— From HalfthePlanet.com, 2000

Transcendental Meditation: A Strike Against Stroke, Stress and Heart Disease

by Bill Asenjo, PhD, CRC

If you are African American and worry that stress in your life could lead to a stroke or heart attack, take a deep breath. Now there's good reason to relax. A recent study in "Stroke," a journal of the American Heart Association, showed that African Americans significantly reduced their risk of heart attack and stroke through Transcendental Meditation, or TM.

The study involved 60 African American men and women with high blood pressure. Each was randomly assigned to either a TM group or an education program that addressed risk factors for heart disease. The TM group meditated for 20 minutes twice a day, while the health education group spent a similar amount of time performing a leisure activity of their choice. Participants were monitored from six to nine months.

By the end of the study, the TM group showed a significant reduction in the thickness of their carotid artery walls, permitting greater blood flow to the brain. The group receiving health education continued to experience thickening of their blood vessel walls. The TM group also experienced significant changes in blood pressure and heart rate.

"We expected some effect, but were surprised to see such a large effect," said author Amparo Castillo-Richmond, M.D., an assistant professor at the College of Maharishi Vedic Medicine in Fairfield, Iowa.

"We showed that a mind-body technique can reverse this disease," said co-author Robert H. Schneider, M.D., director of the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention at the College of Maharishi Vedic Medicine. "It is easy to do, it feels good, has major beneficial effects and it is cost effective."

TM, which can be easily learned, requires neither holding special beliefs nor assuming a special lifestyle and is practiced by people of every age, educational background and income level around the world.

Researchers believe TM enhances the body's self-repair mechanisms. We see this as a decrease in hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which affect the development of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) in the blood vessels," said Schneider.

Trained TM instructors are available in most major cities around the world. For anyone interested in practicing TM, Schneider suggests looking through the yellow pages under "meditation" or "transcendental meditation," or to find a TM instructor near you, call 1-888-LEARN-TM (1-888-572-7636).

Bill Asenjo, PhD, CRC is a freelance writer, certified rehabilitation counselor, healthcare management consultant, and college instructor. Contact Bill at basenjo@avalon.net.

© 2009 Bill Asenjo

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