http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35230370

There are more than 30 million commuters in Great Britain, and for many people the journey to work can take up a huge amount of their time.

A BBC Breakfast survey shows almost a quarter of people find travelling to their jobs stressful.

Those who use public transport feel the strain more than most, the findings reveal.

But which mode of transport is the best way to get around, and most relaxing?

The BBC’s Tim Muffett reports.
“I often TM on the London underground or bus!”.

– Tara, Lawyer, London

“I have really enjoyed the course and so glad I came”

Kathleen ~ Fife

“Really happy with the course and the support.  Feel happy with what I’ve learnt so far and feel confident about meditating”

Caroline ~ Edinburgh

“Very good – very different from my previous experiences of meditation and what’s expected.  Really looking forward to practising long-term.”

Allison ~ Edinburgh

“Calm, relaxed, excited, anticipating, cosy inside.” Allison ~ Dunfermline

* “The biggest difference for me was mindfulness (for someone in chronic pain) brought my attention inside my body whereas transcendental meditation freed me from it. For me, mindfulness was a stepping stone to transcendental meditation.”  ~  Kayleigh

“Mindfulness requires much effort on  the part of the participant, TM requires little effort and I felt immediate benefits: relaxation, joy and deep healing. TM works! ~  Rifa

“I tried and enjoyed mindfulness as a guinea-pig in a research group – but it never felt like “the answer” to my over-active brain. I am intrinsically rather lazy and it always required effort yet left me slightly disappointed. And had no lasting effect afterwards

After learning TM I actually laughed out loud, after my first practise at home, with the joy of the fact that at last here was something that fully worked for me – and yet was the simplest and easiest of processes. I wanted to tell the whole world!

I describe it to friends as the best way of releasing the build-up of thoughts and tensions and worries, restoring calm and peace in the mind. So instead of ongoing build-up day after day you are constantly returning to a calm starting point and so things never get too much for you. And each time it leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to go. Almost as if you have had a restorative nap of deep sleep.

For me the main difference was in having a mantra and therefore not constantly and consciously struggling to clear the mind and disregard distractions – and consistently “failing”. And in the lack of “rules” about breathing technique or sitting position! You are given freedom in every way rather than having to follow a prescribed pattern

Sometimes you virtually stop breathing for a bit as you relax so much that you almost fall asleep and then the body automatically wakes you by sighing deeply. And that is how it is “meant” to be, rather than a failure.

With TM you are given the absolute freedom to sit where and how you please (just be comfortable) to allow thoughts in and to not worry in the slightest but simply re-start the process when you become aware it has drifted away!

It is 20 minutes of priceless positivity!” ~  Tilly

Dear Sir, Madam,

I took up TM in Antwerp last Saturday. I can’t believe the effects I’ve already experienced during this less than a week of meditation. I’m so enthusiastic that I’ve told my family and two of my friends whom I think could also be interested. Much as they are attracted by the idea of TM, and its potential benefits, they all balk at the expense, which in the Antwerp branch of the Mahadishi Foundation, where I followed my course, is €900. I coincidentally discovered your website when looking up more information on TM, so I can share it with my family and friends. My question is do you know of any fellow TM associations that offer decent TM courses at a more affordable price than the Mahadishi Foundation?
Thank you in advance for your reply.

Sincerely

“Happier, refreshed, switched on. A lot calmer and focused, more efficient with tasks.  Really pleased I decided to try it, possibly the best thing I have done.”

Glen ~ Washington, Tyne & Wear

“It’s been wonderful, definitely calmer, happier, a general sense of well-being for large parts of the day.  I am excited at the thought of being able to have learnt something which I can imagine will help me cope better with the daily grind!  I would & will recommend it to others”

Karen ~ Wimborne, Dorset

“Excellent course – Interesting and enjoyable and instilled a wish to continue TM for the rest of my life”

Trish ~ Bournemouth, Dorset

“Really enjoyable course, very well structured and presented.  I feel I have been fully instructed in TM and how to meditate and am sure that my meditating will go from strength to strength with regular practice”

Doreen ~ Christchurch, Dorset.

“I would try meditations because I knew that there was something there for me in meditation, but every time that I would try and do it, I was just like ‘I cannot meditate,'” she said during a David Lynch Foundation gathering about trying other forms of meditation before learning Transcendental Meditation (TM). Diaz said a friend recommended TM to her: “I learned and it was exactly what I needed. The thing that blew me away the most about it was that it was the easiest thing that I had ever done. Not the easiest meditation, but the easiest thing I have ever learned.”

 

“I wish I had found out about this years ago. Meditating helps me to be calm and go down to stiller and quieter waters. The best money we have ever spent.”

Sarah ~ London