What’s so important about Mantra Meditation? Based off the style, Transcendental Meditation, which I learned over 25 years ago when I became a Registered Nurse, this style of meditation is where you use a mantra as a tool to get into a meditative ‘state’. Meditation is about Sitting Your A** Down for 20 minutes . It’s what I’ve coined “The SYAD20 Rule”.
Look stress is inevitable. It’s known as the silent killer. You don’t know what your body is doing while you’re running around like a crazy person. So having a solid stress-management routine can help. That’s where meditation comes in. Every day, you face adversity and challenge that affect the way you care for yourself and the people around you. If unable to self-regulate your emotions and address the stress in a pro-active way, these challenges can creep-up on you, and affect how you manage your personal life too.
By having a meditation, you allow yourself the opportunity to take a step-back from your daily stressors, be more mindful, and let the ego fade into the background for a 20-minute period. When you can do this repeatedly every day, meditation is truly is the #1 best kept secret for managing your stress.
Fact # 1 – You Gain Momentum
The main reason people don’t stop when they’re working is they feel they’ll lose momentum. One key fact about mantra meditation is that the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) gets turned-on in meditation. The PFC is essentially responsible for carrying out vital functions of your daily life. Instead of losing productivity, by implementing the SYAD20 rule, you actually gain momentum and boost mental clarity. This is a direct result of SYAD20, and closing your eyes, using a mantra, and having a “productive rest”.
Bottom line, if you feel you can’t find the time to meditate, you’ve not prioritized your time adequately. Changing things in your life takes effort. Meditation will offer you the extended benefit of added momentum regardless of how busy you are. Artist Mindy Weisel credits her meditation practice “for transforming her from a state of exhaustion and hopelessness into a happy, fulfilled woman” (Rosenthal, 2016,, p.33)
Fact #2 – You Feel Happier
The second most interesting fact about meditation is that it makes you feel happier. We all have a happiness set-point, I think. You know what makes you unhappy, and you know generally what is going to make you happy. From that position, I’ve noticed that people often live in the future – in order to escape their moments of unhappiness. They plan a trip so they will have moments of happiness in the future.
But….daily meditation is proven to allow you to transcend stress, be in the moment and allow you to cherish greater moments of happiness. In Norman Rosenthal’s interviews for his book, Super Mind, he asked the question: “Have you been happier since starting to practice TM?” The answers to the question often came in a louder voice, and higher in pitch, stating “Absolutely!” as well as “100 percent!”. Katie Finneran, Actress, said “oh, a hundred percent, yes. So much happier. My number one priority is living a happy, positive life. And I consider TM part of my education at becoming a happier person”(Rosenthal, N, 2016, p.199).
Fact #3 – You Detach From Your Thoughts
The mantra is your vehicle to go within and detaching from constant thoughts. Meditation promotes a balance between the mantra and the thoughts, as you learn to become an observer of the mind. You can implement the SYAD20- rule once or twice daily, depending on how much activity you carry throughout the day. Once you learn to allow the mind to wander without judging it, the mantra and the thoughts travel together in unison. Suddenly you are in a place in your mind that is just mantra. Then, you arrive at a place where it’s quiet. It’s usually only for a brief moment – and then you become aware that you’ve had no thoughts and you start racing through your thoughts all over again. But you do reach a place of stillness and peacefulness, through mantra meditation.
Questioning if that’s possible? I’m living proof that it is. I’ve got a pretty active mind. But I’ve learned from being a meditator for 25 years that you can train your body and mind to sit still, even when it’s counterintuitive to do that.
Fact #4 – Helps You Shift Your Mood
The mind gets to a place of stillness because your brain waves are slowing down bit-by-bit. When your eyes are open, your brain waves are going fast. When your eyes are closed, the brain enters slower states of consciousness. People often share different experiences when they’re meditating and reach altered states. Ultimately, there is a sense of peace, when the body has released stress and gives you a mood boost. Your breathing and metabolism slow down.
You may also have esoteric experiences, but there are mostly just ordinary thoughts that come and go in the same way that you just close your eyes and “think”. However, with the use of the mantra, after being taught how to use it effortlessly, your stream of consciousness will be different with each meditation. Just allow the mind to wander into magical places and notice how different you feel…with the use of your mantra. By using a mantra, given to you by a teacher, you allow yourself (and your mind) to go a little deeper in thought, accessing the more abstract and intuitive levels of the mind that are rarely available in your waking state.
Reference: Super-Mind by Normal E. Rosenthal (2016), which reveals the brain waves of people in different states of consciousness, from a very focused state, to waking state, dreaming and Transcendental Meditation. (Rosenthal, NE, 2016).
Fact #5 -Meditation Improves Productivity
Meditation can actually create structural changes in the brain. By regularly engaging in meditation, research has found individuals can improve their ability to concentrate. Meditation practices can lead to improved cognitive abilities, better memory retention, and increased productivity. It helps calm the Sympathetic Nervous System, which regulates the body’s internal processes in response to our environment. It’s the part of the body that increases our heart and respiration rates during times of stress. So, instead of running on empty and pushing your body, you can implement the SYAD20 rule, and take time-out, which relaxes your muscles and calm the nervous system.
By reducing your stress and anxiety, you’re lowering your cortisol levels. Even if you’ve only meditated at 11am, you’ve allowed your body to slow down and recover. All this further enhances the quality of your sleep, simply by the taking time to reduce cardiac stress. This further promotes emotional stability, self awareness and improved cognitive function. Meditation can also lower your blood pressure as well as your heart rate. This gives your organs a much-needed break and supports your focus and productivity.
What Can We Do For You & Your Team?
At The Mantra Studio, we specialize in helping workplaces and busy health professionals lead healthy and balanced lives. We do this through our monthly 3-session virtual mantra meditation groups. A more engaged workforce will align better with the company’s vision, which will provide a better brand experience for prospects and customers. While this does lead to increased revenue, this component is hard to measure.
A Gallup study estimated that the cost of employee disengagement is $1 trillion a year in lost productivity in the U.S. alone. By arming your staff with a brief 3-session Mantra meditation group, they’re learning to slow down as a way of boosting productivity and creating better states of health. This can help you reduce turnover, absenteeism and on-boarding costs.
The truth is, in today’s world, you need to train your mind to connect with your body and be present. While internet guided meditations can help you do this, none compare to the extensive cognitive and physiological benefits provided by mantra meditation (TM STYLE).