transcendental meditation

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transcendental meditation

a technique for attaining a state of physical relaxation and psychological calm by the regular practice of a relaxation procedure which entails the repetition of a mantra.

trans·cen·den·tal med·i·ta·tion (TM),

(tranz'en-den'tal med'i-tā'shŭn),

A form of mental concentration practiced over 2500 years ago in Asian cultures; was made popular in the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as a means to help increase energy, reduce stress, and have a positive effect on mental and physical health; it involves the person sitting upright for 20 minutes, with eyes closed, and silently speaking a mantra (a key stimulus word used uniquely by each practitioner to return to the proper meditative state) whenever thought occurs.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

Transcendental Meditation

A trademark for a technique of meditation derived from Hindu traditions that promotes deep relaxation through the use of a mantra.

transcendental meditation

A form of meditation developed in the 1950s by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, which consists of silently repeating a mantra for 10 to 20 minute sessions. Transcendental meditation has changed in philosophy from being mystical and believed to serve as a vehicle for achieving nirvana and the extinction of the ego, to being a popular modality believed to enhance mental and physical well-being, personal development and social advancement.

trans·cen·den·tal med·i·ta·tion

(TM) (tranz'ĕn-den'tal med'i-tā'shŭn)

A form of mental concentration practiced over 2500 years ago in Asian cultures; popular as a means to help increase energy, reduce stress, and have a positive effect on mental and physical health.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

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At the four school sites, the Transcendental Meditation program was taught to students by certified teachers, all following the same standardized procedures for teaching.

Outcome measures were administered prior to experimental group students learning the Transcendental Meditation program and again after approximately four months.

The results of this study indicated that practice of the Transcendental Meditation program is effective in reducing psychological distress in racial and ethnic minority secondary school students.

Anecdotally it has been reported by administrators and teachers that the students' group practice of the Transcendental Meditation program not only has a calming effect on the students doing the practice twice a day at school but also has a positive effect on the other non-meditating students and the school environment as a whole.

It has been suggested that the Transcendental Meditation program reduces psychological distress by favorably impacting neuroendocrine, (MacLean et al., 1997; Walton et al., 2004), autonomic, and other neurophysiologic (Travis, 2001) parameters.

Reduced psychological distress in racial and ethnic minority students practicing the Transcendental Meditation program

The Transcendental Meditation program was taught to students by certified (TM) teachers, following the same standardized procedures for teaching.

A key factor in the current study was that the Transcendental Meditation program was a collaborative project among essentially the entire school.

Effect of the transcendental meditation program on graduation, college acceptance and dropout rates for students attending an urban public high school

With regard to brain functioning, the Transcendental Meditation program has been shown to increase electroencephalographic (EEG) brain integration and coherence, especially in the frontal area of the brain, responsible for higher-order processing (Travis, Tecce, Arenander, & Wallace, 2002).

Feasibility of Implementing the Transcendental Meditation Program

As part of the project evaluation, 55 of the meditating students were administered a standardized measure of anxiety (Spielberger, Edwards, Lushene, Montuori, & Platzek, 1973) prior to beginning the Transcendental Meditation program and again 3 months later.

Research indicates that practice of the Transcendental Meditation reduces psychological distress, including anxiety (Eppley, Abrams, & Shear, 1989), which may provide a possible mechanism for how the practice of the Transcendental Meditation program helped improve academic achievement in the current study.

Recent research on college students indicates that within the first few months of practice of the Transcendental Meditation program, students exhibit significant reductions in anxiety and other psychological stress factors (Nidich Rainforth, Haaga, et al., 2009).

Academic achievement and transcendental meditation: a study with at-risk urban middle school students