WHY OPRAH SWEARS BY TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

 WHY OPRAH SWEARS BY TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

How a meaningless mantra can transform into transcendental consciousness.

A few years ago, Oprah Winfrey revealed her devotion to the practice of transcendental meditation — a type of meditation that employs the use of a mantra and is known for reducing stress and boosting feelings of well-being. The practice has roots in Buddhism, Hinduism, the teachings of Krishna, and yoga sutras.

According to their website, transcendal meditation is a simple, natural, effortless technique practiced 20 minutes twice each day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed.

The TM technique allows your active mind to easily settle inward, through quieter levels of thought, until you experience the most silent and peaceful level of your own awareness — pure consciousness.

While there haven’t been sufficiently conclusive large-scale studies on the health effects of transcendental meditation, small observational studies have found several benefits, including anxiety reduction, alleviation of symptoms from post-traumatic stress disorder and improved school performance. One study at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles even found physiological gains, like reduced blood pressure, diabetes and obesity among heart disease patients. HuffPost contributor Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D., a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School has written about the practice’s benefits, describing the link between psychological stress and cardiovascular disease.

"Being connected to that which is greater than yourself, for me at this particular time in my life, is the most important thing and that's what I've been working on," Oprah told Dr. Oz.

Source: Huffington Post and TM.com