the last generation, the cost is tremendous — financially, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Having a practice that allows the mind to effortlessly settle inward and experience greater energy, calm and orderliness is rejuvenating for both mind and body. The TM technique has been found to create deep, stress-relieving relaxation — balancing and healing body, mind and emotions. 

For the elderly, the TM technique is easy to learn and practice and has been found not only to improve memory, alertness and decision making, but also reduce the stress, anxiety and depression that often accompany aging. Studies also show reduced heart attack and stroke and reduced hypertension.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Stress and Addiction -- How Meditation helps us Cope

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, as proclaimed by President Obama. This year the Recovery Month theme highlights how psychological stress contributes to alcohol and/or drug use, and the disorders or relapse that may follow.

I have been the teaching the Transcendental Meditation technique to recovering addicts for several years. Often I hear how much they appreciate the deep inner calm they gain from their practice and direct connection to "their higher power." Many report that the TM technique gives them the ability to transcend the pattern of gratification through substance abuse. Experts in addiction tell us the relationship between stress and addiction is deeper than circumstantial; indeed, it runs right down to the cells in our brain. The Transcendental Meditation technique has been found to improve brain functioning and create deep coherent rest for the physiology, helping behavior.

The 12 step program is amazing, and adding the practice of Transcendental Meditation helps give the recovering addict a powerful tool for releasing stress, improving brain functioning and experiencing inner happiness.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thea-singer/september-is-recovery-mon_b_715975.html">

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Keeping Your Prefrontal Cortex Online: Neuroplasticity, Stress and Meditation

Read the new Huffington Post article
by Jeanne Ball

"Keeping Your Prefrontal Cortex Online:
Neuroplasticity, Stress and Meditation"

From the Huffington Post:

As we go through life, our brain is always changing and adapting, say neuroscientists. During the first 18-20 years of life the brain is developing circuits that will form the basis of decision-making for a lifetime. Brain researchers have found that unhealthy lifestyles can inhibit normal brain development in adolescents and lead to impaired judgment and destructive behavior that carries over into adulthood.

Studies recently published in the neuroscience journal Cognitive Processing show that brain development can be enhanced -- not only during adolescence but at any age -- through the Transcendental Meditation technique, and that different meditation techniques have different effects on the brain.

When the different parts of the brain are better integrated through TM practice, they work together more harmoniously -- our brain is healthier. Research shows that world-class athletes have higher brain integration than controls...

To read the article, click here

WATCH VIDEO of brain researcher Fred Travis: How TM practice affects the brain—click here

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Meditation: A solution for school bullying?

A recent report of frequent bullying in American schools has brought national attention to the stressors commonly faced by teens—stressors that many parents and teachers are unaware of. Society is struggling to understand how 'atypical' adolescent peer pressure has escalated into vicious student behavior at school. As educators seek ways to increase compassion and empathy among students, many are finding that meditation offers promising, measurable results for tackling the underlying stressors that give rise to bullying.

The Problem of Bullying

The (US) National Center for Educational Statistics estimates that one third of students ages 12-18 are bullied at school and online. In all socio-economic levels, schools are experiencing heightened security concerns and acts of violence.

High divorce rates among parents, violent entertainment, and drug abuse by youth—even the use of prescription anti-depressants—are suspected of contributing to the problem. However, these factors are now being recognized as symptoms of an underlying cause: the epidemic of stress in our society.

A promising solution: stress-free schools

Hundreds of public and private schools throughout the US and around the world have benefited from a program of Quite Time, [1] where students have the option to sit quietly for a few minutes or to practice meditation to relieve stress. ‘It’s like a washing machine,' says Jody, a meditating student at a Detroit high school previously plagued by violence. 'Disturbing thoughts wash away.'

A recent study, conducted by the University of Connecticut, found that 106 at-risk adolescents in three high schools reduced levels of stress, anxiety, hyperactivity, and emotional problems when practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique over a period of four months at school, as compared with controls. [2] The TM technique is an effortless, non-religious meditation that is easy for students to learn and practice at school or on their own.

According to Dr. William Stixroud, “when the nervous system becomes settled and quiet during meditation, the stress response starts operating normally. As a result, children are simply less impulsive.” The process of quieting the mind and body through the Transcendental Meditation technique increases coherence between the two hemispheres and the front and the back part of the brain. [3] “More integrated brain functioning improves the ability in children to control their impulses,” says Dr. Stixroud. “They get in trouble less; they act without thinking less; they can inhibit the tendency to get distracted better.”

Effective meditation can also help strengthen children that are typically victims of bullying by building self-esteem and resilience to stress. Research studies have demonstrated that the TM technique not only reduces stress, it increases inner happiness, and results in improved flexibility, social ability, and confidence. [4] When adolescents practice mediation they tend to find approval from within rather than needing it from the outside, which leads to greater independence, less influence from peer pressure, and less abusive behavior.
http://www.dlfprojects.org/stress-free-urban-schools.html

References:
1. David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness Based Education

2. ‘At-risk adolescents reduce stress, anxiety, and hyperactivity through Transcendental Meditation.’ Robert Colbert, PhD, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut (US). Presented at the Annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, March 2008

3. ‘Increased EEG Coherence during Transcendental Meditation’: International Journal of Neuroscience 14: 147–151, 1981.

4. 'Transcendental Meditation reduces stress and increases happiness among middle school students.' Rita Benn, PhD, Director of Education, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Center, University of Michigan. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, April

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Yoga

Maharishi on Yoga and Transcendental Meditation practice: 
"Yoga we know is the summation of all the trends of mind - Yoga, Samadhi, Transcendental Consciousness. How it becomes perfected? Yoga becomes perfected when the Yoga state is not disturbed by anything. What could be the disturbing element—because that Yoga state is absolute silence—what could be disturbing to it? Only the

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Self worth begins with Self realization

Realizing self worth begins with Self realization. As a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique, I see women gain a steady sense of self worth as they turn within and effortlessly transcend to the deepest level of their own being, which is eternal, silent and blissful. When ever I have felt a slight tinge of insecurity or worry about what others are thinking of me, I know its time to meditate and get beyond the surface.

With practice, the Transcendental Meditation technique helps develop higher consciousness and identification with more of the inner glory of the Self instead of the changing circumstances of life, the ups and downs of karma and opinions of others.

Even women with status and wealth can have a poor self image if they look to the outside to evaluate them selves. We have to be anchored in the non-changing essence of our being to feel confident in who we really are.

"The world is as you are", Maharishi once said. Self worth begins with in.

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Transcendental Meditation and the path to enlightenment

In the recent article on the Huffington Post, " Bringing the benefits of meditation into daily life", the author encourages readers to engage in a "meditation" while in activity and prescribes contriving behavior and controlling thoughts as a practice for gaining enlightenment. My comments were posted as follows:

The qualities described in this article as a practice, such as observation of one's self while acting (detachment), attentiveness to the present moment (mindfulness), lack of expectation (surrender), are 'attributes' of a heightened state of consciousness, not the 'path' to it. I have found in my 35 years of teaching Transcendental Meditation that students easily transcend during the TM technique and reach the source of thought, their minds get energized with bliss and pure consciousness. Afterwards, their awareness can naturally focus more powerfully, and in a spontaneous way, without conscious intention to be mindful or attentive.

Trying to be detached or watchful of our thoughts while in the midst of action divides and weakens the mind and creates artificiality in behavior. Unfortunately, the goal of many great traditions of enlightenment has been mistaken for the path, leaving well-intentioned seekers trying to create a state of steadiness though contrivance. Enlightenment is cultivated through deep, effortless meditation that infuses pure consciousness into our daily activity.

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