Dr Maha Ema, Director of Transcendental Meditation, UAE, talks to Emirates Woman about how it elevates your mind, body and spirit.

What does the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine?

After your first TM session of the day, you’ll feel enthused and energised and actively looking forward to a super-productive day. There is a real joy that comes from being relaxed, happy, focused, and productive first thing in the morning and TM is key to achieving this.

What is Transcendental Meditation?

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is the simplest and most effortless form of meditation. It uses only the natural tendency of the mind to move effortlessly in the direction of more and more contentment. This means that no control, effort, or concentration is required. When you learn TM, you are learning the timeless technique of effortless transcending – of how to allow the mind access to the ocean of consciousness beyond the busy waves of surface-level mental activity. TM is taught by fully trained experts who will teach you how to dive deep within yourself to experience and harness the fabulous breadth and depth of our creative minds.

How often should it be practised?

The great advantage of TM is that we only need to practise it twice a day, morning, and evening, and for only 20 minutes a session, but the benefits will be long-lasting and be felt for the rest of the day, and then with regular practise, the benefits continue to compound and develop over your lifetime.

What are the key benefits both in terms of mind and body?

People who practise TM find that they have greater mental clarity and broadened comprehension. Focus and concentration levels are higher and there is a greater ability to draw on deeper reisserves of intelligence and creativity, making problem-solving and innovative thinking much stronger. TM produces unique levels of metabolic rest, allowing residual fatigue and deep-rooted stresses to be dissolved naturally, resulting in greater calm and inner serenity. The result is that we achieve more, more successfully with less negative consequences like burnout and anxiety. All TM’s benefits have been scientifically validated in over 390 peer-reviewed studies.

Are there any indications of when you are successfully activating this practise — what can signify this?

There are two main indicators. Firstly, the performance itself is easy, relaxed, and enjoyable. Those who practise TM look forward to their sessions because there are no preset demands to achieve outcomes. They can simply relax into it and enjoy it! The second indicator comes in the spontaneous growth of benefits across a wide spectrum of markers in cognitive development, mental health and in physical and emotional wellness.

Will you feel sleepy afterwards?

TM wakes up the mind and body, giving much greater energy and momentum. By providing deep rejuvenating rest, TM recharges depleted reserves, resulting in greater mental and physical resources at our disposal so that we can achieve our goals with less effort.

How does this differ from other meditation practises?

There are so many meditation practises out there and as a result, many people who come to learn TM have already tried another form of meditation. A very common remark of new TM-meditators is just how much simpler and fulfilling TM is to practise compared to other practised techniques. The reasons generally given are the absence of focus, concentration, and outcome-emphasis in TM.

Why is it important to be guided by a certified Transcendental Meditation teacher and how long is the course of instruction?

When someone learns TM, they are learning a valuable life-skill. Everyone owes it to themselves to learn from a properly qualified, accredited teacher, as this guarantees you’ll benefit from correct training from an expert and the advantage of a lifetime’s worth of support across more than 100 countries worldwide. The instruction course in TM requires four consecutive days of attendance of roughly 90 minutes per session.

You’re given your own sound for life to use during this practice. What happens if someone forgets this?

Any aspect of the training course can be refreshed at the meditator’s request. This is part of our follow-up programme and serves as our professional commitment to everyone we teach.

What changes have you personally felt since including this practice into your daily habits?

The greatest changes have been the feeling that anything is achievable. TM has been pivotal in resourcing my mind and body to go after the things I really want in life and know that they are always within my reach.

What should we do if we break our routine?

It is a very simple restart at your convenience. If you need help with this, we will support you fully to reinstate your practise and check its efficacy so that you are sure that you are practising TM correctly and getting results.

Is there a certain time of day we should or should not be practicing?

TM is very flexible in that you can practise your twicedaily sessions at any time of the day. Ideally though, the first session is best done in the early morning before starting activities to create maximum boost and momentum, and the second session is best done towards the end of the day’s activities – late afternoon or early evening – to dissolve any accumulated fatigue and stress from the day’s activities and help you sleep better.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to try this?

Start now and make sure you’re working with an accredited TM teacher wherever you are globally.

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