Greetings (and warmth if I could) from Thailand / Practicing TM for 37 years

An email I received this week

“Good evening Chris,

I hope you and yours are keeping well and managing the winter chills back home. We’re in our cool season here, though nothing quite like Newcastle.

A small story for you. When I upgraded the phone last year, I noticed the new health app had a button simply labelled Measure. Curiosity got the better of me, so I followed the instructions, including the rather odd request to place my fingertip over the camera lens.

To my surprise it produced readings for heart rate, stress level, energy level and HRV (heart rate variability) which is the time between heartbeats in milliseconds.

Most mornings follow a familiar rhythm for me : a walk, breakfast, then a couple of hours writing. That’s also when I sit for my TM. A few weeks ago, purely out of interest, I started taking readings before and after meditation.

Across every session the pattern was the same : heart rate down, stress down, energy up and HRV steady. In other words the app was giving me a neat little scientific confirmation of what I’ve known for decades : TM leaves me clearer, calmer and better set for the day.

Wishing you a happy 2026

All the very best

John” (Learnt TM in Newcastle upon Tyne, March 1989)