Is TM Easy?

Engaged, nonjudgmental, empathetic—yes, yes, yes—all objective qualities that make for a great TM teacher. We are women helping women. Like all specialized instructors, our certified teachers ensure that you feel safe and relaxed so that learning TM is easy and effortless.

Learning TM is not a “one size fits all” — the lessons are carefully personalized for you by your teacher. Only certified TM teachers can instruct you in the authentic TM technique. They have successfully completed an intensive 5-month in-residence training and maintain their certification through ongoing professional courses.

TM increases productivity, creativity and focus. Each workplace environment is unique and stressful especially in our current 40-plus-hour work weeks.

In their book, Excellence Through Mind-Brain Development: The Secrets of World-Class Performers, Harung & Travis discuss a study done on top-level managers, world-class athletes, professional classical musicians and other world-class professionals.

The result is that higher performance in ANY profession is based on a higher ‘mind-brain development’  that it is easy to achieve in TM.

Harung & Travis’ research showed that peak performance is associated with higher brain coherence or connectivity. EEG studies on Transcendental Meditation show that regular practice creates this exact style of coherent brain functioning. When someone has a higher EEG coherence it is correlated with higher creativity, greater efficiency in learning new concepts, and greater verbal intelligence.

Like all habits, once you begin to practice TM, the impact on your quality of life will be so great, you will naturally make time for it. You are worth it.

TM actually works right from the first meditation. Each meditation leaves women profoundly relaxed. Many people find that by regularly practicing TM, they can prioritize their thoughts and concentrate more easily throughout their day.

TM improves women’s ability to cope with day-to-day stress and activities. Situations which used to make them anxious, sad or their blood boil, now are easier to deal with.

TM liberates rather than trains the mind, allowing it to settle effortlessly into a silence more profound than the present moment. Mindfulness trains the mind to be present in the moment.

Comparative research shows that TM and Mindfulness do not produce the same effects. This is because they each engage the mind in their own way. Neural imaging and EEG studies indicate that TM practice creates a unique brain pattern: it is the only meditation technique known to create widespread brainwave coherence. The TM technique also produces deeper rest than other practices, and studies show the technique to be more effective at reducing anxiety and depression and increasing self-actualization.

One reason: TM does not require a woman to control or train her mind. The experience is likened to slipping into water of the most perfect temperature and floating, with all stress dissolved away. It can also be described as falling awake. During TM you are deeply restful, yet alert. It is a combination  of release and restoration unlike anything we normally experience.

There are many approaches that are termed “meditation.” Research has found that different meditation techniques affect brain functioning in different ways. Transcendental Meditation uniquely develops global alpha coherence, a pattern associated with increased alertness. The development of this coherence is especially marked in the prefrontal cortex—the brain’s executive planning center—the part of the brain that is responsible for judgment, decision making and moral reasoning. All of these functions improve through the regular practice of TM.

Published studies in major medical journals have found that TM uniquely produces a profound level of rest and significant reductions in the stress hormone cortisol. Researchers have also noted that, unlike other techniques, the TM technique is natural and effortless, easily learned by anyone regardless of their I.Q. or learning ability.

A TM teacher must undergo continuous comprehensive training and development of specific skills. Certification requires periodic workshops and refresher courses. The expectation is that every woman receives the practice in its original effectiveness as developed by TM program’s founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects an estimated 1 out of 10 women today. Women are 2x more likely to develop PTSD than men. PTSD is a lasting consequence of traumatic ordeals that cause intense fear, helplessness or horror, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, an accident, war, or natural disaster and more.

Research on TM has shown to heal and empower victims of PTSD by:

• Reducing flashbacks and bad memories
• Creating greater resistance to stress
• Doubling the effectiveness of conventional approaches for reducing alcoholism and substance abuse
• Decreasing insomnia by 42%
• Being twice as effective as other relaxation techniques for decreasing trait anxiety
• Improving quality of life

The TM technique is special in that it is natural and effortless. Like many skills, TM requires personal instruction to learn. Anyone who has ever tried to learn to play tennis or even to drive knows the importance of a good teacher. Your teacher shows, corrects and fine-tunes your technique. This dedicated attention allows you to grow in confidence and reduce your stress. To clarify, learning the TM technique is a lot easier than mastering tennis or learning to drive.

Consider adding TM to conventional counseling programs such as Alcoholic Anonymous. Researchers have suggested that adding TM to any 12-step program will significantly enhance the counseling program’s effectiveness. The 11th step of AA, encourages women to increase their conscious contact as they work towards recovery. In fact, Bill Wilson, one of the founders of AA, practised TM.

No worries… Transcendental Meditation involves no concentration, no control of your mind, no contemplation, no monitoring of thoughts…. Anyone can do it, even children with ADHD and soldiers with PTSD.

Absolutely not. No legitimate, peer-reviewed studies have ever found TM practice to be unpleasant or psychologically harmful in any way—all such studies show only beneficial results.

To determine the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program, scientists have researched virtually every area of human life that can be scientifically measured. Controlled research on the effects of TM practice has been conducted under many different settings and conditions: on general populations, people in the workplace, athletes, groups of students at all grade levels, patients at high-risk for heart disease, students with learning disorders, factory workers, members of the military, groups of corporate executives, long-term TM practitioners on advanced courses, and people with pre-existing mental health problems. All these studies show significant improvements in mental and physical health, with no negative side effects whatsoever.

Women do not go into a trance when they practice TM. The neurophysiology of meditation is very different from the neurology of hypnosis or of the trance state. The Transcendental Meditation technique produces not only deep relaxation, but heightened activation, organization and integration of brain functioning. During TM women do not disconnect from their body or lose track of their surroundings. Quite the opposite, one is actually more aware—the TM technique creates a state of heightened awareness.

The medical evidence is clear. People experience a wide range of beneficial physiological changes when they practice Transcendental Meditation. These changes distinguish TM from mere relaxation and other forms of meditation.

Physiological indicators of deep rest also include marked changes in respiratory volume, minute ventilation, tidal volume, blood lactate and heart rate. Studies suggest that this unique state of physiology helps regulate cortisol and other hormones associated with chronic stress—and also healthier regulation of serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with mood.

TM is a technique not a religious practice. People of all religions enjoy the Transcendental Meditation technique, including ministers, priests, monks, rabbis, and other religious leaders. Because the TM technique gives the deep inner experience of peace, expanded awareness, and greater happiness, women find that they are less stressed and have more energy. As a result, they are better able to live according to the behavioural guidelines prescribed by their religious leaders and texts.

TM is the absence of effort, you are encouraged to sit in whatever position makes you comfortable, dressed however you want, wherever you want. For most people, this is sitting on the sofa normally as you would chatting with friends or watching TV, but it can be in the car before you go inside your home, or in your office before you start your day.