Anyone with anxiety knows that it's a constant effort to find new, effective ways to manage symptoms and keep calm under pressure. Kendall Jenner, whose anxiety and panic attacks have even woken her up in the night, knows the feeling well. In a new interview with Vogue, the 22-year-old model shared that she added a new tool to her anxiety toolbox: a popular type of meditation.
Jenner told Vogue that she practices transcendental meditation (TM) to help clear her mind. “I had a lot of people in the industry say to me, ‘I know you have a busy schedule—what do you do to stay calm, cool, and collected?’ I was like, ‘Um, nothing?’ And then one day, when I was having a freak-out—I was having multiple freak-outs—I was like, OK, I’m going to try this. So I found this lady, she’s awesome, she taught me TM, and I love it,” she tells the magazine.
It seems like celebrities are obsessed with TM (we probably have The Beatles to at least partly thank for that). And, because you have to pay for TM classes, there's an air of mystery and exclusivity to the whole thing. So what is it?
People who practice TM usually do it twice a day for about 20 minutes at a time, Ralph Emmerich, a certified teacher of TM, tells SELF. During that time, you’re encouraged to sit comfortably, close your eyes, and meditate by repeating an assigned mantra. Your mantra may be a word, sound, or phrase, TM teacher Bob Roth, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation and author of Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation, tells SELF.
Practitioners don't repeat the mantra constantly (as in other types of mantra meditation), but they use it to help get into a state of TM, Roth says. “Then, you gain a state of rest that’s more profound than a deep sleep,” Emmerich says. Along with that sense of relaxation, TM can also help your mind achieve a more peaceful state "without needing to use concentration or effort," the Mayo Clinic says.
But transcendental meditation takes commitment—and money. Traditionally, you learn the technique in individual training sessions with a certified instructor for four consecutive days, about an hour or two each day, Roth says. After that, people are encouraged to take what they learned and practice on their own.
The cost of training sessions with a certified teacher varies based on your income (similar to the way sliding scale therapy works) and location. For example, people in New York City who earn $200,000 or more can expect to pay $960 for four sessions, while those who make between $50,000 and $99,000 a year will pay $740. According to the TM website, all revenue from the fees go to the Maharishi Foundation USA, which is a non-profit organization that works with the David Lynch Foundation and other non-profits.
However, if you receive federal assistance, you may be eligible for a special grant, Emmerich says. Proponents of TM are adamant that in-person lessons with a teacher is the only way to really master TM, but there are guides out there online that offer basic instructions.
Proponents of TM claim that it can lower stress levels, reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and boost creativity, among other things. However, much of the research on the practice has focused on cardiovascular issues and anxiety.
In one randomized controlled study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes in 2012, researchers at the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at the Maharishi University of Management randomly assigned 201 black men and women with heart disease to practice TM or undergo heart-health education (which involved spending at least 20 minutes a day practicing heart-healthy behaviors, like exercising and prepping healthy meals). The researchers followed up with the participants for up to nine years and found that, during that time, there were 41 deaths, five nonfatal myocardial infarctions, and six nonfatal strokes. Of those 52 events, 32 of them occurred in the health education group and only 20 happened among the TM group, which was a statistically significant difference. But when it came to the number of strokes, deaths due to cardiovascular disease, and other more specific measures, the differences between the groups were not statistically significant.
This study only looked at a small group of people, and it's not clear how relevant the results would be to the rest of us. That being said, just last year, the American Heart Association released a scientific statement saying that some forms of meditation—including TM—may help reduce blood pressure and the risk for heart disease in people who practice it.
A 2014 review published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine analyzed 14 studies on TM and anxiety. Four of those studies found that the most significant reduction in anxiety symptoms happens within the first few weeks of taking up TM. And three of the included studies found that those effects lasted for a year of continued practice. Another found that they lasted for up to three years. However, most of these studies were conducted with very small sample sizes (fewer than 100 participants) and would need to be replicated on a larger scale.
And, in a 2016 study looking specifically at symptoms of anxiety and PTSD among 74 active duty service members, those who practiced TM were more likely to stabilize, decrease, or stop their use of psychiatric medication after one month compared to the ones who did not.
While these results are promising, they still aren't enough to consider TM an "evidence-based" treatment for anxiety, Beth Salcedo, M.D., medical director for The Ross Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders and president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, tells SELF. But it can still be a "great tool," she says.
According to Dr. Salcedo, TM can be an important part of anxiety treatment along with maintaining self-care, sleep, nutrition, as well as therapy and/or medication. “Every patient of mine that has practiced [TM] has found it helpful,” she says.
Much like other forms of meditation, TM can help people take time every day to sort through the stress they’re carrying around and undo it, psychotherapist and meditation instructor Ralph De La Rosa, tells SELF. They may also help you deal when you’re faced with a stressful moment, he adds. “Meditation in general gives you an analog you can return to throughout the day."
In fact, other types of meditation, including mindfulness-based techniques, also show promise as a method to help manage anxiety and some types of chronic pain. So the practice that you get the most out of may come down to personal preference. And if you already have a practice in place that works for you, you shouldn't feel obligated to switch.
So, although it's not a magic cure, Dr. Salcedo recommends looking at TM as one more skill for easing anxiety. “For people who have extra stress or are struggling, it’s a great thing to add to your life,” she says.
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