Miniscule study as usual, but 1000’s of medics (in the UK alone) who practice Transcendental Meditation will recognise these findings.

BTW ignore the posture shown in pic, comfort is number one when meditating

Transcendental Meditation may decrease depression and burnout in academic physicians, according to a randomized controlled study.

https://medicaldialogues.in/psychiatry/news/transcendental-meditation-reduces-burnout-and-depression-in-physicians-study-106288?fbclid=IwAR31Pg6RdfJlBDYPKWxUCdD3xTGKyuC7p2xKPX9YXrWE6SGzfVeTzpusU6Y

: One Recommendation

I’m going to recommend something that I think is huge, and its Transcendental Meditation. Although the technique is super easy, the effects are huge, and all you do is kind of get given a mantra, you repeat the mantra and you sit down for 20 minutes and its just life changing.

How long have you been doing it?

Since 2008.

Did you find it hard to get into? Because for me and meditation, I always find it difficult to stay in focus. You said 20 minutes, but after 2 minutes my mind is wondering all over, I have trouble locking in. Did it take you awhile to get to that point?

Well actually no. Because I had all that kind of trepidation beforehand, I gave up drinking and I gave up taking drugs. For a year or two I was just kind of like, wondering around, wondering how to fill this void, because your kind of empty. You’ve lived your whole life drinking and doing all this and all of the sudden you’ve got this awakening – a rude awakening – where you just have to learn how to live without drinking.

So, I was in my apartment trying to remain friends with all my friends that still liked to get drunk. Playing records, playing records, playing records and I just sat on the opposite side of the room drinking a Diet Coke. [laughs] And a friend of mine came up to me and she said, “Have you ever tried meditation? Ever thought about Transcendental Meditation?” And I hadn’t. We started talking about the Maharishi, because I was always a huge fan of The Beatles and my favorite period is the Magical Mystery Tour and in any Beatles documentary is the time they go to Bangor [Wales] and then to India and they write The White Album and all that and it’s just mind-blowing. And I’m just like, “Oh yeah, yeah – I’m into that.”
I went to the Isle of Wight and I learned how to meditate – I went within a week of my friend telling me. I was thinking, “How can you do 20 minutes?” That’s just so long! And how can you fit it in twice a day? It takes up so much time. But the 20 minutes that you put into it almost gives you about four hours extra in the day. It’s just mad. It’s like time, I don’t know, it’s like a time shift or something like that. The 20 minutes you put in, you get so much energy and you do so much more in the day. It’s just really helped me to be able to do everything I do.

https://vanyaland.com/2023/01/30/617-qa-tim-burgess-on-the-charlatans-hanging-out-between-10th-and-11th/

Have to say personally I’ve always found chairs better for meditation then stools.

Below one persons experience

“In early 2001 I was a frequent visitor to the doctors, I was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer and IBS, but finally decided something had to change when I was prescribed Tamazapan for insomnia.

Although I did not feel particularly stressed, all my conditions appeared to be stress related, so I decided to look at reducing stress in my life. From a work colleague, Rick, I found out about T.M North East and went to a talk by Chris Greathead about Transcendental Meditation. I have to admit that although T.M seemed to offer many benefits it seemed a bit far fetched and hippy-ish, but after a further chat with Rick I enrolled on the T.M course with Chris.

The course was excellent, initially one to one and then three, two hour group sessions. In the group sessions I soon discovered other people were having the same T.M experiences as myself, which was very reassuring. In less then a week after starting T.M my IBS had improved drastically and I was sleeping much better. As the weeks went by I just got better and better eventually coming off all medication. These medical benefits have proved to be only the tip of the iceberg, I have become far more relaxed, positive, energetic and simply just happier since taking up T.M.

T.M is quite simply the most beneficial thing, outside relationships, that you can do in your life – it just makes life better.”

Mark ~ Stockton on Tees, UK

“As both stress hormones and inflammation can affect gut bacteria, practicing meditation can help to balance these hormones and decrease inflammatory markers, potentially protecting the gut microbiome.”

https://www.inferse.com/410978/might-deep-meditation-act-on-the-gut-and-improve-health-medical-news-today/?fbclid=IwAR0zv76iNkxu36eqHQViThKSiQzGs6DXI3Vgl-yrdWDZkZwHoV86BbL-SR0

Last Minute Special Offer!!! 

Open to all who have attended a TM (Transcendental Meditation) course
Beat those winter blues with a 3 night weekend of meditation at Alnmouth on the beautiful Northumberland coast
After 30 years of running our Friday to Sunday TM Meditation Weekend Retreats HF Holidays the owners of Nether Grange, our Alnmouth venue, have offered us the special option of a possible extra weekend at Alnmouth, on the beautiful Northumberland coast for 3 nights this March 2024.
Starting at 4pm on Friday 15th and finishing Monday 18th March, leaving at 10am. The per person cost is : Single en-suite room £382, Shared en-suite room £372, Single non en-suite room £352.                    (Same deal as Nov 2024 weekend which is now fully booked, though its always worth putting your name down on waiting list for this)
For general details please see below :
Everyone needs a break.
Phew – never more true! The emphasis of these weekends is deep rest & revitalisation, enabling you to gain a clearer experience & understanding of Transcendental Meditation. They are open to anyone who has learnt T.M, regardless of whether you are practising regularly or not. Many people use the weekend to re-establish a meditation routine.
Starting Friday evening and finishing Monday after breakfast, the weekend includes extra meditation (in the group or separate as you prefer) with optional simple yoga postures, plus group meetings and discussion. The whole thing is very informal and there is plenty of time to enjoy the company of meditator’s from across the country over lovely meals and leisurely walks.
A much loved spot, Nether Grange is a pretty special venue. We’ve been running TM weekends here in Alnmouth for over 30 years. Located in this beautiful seaside village within the Northumberland Coastal Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty it’s just a minutes walk onto the beach. The perfect place to rest & revitalise, yet only 45 minutes drive north of Newcastle upon Tyne and a two minute drive from the local railway station on the East coast main line between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
Some comments after recent Alnmouth TM retreat :
* “A fantastic weekend in Alnmouth. So good to be back there.”
Simon ~ Todmordon, West Yorks
* “What a lovely TM weekend . It was so lovely to see familiar faces and new. Alnmouth never fails to impress me with its wild beauty .
Paula ~ Derby
* “It always blows me away, just how powerful the meditation can be.”
Matt ~ London
* “Wonderful to be back at Alnmouth.”
Sheila ~ Newcastle upon Tyne
* Great weekend. Feeling good, relaxed and calm.
John ~ Allendale, Northumberland
* “A really enjoyable weekend I feel rested and very refreshed and better than I have done in ages. It reminds me how good meditation is for me and I should try to start doing it once a day again.”
Becky ~ York
* “It was a really magical weekend & was so special to be back in Alnmouth and to experience group meditation again.”
Tracey ~ Inverness

* “Thankyou for organising the retreat; I can honestly say I really enjoyed it. Alnmouth is so beautiful in all weathers and it was wonderful to be surrounded by such friendly and interesting people I was so sad to leave and come back to normal life.)

Tania ~ Newcastle upon Tyne

* “Fabulous weekend at Alnmouth. It honestly couldn’t have been better.  Relaxation, belly laughs, interesting conversation, beautiful scenery, amazing foo and a talk by a wildlife expert thrown in! I’ll be there again

Heather ~ Saltburn, Cleveland

* “Many thanks for a most enjoyable weekend at Alnmouth. It ticked all the boxes and I’m pleased my name is down for a return visit in November. It was such a treat to be amongst so many kind, like minded people.”

Peter ~ Canterbury, Kent

* “Thankyou for a terrific retreat in Alnmouth – I really enjoyed it.”

Kerry ~ York

* “I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the retreat last month.  The food was amazing I wasn’t expecting that standard at all.”

Lauren ~ Newcastle upon Tyne

* “I did enjoy the retreat, thankyou very much. I felt fully rested on my journey home.”

Julie ~ Sheffield, Yorks

This timely and uplifting reminder about looking after yourself, has many overlaps with what we’re doing when we meditate.

In the case of Transcendental Meditation, by taking the time to meditate for 20 minutes, whether once or twice a day, you are helping maintain a greater sense of equilibrium, balance.  That experience of deep mental and therefor physical relaxation on a regular basis can make a very big difference to anybodys sense of overall wellbeing.  This is well documented in the many testimonials and google reviews of peoples experience of TM.

Importantly in the case of Transcendental Meditation, the process is an enjoyable one, something you soon find yourself looking forward to and notice the difference when you don’t meditate.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/18/recovery-the-lost-art-of-convalescence-by-dr-gavin-francis-review-the-art-of-getting-better?fbclid=IwAR1sV03bV4h12sz05hZ02yuxbvzTEQdi8lKS1OjJNLhY7QCMgJCKPUUQrRw

Below a 14 minute programme from this mornings Radio 4 on meditation, specifically mindfulness with Dr Michael Mosely. Whilst I have great respect for the founder of mindfulness Jon Kabat Zinn, in making meditation more accessible to the world, this is almost a masterclass in how not to practice Transcendental Meditation (TM) and a reminder of the sheer simplicity and do-ability of TM : no effort, no concentration, no emptying of the mind.

Almost everyone I teach these days has struggled with various forms of “mindfulness” and are looking for something easier.  To get benefits from meditation one needs to meditate reasonably regularly, if its difficult to do, no one will keep it up.  The beauty of Transcendental Meditation (TM) is that its a pleasure to do, enjoyable and consequently people tend to look forward to it anmd thus reap the benefits

Meditate
Just One Thing – with Michael Mosley
Michael explores how mindfulness meditation can have surprising benefits for your attention, your immune system, and even change the shape of your brain for the better.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001817f?fbclid=IwAR1tZHS-IRpydTO9f4iAX5d6w6_KAQ3fYonn-UiBM1KTqeM00lDj15DZ67s

All kinds of people meditate.

I do like Ray Dalio’s description of his experience during TM :
“You’re peaceful. You’re quiet,” he said. “You’re not awake, but you’re not asleep.”

The crazy thing about Transcendental Meditation (TM) is that because it is so simple, it is actually surprisingly difficult to describe accurately.  For example when the article say :

“Transcendental Meditation is a form of mantra meditation that eschews chanting and focusing on breathing in favour of repeating a mantra in silence.”

The word “repeating” gives the impression that effort, concentration, ie : getting rid of thoughts is involved.  Wrong, that’s what make Transcendental Meditation different, even unique.  It is so easy, that it becomes effortless to practice.  Hence another favourite quote of mine from someone whom I taught on a TM course in York a few years ago :

“I really enjoyed the course, after years of struggling with thought control meditation techniques, TM feels like a breath of fresh air – it almost feels like cheating! I’m managing to practice twice a day and I’m getting a lot out of it already.”

Zara ~ Leeds

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/billionaire-ray-dalio-went-broke-in-1982-mantra-meditation-helped-in-his-comeback-8582381.html

“Normally if I have a spare 20 minutes, I’ll be on my phone, I’ll be watching something, and that’s it — now I do this. It’s great.” James Corden

I must admit sometimes it does get a bit tiresome to hear of yet another celebrity taking up TM (Transcendental Meditation), but to be fair if it had’nt been for those four young lads from Liverpool most people would never of heard of it – including me 50 years ago.

Since Covid I have been fortunate to discover that teaching TM (Transcendental Meditation) online works beautifully, just as well as face to face, enabling me to introduce people to this wonderful technique across the UK and around the world – brilliant!

Here’s a comment from someone who attended my April 2022 online TM course :

“Twice a day every day for me apart form the odd bump in the road Awesome!”
Tim ~ Richmond, North Yorkshire

https://uk.style.yahoo.com/james-corden-takes-transcendental-meditation-100000909.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAM3SENZtYi8QAWBLLOFAhr48jm8pGdjB0L1dywkeeQ7Z8401RA2Xxt3cuy2VkpRG3TBGz4AnoxR6l97vCjm3xXWIxa91L3hK1Ka8Pvbe8xEsdM8Va1KVWDujoM8uwqaEoML6xjoJ0_MddJepX1dllWqKtG0DU_fI-0bJqyYd9YKl

Danson, who has been using transcendental meditation for more than twenty years, told EveryDay Health: “Life gets more complicated and stressful the older you are.
“I no longer find [meditation] fun and interesting — I find it a lifesaver.”
Ted Danson echos the experience of tens of thousands of everyday people across the UK and around the world when he says that he finds Transcendental Meditation (TM) a lifesaver.  Having taught TM (Transcendental Meditation) courses for the last 45 years, its a comment I hear again and again from all kinds of people.  Why?  In a nutshell its because it is the easiest meditation technique, simple, effortless, absorbingly pleasant, uncomplicated – do-able.  No concentration, no emptying of the mind.
“I’ve unexpectedly kept up the daily meditations and am surprisingly enjoying them.”
Sophie ~ Whitly Bay, Tyne & Wear (Attended January 22 online TM course)

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1581235/ted-danson-health-arthritis-transcendental-meditation?fbclid=IwAR3m7n_zgBRQoTY8dDweazqubQlcAa8AIcLKGEFS2aapcI0m7sqeWwtv6Qs

Interesting article in a generally underwhelming newspaper 🙂