About The TM Technique

What is the Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) Technique?

Our core program is the scientifically verified Transcendental Meditation technique, a highly effective tool for overcoming stress. It is simple to learn and easy to practice. It is not a religion or philosophy, and does not require any belief or change in lifestyle.

The TM technique is practiced for 20 minutes twice daily while sitting comfortably with eyes closed. It is an effortless, systematic technique that takes the active, thinking mind to its silent source, to ‘transcend’, or go beyond, the least excited level of the mind to experience the Self, or pure consciousness. This is the silent source of all thinking, activity, and behavior within us. It is characterized as a field of infinite energy, creativity, intelligence, and peace.

The TM technique allows the mind to effortlessly experience its full range from its most active to its most silent levels, like a wave on the ocean settling down to its silent depths. As a result, this experience of deep inner silence nourishes all aspects of our daily life—mental, physical, emotional, and social.

Nambatya Grace, PhD, a top leader in the Uganda Ministry of Health discusses her experience with Transcendental Meditation

How the Mind/Body Connection is Improved

As the mind effortlessly settles down to quieter levels of thought—a state of inner peace and calm—the body correspondingly settles down to a state of deep physical rest. This state of inner peace and calm produces profound physical relaxation, and yet the mind remains restfully alert. This deep level of mental and physiological rest dissolves stress and revitalizes life to develop clearer thinking, increase physical energy and vitality, and improve relationships with others.

Benefits of the TM Practice

Benefits Include:

Clearer thinking
Greater inner calm throughout the day
Reduced cortisol (the “stress hormone”)
Normalized blood pressure
Reduced insomnia
Lower risk of heart attack and stroke
Reduced anxiety and depression
Improved brain function and memory
Improved personal relationships

These and the many other benefits of the TM practice have been scientifically verified by over 350 research studies that have been published in peer reviewed journals world-wide.

American Psychologist 42(9): 879-881, 1987

The Transcendental Meditation Technique is an Effective Tool for Women

While the TM technique is a universal practice taught to men and women in the same way, a woman finds that the TM technique creates a safe haven within herself while helping to empower her to be her best. Women say it helps them to “regroup within” to bring greater ease and focus to life. This allows a woman to grow in her effectiveness both in her home and work life.

Girls find that the TM technique helps them to deal with the challenges and insecurities of adolescence and peer pressure. For women who may be dealing with a serious illness or depression, the TM technique is an important tool to dissolve stress in a natural way and bring about greater peace and serenity, as well as greater motivation and resilience.

For a mother, a child’s first teacher, she must be balanced within herself in order to be a successful mother and to hold her important position as the center of the family. The TM technique has been found to promote and maintain this balance for mothers, for girls, and for women everywhere around the world. TM is a universal practice, simple and effective, and has proven to be an excellent tool for enriching all aspects of a woman’s life and positively impacting the world around her.

What Ugandan Women Have to Say:

“From the very start when I learned the TM technique it has reduced my daily anxieties and I feel in control most of the time. With peace of mind, I am more happy and enthusiastic about living and work. I am also more kind and compassionate and considerate to people and other creatures.” Allen Kiconco

“I am thankful for the TM training and for what I got out of it. I have control over myself, my mind, and body, and I feel great as a woman that I can do something in my home on my own.” Agnes Nakivumbi

“When I meditate I feel that my body is relieved of tiredness and stress after a long day of work. I now have more confidence as a mother and can handle things I couldn’t before. I am also now part of a tailoring program and want to open a shop and do other things. I am so grateful for this TM training.” Jalia Nabuule

The Transcendental Meditation Technique is Unique

The term meditation has become generic, meaning many different things. With the proliferation of meditation practices it is important to understand the distinctions between them, e.g. mindfulness, concentration, and contemplation, etc. It is becoming well known that all experience changes the brain in some way or another. It is also well-known that different meditation techniques engage the mind in different ways and produce different effects on the mind, body and behavior.

Some meditation techniques involve watching your thoughts or focusing on your breathing or bodily sensations. Others employ concentration, visualization or trying to clear your mind of thoughts.

The Transcendental Meditation technique is unique. It doesn’t involve concentration, focused attention, or control of the mind in any way. In fact, TM is a simple and effortlessness technique for transcending and going beyond thought, which is the key to its effectiveness in bringing about consistent and profound benefits.

Forbes magazine made this statement about the TM technique:

“Perhaps its greatest benefit is that it’s relatively quick to learn and easy to master. No waiting weeks or months of practice before you see results: TM cuts right to the chase, taking only days – or for some, minutes – before one feels reprieve from their painful and overwhelming thoughts.”

A recent report by the American Heart Association on the use of meditation practices to lower blood pressure, found the Transcendental Meditation practice to be the only practice recommended for clinical use to lower blood pressure. The report concluded with the following statement:

“…the Transcendental Meditation technique is the one meditation practice that has been shown to lower blood pressure… all other meditation techniques, including MBSR (Mindfulness Bases Stress Reduction), received a ‘Class III, no benefit, Level of Evidence C’ recommendation and are not recommended in clinical practice to lower blood pressure at this time.”