The largest international congress on yoga in contemporary society held in February in Bangalore, India, featured a plenary presentation by Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, Director, Institute for Natural Medicine & Prevention at Maharishi University in Fairfield, Iowa.

Dr. Schneider spoke on the Transcendental Meditation technique as the essence of yoga described by Maharishi Patanjali, parallels with modern physics, and the large body of scientific studies showing TM’s physiological effects and health benefits.

Dr. Schneider explained in his presentation that transcendence or samadhi is the basis of the eight limbs of yoga, and that the Transcendental Meditation technique allows one to experience transcendence. He described the results of the practice and the research that verifies these results.

“There’s considerable interest in TM research among this group of people,” Dr. Schneider said. “They’re proud of the work done by Maharishi University faculty over the years, and they refer to it all the time. They view the research on Transcendental Meditation as being the foundation of the field. And they appreciate that our research program at Maharishi University of Management continues to lead the way.”

The conference hosted more than 5,000 delegates from all over the world, said Indian Medical Education Minister S A Ramadas. The conference centered around trying to make the traditional knowledge of yoga practical in contemporary society, and focused on areas such as the scientific study of yoga, its applications in education and public health.

The Times of India, the country’s largest newspaper, printed a major story and interview with Dr. Schneider:

“American’s love for yoga is very much known now and the credit goes to Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, who spread awareness about the Indian science of meditation and healing in the west.” Times of India, Feb 12, 2012

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