Scientific Bibliography on TM and Health Research Overview - Dr. Norman Rosenthal explains (video)
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 107 published studies on stress reduction and high blood pressure found that TM significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, while other methods of meditation and relaxation, biofeedback, and stress management did not produce significant effects. A second meta-analysis by an independent team confirmed that TM leads to clinically important reductions in blood pressure.
Transcendental Meditation (TM), as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, is a simple, effortless technique practised for 15-20 minutes twice daily. TM is taught by qualified teachers who have completed an extensive training programme. It requires no belief, nor any change in life-style or diet, and can be easily learned by anyone regardless of age, education, or culture.
More than five million people have learned the technique worldwide. Since 1970, more than 600 research studies on TM have been conducted at over 250 universities and research institutions in 30 countries. Many have appeared in peer-reviewed journals.
- Improved Cardiovascular Health
- Improved Quality of Life and Well-being in Women with Breast Cancer
- Improved Health and Well-being for Elderly People
- Improved Psychological Health and Reduced Substance Abuse
- Decreased Health Care Needs and Costs
- Deep Rest and Increased Integration of Brain Functioning
- Improvements in Education, Occupational Health, and Rehabilitation
- Improved Collective Health for Society
Video Transcription:
One of the things about Transcendental Meditation (TM) that i've been particularly impressed with is the amount of quality research that's been done in that area in fact there are over 340 peer review articles.
Now for those who may not understand what a peer review article is, it is sent into a journal where peers, who are experts in the area, look the article over, determine that it's a quality product, make comments and suggestions which the author than has to incorporate - and only after those steps is the article published.
And having been both a journal writer and a journal reviewer, I can attest that it's quite rigorous process. So the fact that there are more than 340 articles in multiple different areas means that there's a very substantial body of research on this particular technique.
A lot of it is very impressive. One area that is particularly interesting is the cardiovascular area, where there as been a repeated reduction in blood pressure, a reduction in cardiac mortality, and a reduction in mortality in general.
It has occurred to me, that if a pharmaceutical company had a pill which was capable of doing all of these things, and they had all these studies that showed how much help it could give - that pill would be a billion dollar blockbuster.