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Practice Meditation for Better Heart Health

In our newest guest blog post, Karen from the Jacksonville Transcendental Meditation Center talks about the benefits of meditation for heart health. Read on for her advice!

Doctors have long suspected that there is a powerful connection between mind and body. This connection means that practicing mental techniques like meditation can affect physical wellbeing and reduce the risk of disease. Meditation has benefits that extend across the mind-body continuum; according to WebMD, regular meditation can help the body release stress, anxiety and pain, boost mood and immunity, and even resolve pregnancy problems.

Transcendental MeditationA recent study showed the benefits of a particular kind of meditation, the Transcendental Meditation® (TM) technique, for people with heart disease. In the study, funded by the National Institute of Health, patients who practiced the TM technique saw their risk of heart attack and stroke go down by 48%. Further, in a 2013 review, the American Heart Association reported that the TM technique is the only meditation that actually lowers blood pressure.

When we are meditating with TM, the mind stays alert. The body is deeply rested and releases stress and fatigue. The rest our body receives during TM practice is actually deeper than sleep. We come out of each meditation session refreshed, and with regular practice we see improvements in overall health.

The TM technique is pleasant to practice and requires only two 20-minute sessions per day. It is easily learned by personal instruction from a certified teacher.

Research on the mind-body connection continues, but one thing is clear: in today’s hectic world, everyone can benefit from taking the time to slow down and meditate.

The Jacksonville TM Center offers TM instruction and check-ups. Contact Karen or Herb Bandy, Certified Teachers, at (904) 375-9517 or Jacksonville@TM.org, for more information.

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