What are some of the benefits?
It is said to make you more creative, improve memory, and make your thinking clearer. For the body it increases energy, alleviates stress, and is good for quitting smoking. Practitioners find they don't have that pressured feeling anymore. They are able to socialize better and communicate at home and at work more freely and effectively. The stress and pressure at work is easier to handle. Making decisions is easier and it doesn't take as long to make them.
Is This religious?
No. This isn't associated with religion. It doesn't have anything to do with any religious philosophy. A certified instructor teaches Transcendental Meditation. It is a seven-step program. It is taught by lecturing, interviewing, and application. It is a practical meditation technique.
Who Can Do This?
Everyday people learn Transcendental Meditation. If you want to learn the practice you can. It is practiced by a variety of people from various countries, backgrounds, cultures, nationalities, and by different age groups. This kind of meditation is done around the world. The practitioners obtain a deeper level of relaxation; they are more rested. This mode of meditation makes your body calmer as your mind is trained to be quiet and in a clearer mood.
Where Did It Come From?
It was created and practiced in the United States originally, though its ideas stem from Hindu meditation, which had been in practice in the U.S.A before Transcendental Meditation was developed. The basic concept of TM is that by saying a phrase considered potent--dynamic you can empty your mind, thus discovering some exalted meaning.
TM chants are like the chants in Hindu meditation; it is an integral part of their religion as they make these chants to their gods--wanting wisdom and to be guided. The recitation of these chants in Hindu meditation is very commonplace--so that is why TM is considered to be a derivative of this older form of meditation. But the difference is that Transcendental Meditation isn't a religion or religious.
How to Practice
When someone practices Transcendental Meditation he should be in a quiet room that is painted in a solid hue, and all distractions should be left behind. This environment is important to facilitate emptying the mind of extraneous thoughts. Controlled breathing techniques aren't used in TM. It is the use of the chanting that is meant to focus your thoughts and gear your body to be relaxed and your body function in a steady state.
The practitioner chants a word or phrase that is positive. This can have a personal meaning. The chanting takes your stress away because you are totally focused on chanting. TM is one of the more widely practiced modes of meditation in America.
When Jane Michael is not busy writing articles about transcendental meditation she is teaching yoga classes at her meditation center. For more informative articles about transcendental meditation, visit her site.
