Statement

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By 2017, health-care spending in the United States is projected to reach just over $4.3 trillion and comprise 20 percent of the GDP. Spiraling health-care costs are threatening the health and financial well-being of individuals, institutions, and the government. The only permanent solution to the health-care crisis is to prevent disease from happening in the first place. The TM technique has been shown to be the most effective wellness program for promoting health and reducing health-care utilization and medical expenses.

Research shows that people who practice the Transcendental Meditation technique spend 11% less annually on health care than the general population. Research in peer reviewed journals shows that the TM technique:

• reduces carotid atherosclerosis, a cause of strokes and heart attacks
• lowers baseline cortisol levels, a stress hormone
• reduces blood pressure
• decreases the symptoms of angina pectoris
• decreases heart rate
• reduces respiratory rate
• produces a global reduction in somatic arousal, which indicates a more relaxed and balanced style of functioning
• reduces chronic stress
• increases health and longevity in the elderly

Research shows that the TM technique also strengthens health by decreasing the use of tobacco, alcohol, and non-prescription drugs—behavioral correlates of chronic stress and result in millions of dollars in health-care expenditures each year.

Biography

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Kulreet Chaudhary, M.D., graduated from Loma Linda University Medical School with Alpha Omega Alpha honors and completed her neurology residency at the University of California, San Diego. She is currently the medical director of Wellspring Neurology at Scripps Memorial Hospital. Dr. Chaudhary also serves on the board of directors of the Center for Neurologic Study in La Jolla, California.