ABSTRACT
Dr. Herbert Benson argues that the built-in response systems that are designed to produce a more relaxed state within the organism are triggered by all of the relaxation techniques, be it his particular technique, Transcendental Meditation (TM), or the increasingly sophisticated electronic approaches, using various biofeedback techniques, that are proliferating rapidly. The distribution by diagnoses is fairly similar for the TM group and the total hospital population. There are no precise figures available from the TM organization as to the number of individuals in the general community who stop meditating after going through the learning process. Estimates from several sources seem to agree on about a 50% attrition rate. One good example is the generally acknowledged failure of TM to significantly effect migraine headaches and Raynaud's disease. By contrast, patients who were practicing the passive type of meditation known as TM seemed to be subjectively aware of a drop in their inner tensions and anxieties following the very first meditation.
