Different forms of meditation are used by more and more people nowadays. As we face difficulties and challenges in our lives, we can use meditation to cope with these or overcome them. Furthermore, it helps us become more determined in reaching our goals, leading positive lifestyles and simply being happy and able to enjoy every bit of the world that surrounds us. A very popular technique is called Transcendental meditation, a style practiced mostly by householders. Transcendental meditation gained fame during the 1960’s after people learned that the Beatles were also practicing it.

Transcendental Meditation Technique

The technique comes from a very old Indian tradition, and was revived by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who was the guru and the leader of a large worldwide organization for meditation. He defined the purpose of Transcendental meditation as to reach a state of enlightenment, and thus experience inner calmness even when we are in a busy environment and have many tasks to finish.
Maharishi also believed that dissolving stress is primordial in achieving this goal. Not only does it enable us to attempt to reach the state of enlightenment, but it also gives us the opportunity to appreciate and value life as it is. So what is transcendental meditation?
Transcendental meditation is an easy practice that can completely transform your life, especially by reducing mood disorders, stress, insomnia, anxiety and hypertension. By getting rid of chronic stress, a person becomes much more creative, productive and healthy, and thus happy. These facts have been proven by more than 380 research studies on the Transcendental meditation technique.
The practice does not link to religions, faiths or lifestyles and it is easy to learn since more than six million people from all over the world are current practitioners. During this type of meditation, your mind settles inward by accessing silent thought levels until you reach the most peaceful state of pure consciousness, with the help of a transcendental meditation mantra.
It does not require concentration, focus or contemplation of your thoughts. If you are skeptical, which is quite normal in the beginning, you do not need to worry that your disbelief will influence the process. Transcendental meditation does work even if you do not believe it will succeed. This happens because it is an automatic process set to calm your mind.

Benefits of Transcendental Meditation

Numerous studies on the Transcendental meditation technique conducted at esteemed universities all over the world such as Stanford Medical School, Harvard Medical School, UCLA Medical School or Yale Medical School have proven the benefits of the technique.
A journal from the American Heart Association published in 2012 demonstrated that subjects who meditated recorded a 48% reduction in stroke, heart attack and death compared to the ones who did not. Another scientific statement published in 2013 showed that Transcendental meditation was the only form to lower blood pressure. Furthermore, the results of a randomized controlled trials analysis from 2013 underlined the fact that this meditation form was more effective in reducing anxiety than usual or alternative treatments, as well as other types of meditation.
You can find valuable information on the Internet, from videos or books, but nothing compares to learning from a teacher. Meditation is a skill like any other, such as playing an instrument or painting, and even though you can learn a lot by yourself, having someone to guide can be the difference between success and failure. How to do transcendental meditation for free?
You can find many Transcendental meditation books or  “how to transcendental meditation” or “transcendental meditation how to” tutorials on the Internet that can give you an idea about the process. You can also search for transcendental meditation YouTube videos for a more in-depth learning. If you look for transcendental meditation mantras, you can surely find a transcendental meditation mantra list where you can choose from.
The transcendental meditation technique involves a large pallet of wellness benefits such as improving memory and brain functions, providing calmness throughout the day, reducing insomnia, depression, anxiety, cortisol and the risk of strokes and heart attacks and normalizing blood pressure. You will need to dedicate forty minutes of your time each day, twenty in the morning and twenty in the evening. During this time you will have to sit comfortably with your eyes closed.

Practicing Transcendental Meditation

You are wondering perhaps how to practice Transcendental meditation. In order to learn Transcendental meditation, you have to contact a local certified teacher who will invite you to an introductory session, after which you can decide whether you want to register for the four day training.
The info session is free of cost and lasts for about 50 minutes, during which you will learn why Transcendental meditation can be practiced by anyone, why it works right from the beginning and why it is so effective, as well as how it improves your brain and mind and what truly happens in the process. You will then have a personal interview with a teacher that will lead to the four consecutive sessions.
The first day involves a personal tutorial on the Transcendental meditation technique for one or two hours. During the next three days your sessions will last for 60 to 90 minutes during which you will receive Transcendental meditation instructions on how to use it to improve your life. These are followed by a group session with questions and answers and a one-on-one session to make sure you got the hang of it and that it truly helps you.
The costs vary depending on the teacher or the region, but the average price is $1,500 which can be payed in installments. However, there are also special fees for students and even scholarships. This involves your training and mantra, as well as free lifetime support, which includes free Transcendental meditation sessions.
After completing the course you will also be able to attend as many other classes as you wish, as well as special events, lectures, group meditations and access to Transcendental meditation free online materials to aid you further. You can search for “transcendental meditation NYC” or “transcendental meditation Los Angeles”, since these two are the largest centers for this type of meditation.
In conclusion, if you have decided to improve the quality of your life by using an easy method that takes little of your time, you should at least consider trying to practice Transcendental meditation, and you will benefit from all its perks.