Instructor’s regional meditation classes offers ways to ease the strains

By Elise Zwicky For Chronicle Media
A group meditates together last week at a TM center in St. Louis. Instructor Michael Blitz, who spoke at the Peoria Public Library recently, said he teaches TM to 25 to 50 people each month. (Photo courtesy of Michael Blitz)

A group meditates together last week at a TM center in St. Louis. Instructor Michael Blitz, who spoke at the Peoria Public Library recently, said he teaches TM to 25 to 50 people each month. (Photo courtesy of Michael Blitz)

Originally an engineering term having to do with units of force, the word “stress” in today’s world almost always refers to that chest-tightening, pulse-racing, desperate feeling people get when faced with life’s difficult situations.

“Stress is an issue today more than ever before,” said Michael Blitz, a certified transcendental meditation (TM) instructor, during a recent talk about the subject at the Peoria Public Library.

Blitz teaches TM classes and workshops in St. Louis and Springfield. Classes have been offered in Galesburg, as well, and likely will resume this summer. Earlier this month, a Havana couple and a Peoria man also took a TM course in Lincoln, which may be offered again depending on interest, Blitz said.

“(Endocrinologist) Hans Selye was the first to use the term stress as applied to the human nervous system,” Blitz said. “Stress is when balance snaps and the flight-or-fight response goes off. TM is a technique that allows the mind to experience more quiet levels of thought. Its effectiveness for stress is documented in more than 380 peer-reviewed published research studies.”

The causes of stress generally fit into the four-letter acronym NUTS, which stands for novelty, uncertainty, threat to body or ego and a (lost) sense of control, Blitz said.

“These four things don’t all have to cause you stress, but most examples people give of stressors in their lives fit into these categories,” he noted.

Regardless of what the stressor is, however, the fight-or-flight response kicks in.

“Whether it’s the threat of a bear outside your tent while you’re camping or concern about impending layoffs at your job, the physiological reaction is the same,” Blitz said.

An instant increase in cortisol prepares the body to fight or flee, resulting in an increase in blood pressure, respiration and perspiration.

“The prefrontal cortex in the brain is the hardware that allows you to process the relationship of events,” Blitz said. “It’s the CEO, if you will, of the brain, and stress shuts that down. So you go from intellect to instinct.”

Michael Blitz, a certified transcendental meditation instructor, presented a talk about stress and the benefits of TM recently at the Peoria Public Library. (Photo courtesy of Michael Blitz)

Michael Blitz, a certified transcendental meditation instructor, presented a talk about stress and the benefits of TM recently at the Peoria Public Library. (Photo courtesy of Michael Blitz)

While there are lifestyle changes people can make to address certain stressors—such as finding a less-stressful job—Blitz said transcendental meditation can help. TM is a trademarked program taught through the nonprofit Maharishi Foundation that involves mentally repeating a mantra to achieve an inner calm.

When you practice TM, your cortisol levels go down,” Blitz said. “It drops 2 percent after a full night’s sleep, and it goes down 20 percent after practicing TM.”

The American Heart Association has recommended meditation as a way to manage high blood pressure when combined with medication, diet and exercise. According to the AHA website, “A 2012 study showed African-Americans with heart disease who practice transcendental meditation regularly were 48 percent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke or die compared with African-Americans who attended a health education class over more than five years.”

Blitz said TM is taught one-on-one over four days and is best practiced for 20 minutes twice a day.  “It does not involve religion, philosophy or a change in lifestyle. The magic is in the quiet cognitive levels of the mind. It’s also very portable: all you need is a chair,” he said.

Blitz’s colleague and fellow TM teacher Joseph Boxerman likened learning TM to learning how to talk.

“The facility for speech is there, but it has to be learned. Likewise, the facility for TM is something that needs to be learned. Each person has a different nervous system, so the teacher is there to guide the student. But anyone who can think can do it.”

Blitz said research shows TM can help war veterans and others suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. He also believes it would help people facing “toxic stress” in the inner cities where violence and death is almost becoming a norm.

TM is also being taught in some low-income urban schools, including Chicago, in a program called Quiet Time through the David Lynch Foundation.

Boxerman thinks the average person is being bombarded with increasing stress regularly.

A group practices transcendental meditation together. TM classes are offered in Springfield and St. Louis and may be offered this summer in Galesburg and Lincoln. (Photo courtesy of Michael Blitz)

A group practices transcendental meditation together. TM classes are offered in Springfield and St. Louis and may be offered this summer in Galesburg and Lincoln. (Photo courtesy of Michael Blitz)

“We’re all now connected via the Internet and phone, so everyone’s pace of life has speeded up,” he said. “While the human brain may have been properly wired to deal with the speed of life of the 1800s and possibly the 1900s, it’s not really up to the mark for the speed of life that we’re experiencing now and that we’re going to experience.”

The fee to learn TM in St. Louis or Springfield is about $960, although grants and scholarships are available, Blitz said. The course includes lifetime follow-up and support.

“I stay available to my students by telephone. Every four months we have a weekend retreat,” Blitz said. “Our next course for beginners (in Springfield) will be in June or July.”

As a TM instructor and a person who’s been meditating since the ‘70s, Blitz said practicing TM doesn’t mean people will never get stressed.

“I have my share of speed bumps in life, but when I hit one, I go through it more quickly,” he said. “There’s an element of peace, so I know it’s going to be OK, and it will be OK.”

For more information, visit the website www.tm.org/transcendental-meditation-springfield or email Michael Blitz at mblitz@tm.org.

 

 

 

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