Medical conference promotes meditation to prevent heart disease By Amy Lorentzen,
MAHARISHI VEDIC CITY -- Transcendental Meditation can help prevent high blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease, researchers at the Fairfield-based Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention said Friday. "Half of the people in this country are still dying from heart attack and stroke, so we need new, innovative approaches for prevention," said Dr. Robert Schneider, director of the institute at the Maharishi University of Management. "There are effective mind-body approaches and other non-drug approaches which pick up where conventional drugs and surgery just leave off." The institute is part of the Maharishi University of Management, which along with traditional academic work teaches the practice of TM - which uses a mantra, or meaningless sound that's repeated over and over, to achieve a restful, yet alert state. Schneider said hundreds of health care professionals from around the world tuned in to Friday's Webcast conference, "Medication or Meditation: What's the best Rx for Heart Disease." Another 100 or so were on hand in Fairfield to discuss the research. Some participating doctors will get education credit from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn., he said. The event featured doctors and researchers from Howard University, Cedars-Sinai Heart Center and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, some of which have helped with the meditation research for as long as eight years. The Fairfield institute has received more than $20 million in federal funds over the past 15 years for its research on the topic, Schneider said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 61 million Americans - almost one-fourth of the population - live with cardiovascular disease, with about 950,000 Americans dying from it each year. Schneider said one study showed that 73 percent fewer elderly white people died of cardiovascular disease after practicing TM for 20 minutes, twice a day, for about three years. The Fairfield institute next will use more than $2 million from the National Institutes of Health to study "Stress Reduction and Cardiovascular Disease Morbidity and Mortality in Blacks." Dr. David Sands, associate dean for academic and clinical affairs at the College of Maharishi Vedic Medicine, said meditation and other alternative forms of medicine are starting to be accepted by the American public. " This is now mainstream stuff. We have lots of research accumulated over the last 30 years to demonstrate the efficacy and the acceptability of using Transcendental Meditation as an adjunct therapy," he said. Even the American Heart Association Web site recommends taking 15 to 20 minutes a day to sit quietly, breathe deeply and think of a peaceful scene, or take a class in yoga or meditation to help manage congestive heart failure. Over the past few years, Maharishi University has asked some public schools in Iowa to use TM techniques to reduce student stress, decrease behavioral problems and improve achievement. The university also wants to see TM used at businesses and prisons. "It's time for Medicare and Medicaid to pay for these programs and time for application of these programs on a widespread basis. ... for people who want an improved quality of life overall," Schneider said. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who founded the Transcendental Meditation movement, brought his followers to Fairfield in 1974. Last year, they incorporated Vedic City, a neighboring community. |