TM gains mainstream respect Transcendental meditation not 'junk' science anymore By Tom Walsh MAHARISHI VEDIC CITY -- Medical researchers at the Laboratory for Health and Aging Studies at the Maharishi University of Management are watching the mailbox for written confirmation of yet another grant from the National Institutes of Health. The $2 million grant will bring to $20.3 million the amount of federal research dollars awarded to the university since 1989 to study how Transcendental Meditation (TM) and other components of Maharishi Vedic Medicine affect prevention and treatment of heart disease and other chronic illnesses. This latest grant is from NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Founded in Fairfield in 1971 by proponents of the beliefs and lifestyle made popular by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the university's Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention is now teamed with a growing list of mainstream universities involved in biomedical research: the University of Pennsylvania, the Medical College of Wisconsin, the University of California at Irvine and Howard University. Closer to home, the center is working with the University of Iowa. Maharishi University recently completed a nine-month clinical trial with the UI in which 14 Iowa adults with chronic heart disease received treatment involving TM, yoga, breathing exercises, herbal preparations and a special diet low in fat and high in fruits and vegetables. Data from the study is being evaluated, with results not expected until next year. However, a long list of previous studies has confirmed TM's stress-reduction capabilities. The most surprising study was conducted in collaboration with Charles Drew University in Los Angeles. It showed that TM didn't merely slow the buildup of arterial plaque, but reduced existing blockages in the major arteries that deliver oxygen to the brain. It's taken 30 years, but mainstream medical researchers -- including many scientists suspicious of spiritualism -- now are starting to believe that Maharishi's research isn't "junk" science being conducted by physicians immersed in a boutique cult. Ask Dr. Robert Schneider if his work is finally being taken seriously, and the cardiologist who oversees Maharishi's medical research efforts will hand you a stack of peer-reviewed medical journal reprints originally published by the American Heart Association and other prestigious players in cardiovascular research. "Traditional medicine has given people the message that they don't have the power to manage their own health," Schneider told The Gazette. "High blood pressure is a chronic disease. Many people will be on blood pressure medications for the rest of their lives, dependent on something external. We've shown it's possible to regulate blood pressure from within, without cost and without side effects." Much of Schneider's cardiovascular research has involved African-American test subjects in trials done in collaboration with traditionally black universities, including Drew, Howard and the Morehouse School of Medicine. " There's a national effort to eliminate disparity in the incidence of illness and death among the most disadvantaged and underserved groups in our society," said Sanford Nidich, Maharishi's associate dean for research. " It's an area we are deeply committed about, and the risk factors for heart disease are much higher among African-Americans than whites." Nidich said new cardiovascular studies will involve Hispanics. Another study will explore the contribution of stress to a high incidence of cancer among Hawaii's native population. Schneider said studies like the one recently completed at the UI are extending research beyond TM to diet, exercise and other aspects of Maharishi Vedic Medicine. " When you combine diet, herbal supplements and exercise, you see even greater effects than with TM alone," he said. "When you address health at all levels -- mind, body, environment -- the greater the effect you get."
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