User:Nicejacksons/Transcendental Meditation

Movement
The Transcendental Meditation movement consists of the programs and organizations connected with the Transcendental Meditation technique and founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Transcendental Meditation was first taught in the 1950s in India and has continued since the Maharishi's death in 2008. The organization was estimated to have 900,000 participants worldwide in 1977, a million by the 1980s,  and 5 million in more recent years,     including some notable practitioners. Programs include the Transcendental Meditation technique, an advanced meditation practice called the TM-Sidhi program ("Yogic Flying"), an alternative health care program called Maharishi Ayurveda, and a system of building and architecture called Maharishi Sthapatya Ved. The TM movement's past and present media endeavors include a publishing company (MUM Press), a television station (KSCI), a radio station (KHOE), and a satellite television channel (Maharishi Channel). During its 50-year history, its products and services have been offered through a variety of organizations, which are primarily nonprofit and educational. These include the Spiritual Regeneration Movement, the International Meditation Society, World Plan Executive Council, Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, the Global Country of World Peace, and the David Lynch Foundation.

The TM movement also operates a worldwide network of Transcendental Meditation teaching centers, schools, universities, health centers, herbal supplements, solar panel, and home financing companies, plus several TM-centered communities. The global organization is reported to have an estimated net worth of USD 3.5 billion. The TM movement has been characterized in a variety of ways and has been called a spiritual movement, a new religious movement, a millenarian movement, a world affirming movement, a new social movement, a guru-centered movement, a personal growth movement, a religion, and a cult. Additional sources contend that TM and its movement are not a cult. Participants in TM programs are not required to adopt a belief system; it is practiced by atheists, agnostics and people from a variety of religious affiliations. The organization has also been criticized as well as praised for its public presentation and marketing techniques throughout its 50-year history. The organization has been the subject of controversies that includes being labelled a cult by several parliamentary inquiries or anti-cult movements in the world.

Some notable figures in pop-culture practicing TM include The Beatles, Kendall Jenner, Hugh Jackman, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Lopez, Mick Jagger, Eva Mendez, DJ Moby, David Lynch, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, Eric Andre, Jerry Seinfeld, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Russell Brand and Oprah Winfrey.

Health effects
It is not possible to say whether transcendental meditation has significant effect on health, as much of the research is of poor quality, and is marred by a high risk for bias owing to the connection of researchers to the TM organization and by the selection of subjects with a favorable opinion of TM. Some independent systematic reviews have not found health benefits for TM exceeding those produced by other relaxation techniques or health education. A 2013 statement from the American Heart Association said that TM could be considered as a treatment for hypertension, although other interventions such as exercise and device-guided breathing were more effective and better supported by clinical evidence. A 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis funded by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found moderate evidence for improvement in anxiety, depression and pain with low evidence for improvement in stress and mental health-related quality of life. A 2014 Cochrane review found that it was impossible to draw any conclusions about whether TM is effective in preventing cardiovascular disease, as the scientific literature on TM was limited and at "serious risk of bias". A 2015 systematic review and meta-analysis of 12 studies found that TM may reduce blood pressure compared to control groups, although the underlying studies may have been biased and further studies with better designs are needed.

The first studies of the health effects of Transcendental Meditation appeared in the early 1970s. By 2004 the US government had given more than $20 million to Maharishi University of Management to study the effect of meditation on health.

However, there are currently hundreds of research studies across a variety of health domains reporting the benefits of regular TM practice. For example, studies of the effects of TM in the younger population include reduction in negative school behavior via decreased stress levels in adolescents, improvements in cardiovascular function at rest in adolescents with high blood pressure, reduced psychological distress in racial and ethnic minority students, improvements in brain functioning and stress reactivity in college students, reduced blood pressure, psychological distress, and improved coping mechanisms in young adults.

Furthermore, multiple studies have measured the impact of TM on populations experiencing PTSD and comorbidities revealing significant improvements in self-reported PTSD symptoms, measures of depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties in veterans and active military duty personnel, reductions in PTS symptoms in Congolese refugees and South African college students, reduced trauma symptoms and perceived stress in male and female prison inmates. TM has also been shown to improve symptoms of burnout, including perceived stress, depression, fatigue, and lack of resilience across multiple studies of schoolteacher employees, emotional intelligence and perceived stress in the workplace.

In the domain of cardiovascular health, research studies have revealed significant health benefits specific to high blood pressure, left ventricular mass, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, ambulatory blood pressure, carotid atherosclerosis, and congestive heart failure across a variety of effected populations.

Finally, TM has been shown to improve addictive behaviors and patterns of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as provide effective preventative measures.