Transcendental Meditation And Other Forms Of Stress Relief

Transcendental meditation or TM was started by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during the 1950s. He even created a program to train teachers for the purpose of increasing the number of practitioners of this type of meditation that involves mantra chanting.

Maharishi went on world tours to promote his technique. Many celebrities began practicing it along with research touting the benefits of the technique increased its popularity during 1960s and 1970s.

More advanced techniques were introduced during the 1970s to further expand the interest in this type of meditation.

TM grew to the point that millions of people were practicing it by the later part of the 2000s. The Maharishi had practitioners worldwide.

In spite of any changes or advanced techniques, the basics of the transcendental meditation has remained the same. This was used for religious purposes as well as stress relief.

Commercialization of TM

During the 1970s, there was shift from the religious aspects of TM over to the more scientific thinking.

The plan became known as the World Plan and led to teaching centers being built. A total of 2,000 centers, to be exact, were built around the world. This began the commercialization of this meditation technique.

After the Maharishi died in February 2008, Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam was put in charge of the transcendental meditation movement he was also the leader for the Global Country of World Peace.  

Then in July of the same year, the nephew of the Maharishi continued his uncle's work by creating Maharishi World Peace Movement in India to work towards world peace.

In 2011, the New York Times stated that enrollment had tripled since 2008 into the TM movement. This is because of the course fees being reduced and further research studies being performed.

Is TM Better than Other Forms of Meditation?

As with other forms of meditation, the TM with its mantra chanting does have certain proven benefits for users. One such benefit is stress relief.

There is disagreement if the benefits TM offers is exclusive to it and not enjoyed with all meditation. Learning TM is more expensive and basically a patented process compared to easier and less expensive to learn alternatives. Today, the question is still argued between the practitioners and non-practitioners of TM.

It is quite beneficial for stress relief among other things and does deserve to be considered by people looking to relief. While chanting mantras are not for everyone, there are many that enjoy practicing TM.

It also allows the person to develop a deeper level of consciousness. However, each option for meditation could be looked at before the person enters into learning one particular kind.

All meditation not just transcendental meditation is great for stress relief and relaxation. If a person is searching to reach a deeper consciousness, TM along with other types of meditation should be considered.

Each person responds uniquely to each form of meditation. If one is looking for a rewarding experience, he should try out some form of meditation today.

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