AGING IS A CHOICE – Part 15 – Staying Young Through Transcendental Meditation
By Robert Manni
Last month I wrote about the many benefits of meditation and shared with you several of the personal practices I have followed over the years. This time, as promised, I would like to continue on this topic by highlighting Transcendental Meditation or TM. I feel TM came to me recently because I had hit a wall in my meditations. For whatever reason, the practices I had been building for the past twenty-five years and which had been so rewarding were starting to feel like a chore. I was priming for a change but didn’t know what it was I needed. Well, as the saying goes, when you are ready, your teacher will come.
I interviewed Dr. Norman Rosenthal on my Guy’s Guy Radio show last year. Although we discussed a different book on this episode, Dr. Norman sent me his TM book and introduced me to Bob Roth, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation who introduced me to John Clessler, director of the TM practice in Encinitas, California. This was what I was looking for but didn’t know I needed to breathe new life into my meditation practice.
I initially heard of TM through the Beatles and their visit to Maharshi Mahesh Yogi. I knew there was a mantra involved but didn’t know much more about it. Since then, I’ve learned that TM is an internal process of tapping into pure consciousness. It’s a highly effective technique for moving past distracting thoughts to a state of relaxed awareness. The more I practice it, the more calm and clear I’ve become in my work, my attitude, and my life.
In addition to increased clarity, there are numerous health benefits from TM that keep people younger with increasing age. Studies have found that TM helps reduce chronic pain, anxiety, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Other studies state that regular practice can extend one’s lifespan by a half-dozen years. Additionally, a 2012 review of 163 studies by the America Psychological Association concluded that TM is effective in reducing anxiety, negative emotions, and neuroticism while aiding learning, memory, and self-realization. Sounds like it’s worth the investment.
Just by practicing twenty minutes twice a day, we have a simple recipe for aging not only mindfully, but gracefully. Each time I meditate I feel like I am cleaning out my past, becoming more focused and present, and steadily going deeper into who I am. I love it and I feel great. Bottom line, it’s easy to do and it works for me. You’ll have to do your own research and find out on your own about TM. After all, aging is a choice.