More and more schools around the world are employing Transcendental Meditation techniques to improve student performance and well-being.

What is Transcendental Meditation?

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought Transcendental Meditation to the U.S. in the 1960s. The technique involves sitting comfortably, twice a day for 20 minutes, with the eyes closed in a relaxed state of consciousness.

Transcendental Meditation is not a religion. It is a daily practice that helps students develop naturally and remain alert during the school day.

Benefits of Transcendental Meditation

Harvard Medical School, Stanford Medical School, and Yale Medical School have researched the technique’s effects. Benefits of Transcendental Meditation include improved intelligence and creativity, improved academic performance, improved memory and lower stress levels.

Students who practiced meditation were also healthier and more confident. They showed greater appreciation for reflective and academic activities, as well as improved mathematical skills.

The David Lynch Foundation

The David Lynch Foundation was founded in 2005 to ensure that any child in the world who wanted to meditate could do so. The foundation focuses its efforts on underserved inner-city students, veterans with PTSD and their families as well as women and children who are survivors of violence and abuse.

Thanks to the foundation, students in more than 700 public and private schools around the world have been able to learn the Transcendental Meditation technique. In the U.S alone, there are more than 1,000 schools waiting to implement the program.

Success Stories

The Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment (MSAE), a small school in Iowa, is one of the most successful examples of an institution using the Transcendental Meditation technique. MSAE students rank on average in the top one percent of standardized academic tests in the U.S. Ninety-five percent of these students also enroll in a university.

Similarly, university students in Cambodia that practiced Transcendental Meditation showed improved general health after three months. A separate statistic shows that secondary school students who practiced the technique also demonstrated increased creativity after 14 weeks, in comparison to control students.

Education is one of the most powerful tools in reducing global poverty and inequality. Thanks to Transcendental Meditation, both teachers and students are enjoying lower stress levels and increased efficiency in the classroom. As the technique continues to proliferate, the quality of global education will also rise, ultimately laying the foundation for sustained economic growth and social cohesion.

– Liliana Rehorn

Photo: Flickr