Psychotherapeutic effects of transcendental meditation with controls for expectation of relief and daily sitting.

Introduced in 1959 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, transcendental meditation (TM) involves sitting quietly twice daily for 15 to 20 minutes while passively attending to a special thought called a mantra. The technique has been taught to at least 600,000 persons, partly because Maharishi claimed it is a natural and effective cure for mental illness. In a study comparing TM to a control treatment called periodic somatic inactivity (PSI)—which involved simply sitting with eyes closed—the PSI technique was contrived to match every aspect of TM except the meditative focus. The text does not report findings or outcomes.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In 1959, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced to America an exercise involving sitting quietly twice daily and passively attending to a special thought called a This exercise is called transcendental meditation (TM) and has since been taught to at least 600,000 persons. One possible reason for TM's popularity is Maharishi's claim that the technique is a natural and effective cure for mental illness. TM was taught by two official TM instructors from the East Lansing, Michigan, Students' International Meditation Society. The TM technique involves sitting twice daily for 15 to 20 minutes and passively and continuously attending to a special thought called a mantra. Periodic somatic inactivity (PSI) was a control treatment specifically contrived to match every aspect of TM with one exception: Instead of sitting and meditating, the PSI technique involved simply sitting with eyes closed.