TRANSCENDING HEART DISEASE

Researchers have discovered convincing new evidence that an age-old meditation practice may reduce atherosclerosis and slow the ageing process.

A study published in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine (Jan./Feb. 1998) reports that elderly people practising the Transcendental Meditation technique have significantly lower serum lipid peroxide levels.

High levels of lipid peroxide have been shown in previous studies to be an important factor in the formation of atherosclerosis and to be directly associated with the ageing process. The present study looked at the relationship between oxidative stress - free radicals activity - and stress reduction through the practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) programme.

Forty-one elderly subjects with an average age of 67 were recruited from the same town in the USA. Eighteen were long-term practitioners of the TM programme (average length of practice: 16.5 years). Twenty-three were controls who were not practising a formal stress management technique. Subjects in both groups were of similar age, gender, level of education, and normal health condition.

The results showed that the group practising the TM technique had 15% lower serum lipid peroxide levels compared to the controls. No significant differences were found between the two groups in regards to smoking, fat intake or vitamin supplementation.

Robert Schneider, M.D., the study's principal co-author and director of the Centre for Health and Ageing Studies at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, said: "These findings suggest that we may be able to reduce atherosclerosis and slow the ageing process through the TM technique, which appears to have a balancing effect on neurophysiological functioning."

"The data underscores the importance of the development of consciousness in positively affecting physiological states like serum lipid peroxide levels. The Transcendental Meditation programme appears to trigger an innate mechanism which enlivens the body's inner intelligence to repair itself and prevent disease and ageing," Dr. Schneider said.

National Institutes of Health Awards $5 Million in Grants

During the past ten years, the U.S. National Institutes of Health has awarded over $5 million in grants to the Centre for Health and Ageing Studies to investigate the long-term effects of the TM program on treating and preventing hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

In the last two years, the American Heart Association journal 'Hypertension' published two studies reporting, among other findings, that the TM technique reduced high blood pressure as effectively as antihypertensive medications, but without negative side-effects. In addition, a study published in The American Journal of Cardiology (April 1996) reported that the TM technique improved exercise tolerance and maximal workload in patients with coronary artery disease.

The Transcendental Meditation technique is a simple, natural, effortless procedure practised for 20 minutes twice a day sitting comfortably in a chair with the eyes closed. The technique, which has its roots in the ancient Vedic tradition of India, was introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi forty years ago. Today, nearly five million people have learned the TM technique and over 500 scientific studies conducted on this procedure indicate a wide range of benefits to the mind, health and behaviour.