Meditation Lowers Numbers

Individuals practicing transcendentalmeditation dailymay lower their blood pressure,according to a studyreported in the AmericanJournal of Hypertension(April 2005). The researchersreached this conclusion afteran 8-month study involving111 African-American teenson the brink of becomingadults with hypertension.

The results of the studyshowed that two 15-minutemeditation sessions a daygenerated a 21% increase inthe ability of teens'bloodvessels to dilate. The participantswho did not use meditationexperienced an average4% decrease in bloodvessel dilation over the studyperiod. More in-depth studiesare needed to evaluatethe long-term impact of meditationon heart disease risk.