There is evidence that Transcendental Meditation is a useful tool for strengthening immunity to viruses.

The Transcendental Meditation technique improves immunity
by Transcendental Meditation for Women, blog
3 April 2020

This is a time of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty for most of the world. Health, families, careers, finances and well-being are being challenged by the pandemic that, so far, is undermining the safety of our loved ones and of our society. This pressure, this stress, can only make us more vulnerable—because stress reduces immunity.

Want to be pro-active in protecting yourself? Follow directions from health officials on hygiene and personal social distancing and be sure to rest, exercise and eat a healthy diet. And learn the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique because it significantly calms the mind, reduces stress and improves immunit

US National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health reports:

The relationship between mind and body is intimate. As an effective meditation technique that enhances both mental and physical health, the TM technique causes a beneficial modulation of the immune system.

One study evaluated the immune system in TM practitioners by determining leukocytes and lymphocytes subsets. (Every microliter of blood typically contains 4,000-10,000 leukocytes, or white blood cells. The white blood cell count is an indicator of the state of the body’s immune system.) 

The science

Here’s what the study found—it’s a bit technical. In a group of 19 TM practitioners and 16 control subjects, total leukocytes, granulocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes were counted by an automated quantitative hematology analyzer, whereas lymphocytes subsets were determined by flow cytometry. Samples were taken from each subject at 0900 h after an overnight fast.

The results indicated that the TM group had higher values than the control group in CD3+CD4−CD8+ lymphocytes (P < 0.05), B lymphocytes (P < 0.01) and natural killer cells (P < 0.01), whereas CD3+CD4+CD8− lymphocytes showed low levels in meditation practitioners (P < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in total leukocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, total lymphocytes or CD3+ lymphocytes comparing both groups. 

Conclusion

What does that mean? The researchers’ conclusion was that TM seems to have a significant positive effect on immune cells. This effect is manifest in the different circulating levels of lymphocyte subsets analyzed.

Though the causes of this enhancement of the immune system were beyond the scope of the study, the authors hypothesized that the results obtained could be largely explained by TM reducing overall stress levels. This pilot study strongly indicates the merit of conducting further research on the TM technique and immunity.

[More information on how TM can reduce stress levels in the next article.]

© Copyright 2020 Global Mother Divine Organization.