Meditation for Health
August 15th, 2007 | Email this to your FriendsWritten by Nancy Poitou, M.A., M.F.T., C.T.S
Most of the research done on meditation has been done on Transcendental Meditation referred to as TM. I am not promoting TM over any other type of meditation, any technique is used has pretty much the same effects on health.
Research in the new field of psychoneuroimmunology show that emotional states, behavioral patterns, and mental attitudes are central issues in health and disease. A well documented relationship between the brain and body function is the neuroendocrine pathway. Stressful circumstances reduce the body’s immunologic response by suppressing disease fighting blood cells, lymphocytes with the production of cortisone-like compounds. A ten CPS (cycles per second) Alpha state induces a strong immunological system, more control over pain, blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature and even bleeding.
The most well known and well documented study of the power of the mind in an Alpha state is of course that of Dr. Carl Simonton and his use of relaxation and visualization in the early ‘70’s. Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles, states, “Visualization takes advantage of what might almost be called a ‘weakness’ of the body: it cannot distinguish ~ between a vivid mental experience and an actual physical experience.” If we,’can “experience” a vivid mental picture of health we can fool the subconscious mind into activating the immune system. A relaxed Alpha state is the first requirement toward producing the mental state necessary to vivid visualization. The average survival time of the Simontons’ patients is about two and a half times that of similar patients who received only the standard medical treatment.
Studies conducted around the country, confirm the negative connection between stress and the immune system and the positive connection between meditation, resulting in the reduction of stress and a strengthened immune system. “ Scientists at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and at other major centers have shown that meditation can reverse some of the dangerous aspects of the stress response. Heart and breathing rates can be lowered, cells use less oxygen, blood lactate is lessened - all signals of decreases in central nervous system activity.”
Studies done by Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and Ronald Glaser, at Ohio State University School of Medicine on students found that the stress of taking academic examinations, resulted in a measurable decline in the aspects of immunity including the ability to produce interferon. Other studies in the early ‘70’s done by Keith Wallace at U.C.L.A. and David Orme-Johnson at the University of Texas have shown that the physiological effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM) were the exact opposite of those caused by stress. Stress expert Hans Selye states that, “ stress is a fundamental cause of almost all human health problems.” Long term studies are showing that meditation not only increases longevity but improves human functioning in many areas indicating an improved quality of life.
In a 1976 study done by Boston’s Kundalini Research Institute at the Veterans Administration Hospital in La Jolla, California, showed that regular yoga and meditation increased blood levels of three important immune system hormones by 100%. In 1980 psychologist Alberto Villoldo of San Francisco State College showed that regular meditation and self-healing visualization improved white-blood response and improved efficiency of hormone response to a standard test of physical stress - immersing one arm in ice water.
To quote Dr. Siegel again,
The immune system, than, is controlled by the brain, either indirectly through hormones in the bloodstream or directly through the nerves and neurochemicals. One of the most widely accepted explanations of cancer, the ‘surveillance’ theory, states that cancer cells are developing in our bodies all the time but are normally destroyed by white blood cells before they can develop into dangerous tumors. Cancer appears when the immune system becomes suppressed and can no longer deal with this ~ routine threat. It follows that whatever upsets the brain’s control of the immune system will foster malignancy . . . Studies of people who meditate regularly have shown that their physiological age is much lower than their chronological age. These techniques do people no good without the motivation to use them. The first requirement is to get people to love themselves enough to care for their bodies and minds . . . Meditation also raises the pain threshold and reduces one’s biological age. Its benefits are multiplied when combined with regular exercise. In short it reduces wear and tear on both body and mind, helping people live better and longer.
Herbert Benson, M.D., author of The Relaxation Response, The Mind/Body Effect and Beyond the Relaxation Response, has outlined his meditation technique he calls the “Relaxation Response” as a simplified, demystified and non-denominational way to open the door to a renewed mind and changed life. He has found that as we meditate and quiet the conscious mind a building of communications between the left and right brain hemispheres takes place. This alters our habitual ways of thinking. A breaking up of old thought ~ patterns helps up stop habits that are unhealthy.
Exposure to health promoting influences immediately after meditation sets the stage for new more beneficial habits to take root. Electroencephalograms reveal an increased coherence of the Alpha and Theta brain wave frequencies between the left and right sides of the brain during meditation, resulting in greater creativity. Creativity allows new ideas to flow into the conscious mind, new options, and new responses. A shutting off of stress and accompanying production of catecholamine hormones associated with the “fight or flight” response and may be a habitual unnecessary reaction to a stressful lifestyle. Dr. Benson summarizes his physiological findings:
1. Overall reduction of the speed of the body’s metabolism
2. Lowered blood pressure
3. Decreased rate of breathing
4. Lowered heart rate
5. More prominent slower brain waves
6. Increased brain waves simultaneous in left and right hemispheres
The following short article I have included in its entirety.
Transcendental Meditation for Health
Transcendental Meditation TM) has been credited with improving such things as mental health, creativity, intelligence, energy, self-esteem, and anxiety tolerance. All these assertions have been substantiated in various research studies. TM is a means for the general public to achieve self actualization. It has also proven to be effective as a treatment for stress, having various physiological effects. Given these facts, it would be natural to hypothesize that regular TM practitioners would lead healthier lives.
A major field study of the effects of TM on health has recently been reported. For a five-year period, from 1981 through 1985, the medical care statistics of the SCI Insurance Group was studied. SCI is a health insurance group which requires its membership to have practiced TM for a minimum of six months before enrolling. Continued eligibility is contingent on sustaining the practice of TM.
MIC is a major health insurance carrier of which SCI is a member, along with many other insurance groups. Annually, MIC compiles claim averages for each insurance group. Because of MlC’s statistical accounting, SCl’s figures could be compared against all the other insurance group figures under MIC. Only those insurance groups having a membership primarily of white collar professionals, comparable to the SCI membership, were used in this study.
Comparisons were made between SCI and these other insurance groups on both inpatient and outpatient medical-care utilization, including x-rays, laboratory tests, surgery, and doctors’ office visits, and emergency room treatments.
During each of the five years studied, SCI used significantly less medical and surgical inpatient and outpatient medical services than did the other groups. According to the five -year averages on utilization rates, SCI had 63% fewer inpatient medical admissions, 71% fewer inpatient surgeries, and 58% fewer outpatient surgeries. The only area in which SCI’s admissions were greater than the other groups was with regard to obstetric admissions. It was 5.6% higher than the norm, but this was not a statistically significant difference.
The following age groups were used for comparative purposes: 0-18, 19-39, and 40+. This showed interesting results. In the 0-18 range, there was 49% less utilization of medical care among TM practitioners than among the other insured’s. In the 19-39 age range, there was 52% less utilization, and in the 40+ age group, overall utilization was 71% less. This result suggests that the positive effect of TM Practice on health increases with age. This statistic may also indicate a cumulative effect, reflecting the number of TM practice.
Spending 20 minutes twice a day in quiet contemplation seems to be an easy way to cut health care costs in half!
Restful alertness, a state reportedly experienced by regular TM practitioners, seems to have both a direct and an indirect influence on health. It has a direct and marked effect on reducing stress. Indirectly, it seems to help better life styles emerge as people become “better choosers.” The reduction of stress may reduce “inner noise,” thereby making it easier to receive messages from the inner voice.
Whatever the explanation, it would seem that TM, besides its positive effects on health, has a definite economic impact in terms of health-care utilization. Spending 20 minutes twice a day in quiet contemplation seems to be an easy way to cut health care costs in half!
Source: ‘`Medical care utilization and the Transcendental Meditation program.” Psychosomatic Medicine, 1987, Vol. 49, pp. 493-507. Author David Orme-Johnson, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, IA 52556. (Reported by Ruth M. Brown.)
Dr. Kenneth Pelletier has made a psychological study of many patients who recovered despite great odds, he found five characteristics common to all of them:
1. Profound intrapsychic change through meditation, prayer, or other spiritual practice.
2. Profound interpersonal changes, as a result: Their relations with other people had been placed on a more solid footing.
3. Alteration in diet: These people no longer took their food for granted, they chose their food carefully for optimum nutrition.
4. A deep sense of the spiritual as well as material aspects of life.
5. A feeling that their recovery was not a gift nor spontaneous remission, but rather a long, hard struggle that they had won for themselves.
In a recent article on stress in the Accent section of the Orange County Register, Dr. Peter Gott wrote, “Clearly, future studies will blaze trails into the wilderness of mind over matter, how we can think our way to health and the physiologic basis of prayer, meditation and a positive attitude. Our control over our destinies, through our immune systems, may, in fact, lie in our minds - as the greatest world thinkers have repeatedly emphasized.”
In conclusion, this century has seen the fastest most radical change in the average lifestyle, especially in urban areas. Our daily stress level has risen and stays up. A common experience of getting on a traffic packed freeway twice a day before and after a stress filled day at work eats away at our body’s immune system. Modernization and progress have outwardly improved the quality of life but inwardly reduced our equilibrium necessary to counteract the effects of stress. We need to now learn how to exercise mental control over our bodies. By learning to control and make use of other states of consciousness that come naturally we can again reach a balance that will allow our bodies to regain its own defense against stress and disease. We as patients can work with orthodox medicine and participate in our own inner healing process, while feeling more in control of our own emotional states, mental attitudes, and physical health.
©Copyright 2007 Nancy Poitou, M.A., M.F.T., C.T.S. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry. The article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org.
Email this to your Friends
August 17th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Thank you for your informative article on meditation, mind/body techniques and stress. I question, however, the accuracy of your assertion that all meditations are basically the same and will produce the same results. I have been surveying the research lately on the health benefits of meditation, and it appears that there is an emergent body of data enabling us to compare the various techniques (Zen, TM, mindfulness, Tibetan Buddhist meditation, Relaxation Response, etc.), and it is clear that all meditations are not the same in their effects. Comparative research shows that TM produces the deepest state of rest, is more effective at reducing anxiety and depression, more effective for reducing cigarette smoking that other protocols, and, perhaps most significant, TM is the only meditation found to generate brainwave coherence throughout the entire brain. I am beginning to believe that the assumption that all meditations are the same is a myth that needs dispelling. This jibes with the fact that different systems of meditation have different aims. Benson’s technique aims at mere relaxation. Tibetan Buddhist practices usually involve intense concentration and do not provide deep rest but have been shown to increase brain activity (gamma waves), specifically in the back of the brain. Whereas TM is taught in the context of providing the experience of the “fourth state of consciousness,” a deeper state of rest than sleep, which is said to elicit an overall growth response in mind and body, leading to higher stages of development. (For comparative research on brain function during meditation see: http://www.fredtravis.com/talk.html) For a survey of other comparative research on various forms of meditation, one of the TM sites shows the depression, anxiety and cigarette studies: http://www.tmbusiness.org
August 17th, 2007 at 6:31 am
Despite the modest benefits found for meditation — regardless of type — many critics consider Transcendental Meditation a cult led by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. For an alternative view of the TM Movement, readers may be interested in checking out TM-Free Blog, TranceNet.net, or my counseling site, http://KnappFamilyCounseling.com/ , where individuals recovering from Transcendental Meditation and similar groups will find helpful information.
John M. Knapp, LMSW
http://KnappFamilyCounseling.com/
August 18th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
In response to the post from Mr. Knapp, I checked out the three above mentioned websites of his, and I personally find that his sites seem to lack more than a tinge of objectivity. In fact, it appears that his sites are solely devoted to blatant, wholesale defamation of Transcendental Meditation and the TM organization. My concern regarding meditation is to survey the existent research findings on the various practices and evaluate and compare the range of benefits. With due respect to Knapp, it appears obvious that the research on TM verifies (to anyone with an objective mind) that the benefits of meditation are more than “modest.” I have been looking into the 600+ research studies on TM, and I am quite impressed not only with the broad range of the research, but also the degree to which these meditation studies have been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, such as the International Journal of Neuroscience, the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, the AMA’s ‘Archives’ journal, the Journal of Clinical Psychology, and many others. It is also significant that these meditation studies have been conducted at the most prestigious universities and medical schools, such as Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, and Yale. Knapp further claims that TM is a “cult.” The National Institutes of Health have awarded $24 million in research grants for scientists to study the effects of TM. I doubt that NIH would grant this much money for scientists to research an ineffectual “cult” practice. Such research grants are highly competitive and very hard to get and the applicant researchers are thoroughly scrutinized by the NIH. I know people who have been practicing TM for many years; I mentioned this “cult” accusation to one of them, and she laughed and replied, “How can something that I do at home, by myself, for my own personal benefit be a cult?” I’m not sure what Knapp’s motivations are, or what is the basis of his opinions. I know that some people feel that meditation is a threat to their religion. If the technique benefits people and can be useful in therapeudic practice, then shouldn’t such fears be allayed and shouldn’t therapists and psychiatrists evaluate meditation on the more solid basis of empirical research? Knapp’s insinuation that people meditating need to “recover,” as if from some trama or breakdown, falls flat in the face of the evidence, which shows that the direction of growth that meditators exhibit is toward balance, inner peace and stability. The dedicated meditators I know seem to become happier over time the longer they meditate. I’m actually considering the TM practice for my own personal benefit.
For anyone interested in meditation, I recommend a book edited by Jonathan Shear, “The Experience of Meditation,” which features experts of the great traditions of meditation—Zen, TM, Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, Yoga Meditation, etc.— all defining their own forms of meditation. The book has an excellent introduction by Ken Wilbur and presents all the main approaches in a fair and erudite format. It also addresses some of Knapp’s objections, such as: can meditation lead to negative results, is there significant benefit, and what does/can science say about it.
August 29th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Tom,
Thanks for your lengthy reply to my brief comment. You mention the hundreds of studies that the TM movement chooses to promote. You do not mention the recent Alberta Study or the Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness — or similar well-respected studies — that find the effects of TM, as well as other meditation techniques, much more modest than is claimed by adherents. If you search on the TM-Free Blog site you will find links to both these studies — as well as others.
I trust that readers can judge for themselves whether the TM organization is cultish or not.
J.
February 12th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Consolidation Loan…
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July 5th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Response to John M. Knapp comment:
Many critics consider John M. Knapp to be a self-promoting spammer who has nothing worthwhile to offer, but tries to make money by creating fear about useful programs like TM. A previous post of his indicated that he is a disgruntled former TM’er. With any organization that has attracted millions of participants, it is inevitable that a few people will become detractors. While I am impressed that John M. Knapp has shown the resourcefulness to transform his disgruntlement into a career, I do object to him labelling TM as a cult and spamming every article about TM on the Web. Although it is perhaps more worthy of sympathy to see an individual allowing his personal or professional life to revolve around some lingering bitterness, in the interests of fairness I feel I must counter the comments he is leaving.
The Transcendental Meditation technique has helped millions of people and will continue to do so. Its benefits have been validated by hundreds of scientific studies over the past 35 years, many of which were published in peer-reviewed journals. Its efficacy has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health, the premier body overseeing medical research in the US. And it has been introduced into school programs in the US, Canada, Peru, India, South Africa, the UK, and other countries. In the US, TM is taught by a federally-recognized nonprofit organization.
For more information, just Google ‘transcendental meditation’ and you’ll find plenty of good sources.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:31 am
Thanks to those above for clarifying the facts about TM, and upholding the simple truth that TM is highly beneficial, produces only positive results, and is scientifically validated. I have been meditating for over 35 years, and I love it!
John Knapp’s insinuated criticism toward people for writing “lengthy” responses to his posts is, well, ironic and funny. He is probably the most active anti-meditation spammer in the blogosphere. He maintains three websites against meditation. He keeps up probably hundreds of anti-TM web pages.
But to address his points: He implies that the TM organization chooses to promote certain studies and ignore others. The research on TM is not paid advertising by the non-profit TM educational organization, it is independent scientific research conducted at such institutions Harvard Medical School, UCLA, Yale Medical School, Stanford, ect., and as has undergone intense peer-reviewed scrutiny. Such research belongs to the scientific community, and is not solely promotional the material for an organization. The Alberta Study Knapp refers to is was highly controversial, was not peer-reviewed, not “well-respected,” and was criticized by scientists around the world for bias and lack of proper controls. This study and the other he mentioned are discussed on Dr. David Orme-Johnson’s website truthabouttm, dot org, if anyone wants to know the facts.
And thanks to those above for exposing John Knapp, known to be an anti-meditation internet activist who disingenuously takes advantage of the blogging medium by constantly spamming it to promote his websites. His copy-and-paste negative posts against TM are “sprinkled like bird droppings throughout the blogosphere,” as was cleverly been said of him elsewhere.
Knapp and a small handful of his pals, literally 4-5 obviously disgruntled former TMers, try to create a perception on the internet that TM is controversial. Because of how Google works — retrieving information but not verifying its accuracy — Knapp and his small cadre have been able to throw their negative mix into the Google search. His websites (he maintains at least three himself) are Misinformation Central, replete with rumor and falsehood. It is also suspected by people who have encountered him on blogs that he uses more than one name to post, giving the impression that he has someone agreeing with him.
About 6 million people have learned TM over the past 50 years. The fact that there are only this small handful of detractors on the internet is powerful testimony to the benign and benefitial nature of the TM program. (Knapp’s own anti-TM blog features only 5-6 regular contributors, and this after years of soliciting for contributions).
There are so many people like myself and those above whose experience with TM is totally positive and enriching over a lifetime, and who speak up to clarify the facts, that Mr. Knapp’s postings (and those of his few naysaying friends) are becoming sidelined by the simple truth that TM is an invaluable tool to maximize health and happiness.
Let the great benefits of TM continue to be celebrated in the world.
Laughingcrow out.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Interestingly, as I follow the web for information on TM, I have seen the prior post replicated almost word for word on other sites in which Mr. Knapp has posted. Nothing is advanced by calling him disgruntled. or bitter. The person who does so cannot read his mind and cannot know his state of mind. He simply provides another point of view.
As far as TM helping millions of people, this is unsupported. Yes, the TM organizations claim to have taught roughly 6 million people. However, it is not know how many continue the practice and is not known what nearly all of those 6 million feel about the practice and whether it has helped or harmed them or, more likely, had no effect at all.
July 10th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Knapp has his own opinions. But I can tell you, I’ve had great success with TM in my personal life and in recommending it to others. Totally positive results.
July 10th, 2008 at 6:04 am
in response to ‘”ruth,” perhaps what is more interesting and ironic is that mr. knapp’s posts, which “ruth” defends, are always word for word the same all over the internet, which is why it’s called spamming. is it an abuse of this blogging medium for knapp to promote his own commercial and personal anti-meditation agenda? (and now, no one knows if “ruth” is actually knapp further defending himself.) as far as inspector108 posting his say as a copy/paste in response to knapp’s spamming, so what? why should knapp’s critics be expected to write individual, personalized pieces to each of knapp’s cookie-cutter spam blurbs?
i beg to differ with the claim that nothing is advanced by referring to knapp as “bitter’ and “disgruntled,” for it posits a reasonable explanation for his obsessive life-endeavor to smear TM and it’s founder. and knapp’s case *begs* for an explanation. it is indeed an oddity that a grown man spends so much time on the internet devoted to slamming something that is well-proven to be positive and beneficial. seeing him as merely disgruntled and bitter puts it in perspective, for me. what else could explain it?
but i agree with “ruth” about one thing: it’s true that out of the 6 million people who have learned TM, no one can know how many are regularly practicing twice-daily everyday, just as no one knows how many of the tens-of-thousands of people who have bought nordictrack are exercising everyday. but what kind of criticism would that be to say that nordictrack is no good because we don’t know how many people use them everyday? it’s a grabbing-for-straws criticism, i’d say. but what’s more significant is the point brought out above, that out of the millions who have learned TM, there are so few people who actually claim, as knapp and his few (disgruntled?) buddies claim, that TM is no good.
but here’s where science comes in and where knapp’s crowd is truly at a loss. if there were only 10 or 20 scientific peer-reviewed studies showing TM’s benefits, and if these research studies were published only in minor, fringe journals, then knapp might reasonably argue (without appearing irrational) that TM’s benefits are not well supported and that the practice doesn’t really help people. but with *hundreds* of peer-reviewed research studies, from harvard, u of penn., u of kentucky, yale medical school, and so many other *independent* institutions, published in such journals as the international journal of neuroscience, scientific american, science, the ama’s journal, and so on, all verifying the benefits of TM, it’s really without merit to decry TM as non-beneficial. but knapp goes further and actually calls it *harmful.* this is where knapp’s argument goes off the deep end.
i’ve been meditating for 23 years. i went through maharishi univeristy. now i live near a major TM center where there are so many wonderful people enjoying TM’s benefits. i am also a therapist who has recommended TM to clients. i have seen such relief and profound transformation in people who had tried everything else. from my point of view, it is a grave wrong that knapp is trying to denigrate something so helpful and which lifts people’s spirits and dissolves stress so efficiently thorough the deep rest. but don’t just take my word for it. i’m just one person. all anyone has to do is consider the science. after 50 years, TM has proven itself. it’s still here and growing stronger. it is my joy to help spread the word about it. but now, off to work.
be well, all
kk
July 11th, 2008 at 6:28 am
Last time I will comment. Knapp says it works fine for many if not most, in moderation. The problem is that it can cause harm to some, especially if they meditate more than twice a day for 20 minutes each time. The “cult” issue relates to the TM organizations, which do have some very bizarre ideas about what TM and various TM products can do.
So no need to overreact at his position.
As far as the studies, even though some were published under the auspices of reputable universities, the researchers were nearly uniformly affiliated with the TM organizations.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:54 am
It seems those few people who are *true believers* in their own anti-meditation cynicism, such as Knapp/ruth appear to be, will never accept that Transcendental Meditation can have all-positive results, no matter how much science is there to support the program. But these idiosyncratic, negative personal viewpoints quickly collapse in the light of empirical evidence. As is pointed out above, it is precisely *because* there is solid impartial research showing TM is not only safe but highly beneficial that it has received such recognition by doctors and scientists. All the statements I have ever heard from the TM organization about the program’s benefits are supported by science.
As a therapist who uses Transcendental Meditation in my practice, I feel is actually irresponsible for people to make allegations of negative results from a practice that has proven to be so useful. Note that these accusations above come from a limited-licensed social worker, not a trained psychologist with clinical experience using TM as a therapeutic modality. The unique state of profound rest experienced during TM is the exact opposite of harmful — it rejuvenates and harmonizes mind, body, and emotions.
It is a blatant falsehood to claim that the scientists who have conducted studies on TM are “nearly uniformly affiliated with the TM organizations.” The vast majority of these scientists actually have no affiliation with any TM organization whatsoever. How could the TM organization *have* so many hundreds of “affiliated” scientists conducting TM research at Harvard, UCLA, Yale, University of San Francisco, University of Kentucky, Stanford Medical School, and hundreds of other institutions around the world? And, affiliated with it *how*? Such claims are a joke. (For an extensive list of non-meditating scientists who have researched TM, see Dr. David Orme Johnson’s website, truthabouttm.)
It does sometimes happen that after conducting research on the TM technique, the scientists *then* decide to learn TM, once they’ve actually witnessed consistent results in controlled studies and randomized trails. This happened recently, for example, to a non-meditating scientist at the University of Kentucky who was involved in a study investigating the effects of TM on high blood pressure, comparing it to other practices. The study, just published in the American Journal of Hypertension, found that no other meditation practice or relaxation technique produced the same, powerful results as TM in lowering blood pressure (in fact, no other mind/body practice showed any significant results at all).
As to the fears and obsessions with “cults’ that plague certain people who denounce TM, while that is something that therapy might help, I offer the following insight from a leading neurologist at Scripps Memorial Hospital, one of many physicians who is speaking out about the life-enriching effects of the TM program:
“Dr. Sandeep Chaudhary: If anyone is concerned that the TM program might be some kind of religious sect or cult, then just ask yourself: How many so-called cults have been awarded $24 million in research grants by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, or offer programs verified by research studies in hundreds of refereed medical and scientific journals, including the American Medical Association’s Archives of Internal Medicine?
How many religious sects have offered AMA-approved continuing education courses for physicians, or teach systematic instruction in a technique that’s regularly featured in brain research presentations at the American Psychological Association’s annual conferences, and highlighted in the American College of Cardiology press releases for benefits to cardiovascular health?
The distinguished recognition and scientific validation goes on and on.”
Many such comments and interviews can be found at the Ask the Doctors website, maintained by a national association of medical doctors and scientists who represent thousands of physicians across the US who practice TM and recommend it to their patients. The site is a great resource, I think, for any therapist.
Be well, all
Dr. Pat
August 3rd, 2008 at 11:35 am
I am concerned with Knapp’s lack of scientific perspective.
I’m a clinical psychologist who works daily with people who experience anxiety, depression, psychosis, etc. I have found the TM technique a significant help to many of my patients. Those who start TM typically find improved sleep, reduced anxiety and depression, more happiness, greater ability to enjoy, feelings of wholeness and less physical illness.
As a scientist I am aware that debate and opposing valid scientific research is essential to the growth of a reliable body of knowledge. But bizarre assertions such as Mr. Knapp is making is not science. If we resort to this kind of hearsay, personal bias and superstition, we will reverse scientific understanding and protocol by 300 years. The reason we turn to science to begin with is because we all have different ideas and opinions. Science provides us a valid, reliable, objective, repeatable means to investigate a given field of study.
Perhaps science is not the forte of Mr. Knapp–and that’s understandable. But as a person who has even minimal training in the field of therapy he should know it is highly unethical to dissuade others from pursuing help that has been scientifically verified to be of benefit. For example, if a patient comes to a doctor and complains of migraine headaches the doctor cannot refuse that person medication because he doesn’t like the way the medication is distributed. Doctors who do so run the risk of losing their license. So, to Knapp and those who evaluate scientific procedure by tendentious means–Please, consider the harmful impact of discouraging even one individual from doing something so good for themselves.
Sincerely,
Dr. P. Loveland
August 3rd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Dr. Loveland, a clinical psychologist is not a scientist. A research psychologist is a scientist. To say that “Those who start TM typically find improved sleep, reduced anxiety and depression, more happiness, greater ability to enjoy, feelings of wholeness and less physical illness” is not supported by science. We don’t know what happens to the typical person who starts meditation. In fact, most apparently quit. Knapp’s criticisms are fair and reasonable. Some people do suffer adverse effects from meditating and being involved with the TM organizations. Note that I said some; not all and probably not most. To berate Knapp for helping those who suffer is not helpful to anyone.
I question your bona fides.
August 3rd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
After reading through all of these comments and their associated links, one comes to the conclusion that TM has had many many scientifically published reports on its medical and psychological benefits whereas mr john knapp (and one might guess his alter ego ruth) seems to simply be looking for people who want to pay him to help them get “free” of some cultish attachment they have formed to TM or whatever other organization they are in (perhaps not unlike john’s own unhealthy attachment to TM and/or any other organizations or people he has previously formed dependent relationships with), by instead becoming attached to his “therapy” (whatever that is, though it certainly hasn’t had many hundreds of medical publications over 40 years from leading research institutions from around the world establishing its therapeutic value)
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
To assert carte blanche that a clinical psychologist is not a scientist is utterly baseless, and shows a shallow understanding of science and psychology. How does ‘june’ know what kind of degree the referenced psychologist has earned? How would ‘june’ know what research the person has conducted? Many clinical psychologists base their practice on science, employing therapeutic methodologies rooted in neuroscience and psychiatry, and many of them conduct research themselves. ‘june’ also makes the false and mindless claim that “improved sleep, reduced anxiety and depression, more happiness … and less physical illness” associated with TM are not rooted in science. This is so absurd. Such arguments can only come from people who are so trapped in their own negative belief system that they cannot even consider what it means that over 300 peer-reviewed research studies verify these benefits, or that the NIH has granted over $24 million to further the health research on TM. It is well-established science that when a typical person learns TM, the person grows in the positive qualities described by the psychologist above. The main point is, I think, that people such as june/ruth/knapp — (the ever-present mr. knapp, known in blog circles as “the k-spammer” ) — attempt to define TM negatively in terms of their own limited experience and understanding, an experience which is devoid of the main ingredient necessary to truly evaluate TM: the experience of transcending. This is what TM is all about: experiencing pure consciousness at the source of thought — the Self. It is an experience of unboundedness, infinite freedom, pure bliss. Regular TM practice enlivens this inner blissful nature of the Self and one’s life becomes better in every way. This is the common experience with TM. Obviously, the june/ruth/knapp equation does not experience TM, may not know the true nature of the inner Self that is readily experienced during TM practice. Anyone who experienced this would not be so negative toward something so innocent and natural and beneficial as TM. june/ruth/knapp is looking at TM from the outside, interpreting it in terms of his own experience of life. Granted, in knapp’s worldview it may not be logical that there is a field of pure happiness within everyone, it may not sound possible to such people that TM can provide the experience of transcending so easily, it may not make sense that anyone can learn TM and unfold their inner potential. Such a worldview may not recognize the enormous potential of human life. But alas, such outside evaluations of TM are shooting in the dark. The only way to truly know what it is, is to experience the inner, transcendental Self. Along with hundreds of thousands of other TM meditators, I have experienced this through TM. The practice is wonderful and has universal positive effects. I have taught it to hundreds of people and seen their lives transformed.
For most people, the science that supports TM is enough to convince. But to those “true believers” in their negative opinions, as Dr Pat describes them to above, the science remains invisible. So let the june/ruth/knapps of the world rail against TM all they want. Fortunately there are so many people practicing TM and keeping an eye out for these spreaders of misinformation that the naysaying will always be answered back with the facts.
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I am no one’s alter ego. Please, do not try to mind read. I don’t know John Knapp but I would not assume that he has any unhealthy attachments.
Personal attacks are unnecessary and unseemly.
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
The truthwillout post did not categorically accuse ‘ruth’ of being knapp’s alter ego, as the phrase “one might assume” is merely a musing on the possibility. but it is a reasonable speculation, at that: for whenever knapp appears, it seems ‘ruth’ also appears immediately thereafter only to reiterate the exact same arguments that knapp espouses — and she belies an intimate knowledge of his anti-TM websites.
To operate a site called “TM-Free Blog” does indeed suggest an unhealthy attachment. As any mental health professional can attest: if one really aims to be free of some particular practice or organization, the last thing you want to do is spend interminable hours almost daily denouncing it on blogs, to the point of obsession, it appears; maintaining at least three websites where you denounce it; actually trying to build a career around this negative engagement.
this is not a personal attack, just a word of advice for ruth/knapp.june etc. . knapp is obviously not free of TM. he focuses on it as much as most TM teachers, but in an unhealthy and negative way. too bad that some people have to carry such negative emotions with them.
Ironically, TM is all about letting go.
so no need to over react to truthout’s position.
August 4th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Not a personal attack? That is all you guys are doing. I find the attacks on Knapp unkind. Who is presenting negative emotions? It looks like it is coming from defenders of the faith. I found this blog through google alerts for transcendental meditation. How do you find these blogs? I have the alert on because I have tired of all the misinformation presented by the TM organizations. The so called science that has been found seriously wanting through meta-analysis. The goofy religious aspect with yagyas and east facing houses and yogic flying. Defend that with science. The Maharishi said people would fly and they do not and never have.
I said I do not know Mr. Knapp. I do not know him. I have read his blog and found nothing untoward.
August 4th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Oh, if TM is about letting go, I suggest your obsessions with Knapp go and let him help those who come to him for help. And stop criticizing therapists for charging money. After all, the TMO charges a LOT of money to learn TM.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:23 am
“ruth’ is right, of course, that there should be no personal attacks, either from the supporters of the TM program or from the anti-meditation activists. I am only here to correct what I see as blatant falsehoods and dishonest information being propogated, as pointed out above, by the negative activist. to state that an individual is speaking untruth can be interpreted, if one chooses, as an attack on that person. but as I see it, there is a difference between attacking an individual and exposing inconsistencies and errors in someone’s statements. this process can be done civilly and with dignity.
And the negative criticism you interject whenever you receive your TM alerts is not in response to so-called “misinformation” disseminated by the TM organization, but are in response to independent news articles or blog posts by individuals. “Letting go” does not require that the negative misinformation go unaddressed by anybody who wants to help shine a light.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Fwiw, here’s a recent critical and thorough publication on meta-analysis of TM and blood pressure studies, from researchers at the University of Kentucky:
“Blood pressure response to transcendental meditation: a meta-analysis”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18311126?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
BACKGROUND: Prior clinical trials suggest that the Transcendental Meditation technique may decrease blood pressure of normotensive and hypertensive individuals but study-quality issues have been raised. This study was designed to assess effects of Transcendental Meditation on blood pressure using objective quality assessments and meta-analyses.
METHODS: PubMed and Cochrane databases through December 2006 and collected publications on Transcendental Meditation were searched. Randomized, controlled trials comparing blood pressure responses to the Transcendental Meditation technique with a control group were evaluated. Primary outcome measures were changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after practicing Transcendental Meditation or following control procedures. A specific rating system (0-20 points) was used to evaluate studies and random-effects models were used for meta-analyses.
RESULTS: Nine randomized, controlled trials met eligibility criteria. Study-quality scores ranged from low (score, 7) to high (16) with three studies of high quality (15 or 16) and three of acceptable quality (11 or 12). The random-effects meta-analysis model for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, indicated that Transcendental Meditation, compared to control, was associated with the following changes: -4.7 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI), -7.4 to -1.9 mm Hg) and -3.2 mm Hg (95% CI, -5.4 to -1.3 mm Hg). Subgroup analyses of hypertensive groups and high-quality studies showed similar reductions. CONCLUSIONS: The regular practice of Transcendental Meditation may have the potential to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approximately 4.7 and 3.2 mm Hg, respectively. These are clinically meaningful changes.
August 5th, 2008 at 5:16 am
Glory Dog, what are the blatant falsehoods? I haven’t posted any. I looked again at what Knapp posted, and I see no falsehood. Specifically, tell me what was said that is false.
Knapp mentioned the Alberta study and the Cambridge handbook, both of which I have read. He correctly summarized the results.
My criticisms of the poster who claimed to be a clinical psychologist and a “scientist.” I would never say that a clinical psychologist is a scientist, they are clinicians. I am an MD, I do not consider myself a scientist. I questioned his bona fides because he made statements I found extremely problematic. He basically called Knapp unethical for not recommending TM when he said: “But as a person who has even minimal training in the field of therapy he should know it is highly unethical to dissuade others from pursuing help that has been scientifically verified to be of benefit.” Mr. Knapp has clients who had bad experiences with TM. It would be unethical to recommend that they go back to TM.
TruthwillOut, I have not yet read the Kentucky study so I cannot comment properly. However, I am somewhat concerned as TMO researchers were involved in the study. True believers often argue that research institutions researching are independent. Most often there nevertheless was involvement by a researcher who is a practitioner of TM and often what I would call a true believer. A little reduction in blood pressure? I would rather pet my dog and get the same results.
What is especially bothersome to me is the assumption that true believers make that TM is always good, always right for everyone. Sorry, some people do not have good experiences with TM, especially with the siddhis program and with rounding. And some people have bad experiences with the TM organizations.
I am a former TM’er. I meditated for years and found no meaningful effects. I do not do the siddhis. I find that program to be a fraud as not of MMY’s claims ever panned out.
So, I ask again true believers, how do you find these blogs that mention meditation? Do you also use google alerts?
So, true believers, do you believe you will fly? Do you live in east facing homes? Do you purchase astrology charts from the TMO? Do you have pundits do yagyas for you for a fee? Do you believe you will become enlightened? Have you reached god consciousness?
This is why some call the TMO a cult.
August 5th, 2008 at 5:33 am
Going back and reading the comments I found that I had posted a comment under the name “june” which is a name I use on another blog. I apologize, I do not intend to use more than one name on a blog.
I also saw a post that I had missed before from a Dr. Pat. Another purported clinical psychologist? Or are you the same person as Dr. P. Loveland? Given that I erred in posting with more than one entity, feel free to confess if you did as well. :)
Dr. Pat/ Dr. Loveland, how do you feel about the more peculiar claims of the TMO? Do you think the TM siddhis program is good for your patients? Do you think that it is good for them to believe that they will fly when they think: Relationship of body and akasha - lightness of cotton fiber? Become invincible? To have the strength of an elephant?
August 6th, 2008 at 1:42 am
yes, ruth, it is not surprising that you see no falsehoods, even though they are cited above, again and again. “True believers” can generally not see beyond their own belief system. Let this be a case study for students of psychology, science, and consciousness: “The world is as YOU are,” as the saying goes.
And you are a doctor! And YOU are questioning others’ credentials! Must anyone who has a viewpoint different from yours be a fraud?
I challenge you to present your credentials. I suggest that the above psychologists do the same, to bring all the cards out on the table. I was about request the webmaster to check the IP addresses and expose your multiple identities, but alas, you have confessed — of course, one would have to, to accuse others of the same crime.
This is all getting way too silly.
FYI: just because your own personal practice of TM and the sidhis did not produce the results you were wishing for, does not mean that the program is a “fraud.” The illogical of this is astonishing. Nor does the fact that I experience WONDERFUL results from my TM and Sidhis practice prove anything in general (except for myself). To discount hundreds of scientific studies, and the experience of hundreds of thousands of people who embrace TM, because of your own singular experience and beliefs, is, well, bogus.
Glory Dog says: Anyone who has experienced the reality of TM, the perfect naturalness of it, the beautiful simplicity and innocence of it, anyone who has clearly experienced the process of transcending, knows what TM truly is. The people I know who are *sold* on TM are not true believers, they are true experiencers. From their own silent level of knowingness, in the depths of their own awareness, they just know. And what is it they know? Their own Self.
To address another of the many falsehoods you’re slinging out:
You say the reduction in blood pressure is slight, and imply that you could pet a dog and get the same results. Don’t try and pet Glory Dog! He can smell a fib a mile away and doesn’t like fibbers.
According to cardiologists and MDs, the levels of blood pressure reduction found through TM is often life saving, as many studies have demonstrated (Journals: Hypertension, Stroke, etc).
I leave you with the words of one James Anderson, professor of medicine at the University of Kentucky, an INDEPENDENT researcher (he was NON meditator with no stakes in the outcome) who led the meta-analysis you have denounced without reading, the findings of which rebut the controversial July 2007 study you are fond of referencing — the study which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure. The new meta-analysis identified all high quality meditation studies published through 2006 and rigorously analyzed their effects, which the previous government report failed to do.
From the U of K press release:
Anderson said the new meta-analysis includes only high quality studies on all available stress reduction interventions. The studies on Transcendental Meditation were conducted at five independent universities and medical institutions, and the majority of them were funded by competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Says Anderson:
“Adding transcendental meditation is about equivalent to adding a second antihypertension agent to one’s current regimen, only safer and less troublesome… Many patients with mild hypertension or prehypertension may be able to avoid the need to take blood pressure medications–all of which have adverse side effects. Individuals with more severe forms of hypertension may be able to reduce the number or dosages of their BP medications under the guidance of their doctor.”
Anderson added that long-term changes in blood pressure of this magnitude are associated with at least a 15 percent reduction in rates of heart attack and stroke. “This is important to everyone because cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide,” Anderson said.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
The siddhi program is a fraud. MMY promised flying and we didn’t get it. Instead, you get group hysteria with people bouncing on their butts.
What falsehoods are cited above? I still don’t see any from me or Knapp.
Many things will reduce blood pressure. Simple TM can for some. I never said it couldn’t But so can petting your dog or doing progressive relaxation exercises. You have not shown that to be false. Choose your remedy. For most, I believe that doing simple, basic TM twice a day is not harmful and may even help some people. Most though probably will not stick with it. Thus I do not believe it is worth the big bucks the TMO charges for the technique. I would be more likely to recommend a different form of meditation, such as mindfulness meditation, which people can learn for free. Check the Mayo website for instructions. Or, pet your dog and do someone a kindness once a day.
Anderson may not be affiliated with the TMO but the statistician that did the work was affiliated with the TMO. I did not denounce the study without reading it. I said I could not properly comment until I have read it, but I had a concern, the involvement of the TMO in the study. Your lie was that the study was independent when the statistician himself was affiliated with the TMO. Though I would note that the Kentucky study results are contrary to the Alberta meta-analysis (which was in fact a very high quality study which I have read and was truly independant) so it is far from uncontroversial. My concern is possible cherry picking in the Kentucky study which would yield false positives. But, as I said, I can’t fully comment because I have not read it yet.
OK, you keep arguing about the science. Explain for me how you reconcile the weird ideas of the TMO that can only be described as religious. There is no science that shows you will fly or become invincible or have the strength of an elephant. There is no science that shows that living in an east facing home is healthier or keeps away the bad spirits. There is no science that supports the astrology. There is no science that supports the pulse diagnosis. So, how do you reconcile these bogus claims with your claim that TM is scientific? If the TMO will lie about flying, why not lie in research studies? They did lie you know. I was their in the 1970s when we were told we would fly and we were told that we were on the super highway to enlightenment.