Wanderer’s Guide to: Transcendental Meditation
In March of 2018 my doctor wrote a prescription for me: “Transcendental Meditation” it read, in classically illegible doctor-scrawl. This was for my Irritable Bowel Syndrome, to help regulate the Vagas nerve which extends from the brain to the gut, the central component in the “gut-brain” axis.
I was skeptical at first — not because I didn’t think it would help, but because I had never been able to stick with a meditation practice. My experience was always the same: I would sit down to meditate and soon find my mind drifting into thought, then the timer goes off, and I would realize I hadn’t been meditating at all, just thinking. But this style of meditation is different.
Transcendental Meditation (or “TM”) is a style of vedic mantra meditation with origins dating back some 5,000 years in what is present day India. In this edition of Wanderer’s Guide, I discuss some techniques and tools to get started with, and then build upon, a vedic mantra meditation practice.
In the video below I show you what my meditation practice looks like, and then, below that, I’ll provide a breakdown of what you’re seeing:
Headphones
Usually, I use them (except when I’m immersed in a particularly serene plot of nature). In my headphones I’m playing a guided transcendental meditation app called 1 Giant Mind. Transcendental meditation is a technique that involves the use of a mantra, repeated silently and automatically in your mind. 1 Giant Mind, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting a more mindful world, teaches you how to do this. The guided meditation timer uses binaural beats — music from the Left and Right stereo channel (ears) tuned to different, specific frequencies that stimulate both hemispheres of the brain, and help the mind drop into a theta brainwave state.
Quick primer on brainwave states: shifting into the theta brainwave state of (sub)consciousness is the key to reaping the maximum benefits from my meditations. Our normal waking consciousness is beta; theta represents a layer deeper, somewhere between awake and asleep. Scientific American has a wonderful explanation of theta brainwave states:
“Theta brainwaves are typically of even greater amplitude and slower frequency... A person who has taken time off from a task and begins to daydream is often in a theta brainwave state. A person who is driving on a freeway, and discovers that they can't recall the last five miles, is often in a theta state — induced by the process of freeway driving. Individuals who do a lot of freeway driving often get good ideas during those periods when they are in theta. Individuals who run outdoors often are in the state of mental relaxation that is slower than alpha and when in theta, they are prone to a flow of ideas. This can also occur in the shower or tub... It is a state where tasks become so automatic that you can mentally disengage from them. The ideation that can take place during the theta state is often free flow... It is typically a very positive mental state.”
Breathing
I take three clearing “belly breaths” — breathing first into my lower abdomen until it’s full, and then expanding my chest, filling my lungs completely at which point I exhale long and slow. There are more advanced breathing techniques, but this allows me to sufficiently settle into my body before beginning. Most guided meditations, if you choose to use them, will guide you through this. After the initial clearing breaths, you allow your breathing to fall into a natural rhythm.
Shirtless
I’m letting as much sun hit my bare, un-sunscreened skin as possible. Until recently, throughout human history, we spent most of our time outdoors. In fact, in the remote villages I just trekked through here in Peru, people still do. In a separate post, I’ll explore the benefits of absorbing the sun’s photons through our skin and eyes, but for now I’ll just relay a brief summary: research has shown 15 minutes of sun, 2-3 times per week is safe and effective for a massive boost to our physiologic and psychological health.
*The reason I’m wearing a hat in this video is that my face was recovering from a recent sunburn, due to spending five days at 15,000+ ft. during my trek around Ausangate — and underestimating the intensity of the sun, even through thick cloud cover, at that elevation.
Barefoot
This is a practice known as Earthing or Grounding. For 1000s of years we humans either spent our time barefoot, or wearing leather-soled shoes. Rubberized soles only came on to the scene recently, and (as wonderful as they are) act as an insulator from the Earth’s energy. Our planet has a negative charge, and when we make physical contact with her, electrons flow into our body, allowing our biology to heal and regenerate on a cellular level, the way we were designed to do (or, the way we evolved to do, I guess depending on your spiritual orientation). Research has shown barefoot contact with the earth can produce nearly instant changes in a variety of physiological measures, helping improve sleep, reduce pain, decrease muscle tension and lower stress. More on Earthing in a later post.
**Important safety note: please be aware of the plot you choose to Earth on. Inspect the ground for sharp objects like broken glass, and make every effort to ensure the area has not been treated with chemical pesticides or herbicides like glyphosate, better known as RoundUp.
Foot Tapping
Alternating foot tapping or flexing is a technique I borrowed from a longtime friend, who happens to be an expert on Relational Healing and Emotional Trauma. This method, similar to the binaural beats, stimulates the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Engaging cross-communication between these two sides is a central tenet of EMDR therapy, which stands for Eye Motion Desensitization and Reprocessing:
“Ideally, the neural networks of our memories connect across various areas of the brain. For example, the right hemisphere of the brain is more likely to hold our negative perceptions and emotions about our experiences of memories. In contrast, the left hemisphere is specialized for positive emotions. Neural networks that communicate across left and right hemispheres of the brain help us express feelings with words and integrate positive and negative perceptions of emotions. Traumatic memories can get compartmentalized in the right hemisphere of the brain. EMDR Therapy helps you to build bridges and access your resources. This occurs by re-activating the neural networks associated with a traumatic event and finding a reparative experience that can facilitate integration throughout the brain.”
— Dr. Arielle Scwartz, PhD Clinical Psychologist, Author, How Does EMDR Therapy Work? (Boulder, CO)
I also sync the mantra I’m repeating in my head, to the tapping of my feet. While it may seem like a burdensome, “advanced” practice, I’ve actually found this attunement allows me to stick with the mantra more easily, with less “thought drift.”
Gratitude
You’ll notice at the end of the video I appear to “namaste” to the sun. I am. I like to give thanks to the universe for providing the Sun, Rain, Air, and Soil — for these are the ingredients that make our very existence possible. I consider Gratitude to be a completely separate mindfulness practice, and I try to activate it every chance I get. But if I’m honest I really only regularly do it four times per day — before every meal, and after meditation.
Timing
What time of day is best for meditation?
The best time of day for meditation, is the time you can carve out for yourself and stick with regularly. When busy or crunched for time, I often meditate on planes and buses.
If you’re building it into your daily routine though, I’ve read it is a best practice to meditate on an empty stomach. In my experience, my deepest meditations have occurred while I’m fasting, or first thing in the morning after waking up. Morning meditations have the added benefit of allowing me to center myself, and carry peacefulness and internal serenity through my day. On these days, I find very little can “get to me” — my nervous system is simply more resilient to the usual stressors. I find myself noticing (normally) triggering events and thinking of the “water off a duck’s back” metaphor.
How long should I meditate for?
I consider 15 minutes to be a minimum threshold to reap the benefits of TM, but my doctor encouraged me to strive for at least 20. On rare occasions, such as when I‘m struggling with insomnia or anxiety, I’ll go for 30 minutes or longer.
Getting Started
The 1 Giant Mind app is a great place to begin. It is completely free (no trial periods) and has a 10-day training module to get you going. After that there is a meditation timer with a built in guide (if you want it, there’s also an option for just the binaural music).
And that’s it! I hope this guide was helpful, but, to reiterate: the best meditation practice is the one that works for you.