Over the past 40 years independent research has increased our understanding of the many health benefits that result from practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique. For many doctors, the published research on TM’s benefits for those suffering from heart disease provides the most compelling case for the importance of daily TM practice.

The following are excerpts from a recent posting on TeleManagement, an Internet news service in Canada discussing two of the most impressive studies funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The first study was published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the second one published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

“According to a study, practicing Transcendental Meditation lowers blood pressure and decreases insulin resistance.

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a relaxation technique derived from the ancient Vedic tradition in India. Previous work has shown that it can lower blood pressure.

A study from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, reveal that its benefit may be even further reaching. They assigned a group of 103 participants with heart disease to either 16 weeks of TM or to health education. After this time, the TM group had lower blood pressure, improved fasting glucose and insulin levels. The latter two measures mean less insulin resistance, which would decrease the risk of diabetes. Recently, stress has been shown to play a role in metabolic syndrome – a cluster of symptoms like insulin resistance, high blood pressure and obesity. The researchers suggest that TM modulates the response to stress, protecting the heart from its adverse effects. These benefits were achieved without losing weight or increasing physical activity. Further research is needed, but it looks like TM could be a powerful tool helping people keep their heart healthy.

An 18-year study has also found that Transcendental Meditation doesn’t only help relieve stress, it reduces death rates by 23 percent and extends life span, reports the American Journal of Cardiology. The study included 202 participants, average age 71, who practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique. All study subjects had mildly elevated blood pressure and were followed for up to 18 years. Overall, compared with controls, people who practiced Transcendental Meditation not only had a 23 percent reduction in overall death, they also showed a 30 percent reduction in the rate of death from cardiovascular disease and were 49 percent less likely to die from cancer.”

CLICK HERE for summary of research funded by the National Instititues of Health (NIH) on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on heart health.