Mindfulness vs. Transcendental Meditation: Finding Your Perfect Practice

You may be hearing the word “meditation” a lot nowadays. Mindfulness, Transcendental, walking meditation, and the list goes on and on. 

You are likely to be wondering: How to choose one for me? Which one is better for me? Which one is easy to learn? How can I learn one? 

And if you have tried any of these meditations but failed every time, you are not alone. Maybe you have tried by installing an app on your mobile phone, sat down for a few days and now... nothing. Or worse, you felt more frustrated than when you started. You may be doing everything right, but maybe you received the whole meditation process in the wrong way. 

In this blog, we will understand the difference between mindfulness meditation and Transcendental meditation and how you can implement and learn one.

Let's get clarity about this!

Understanding the Basics: Types of Meditation Explained

It is important to first define what these meditation practices entail before we go into the comparison. The meditation scene is a well-woven, diverse array of methods, all aimed at achieving mental clarity, minimizing stress, and improving the overall state. Among the numerous forms of meditation existing nowadays, mindfulness and Transcendental Meditation are two of the most commonly researched and commonly practiced meditation techniques.

What is Mindfulness Meditation?

The history of mindfulness meditation leads back to the Buddhist tradition and has been skillfully modified to modern society, in large part, due to the efforts of such early adopters as Jon Kabat-Zinn. This is a form of meditation that focuses on the awareness of the present moment, that is, you are not judging or attaching to your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations.

The simplicity and flexibility of mindfulness are its beauty. Meditation and mindfulness can be practiced by:

• Focusing on your breath as it flows in and out

• Observing thoughts as they arise and pass, like clouds in the sky

• Bringing awareness to physical sensations throughout your body

• Practicing during everyday activities like walking, eating, or washing dishes

The fact that beginners have no wrong way of doing mindfulness meditation is what makes it especially attractive to beginners. The practice is not aggressive in making you think that you should act in a specific manner.

What is Transcendental Meditation?

Transcendental Meditation offers an alternative way to getting into a state of deep relaxation and mental clarity. TM is a type of mantra-based meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1950s, in which a personalized mantra, a meaningless sound, is repeated silently by the practitioners to put their consciousness in a state beyond ordinary thinking.

TM is more structured as compared to mindfulness:

• A certified teacher of TM provides you with a personal mantra.

• Practice is to sit in a convenient position with the eyes closed and have 20 minutes of practice two times a day.

• The mantra is a means used to make your mind rest deeply into tranquility.

• This is aimed at transcending ordinary thinking and achieving pure consciousness.

Oprah Winfrey, Hugh Jackman and Jerry Seinfeld's celebrity endorsements have introduced TM to the mainstream mindset, demonstrating its efficiency in reducing stress and enhancing mental performance.

The Key Differences: Mindfulness vs Transcendental Meditation

Approach and Technique

The main distinction between these practices of meditation is the approach. Mindfulness simply requests you to be mindful of whatever emerges in the moment to pay attention to your breathing, thoughts and feelings. It is all about being present in the present, taking life as it is and not attempting to transform it.

Transcendental Meditation, in its turn, implies utilizing a mantra to enable you to forget about the current moment and enter the state of relaxed alertness. You are not seeing what you think, but you are going beyond thinking to reach inside your mind.

Learning and Instruction

The access to mindfulness meditation is exceptional. The learning can be based on books, applications, videos on the internet, or even on a course, such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). There are numerous free resources on meditation as a beginner, and it is not hard to get down to business at once.

Transcendental Meditation needs to be taught formally by a certified teacher of TM. The method is learnt during a particular course, which usually consists of several sessions during which you are given your own mantra and taught the exact mode of practice. Although this comes with the cost of time and money, the customized direction is indispensable to many practitioners.

Brain Activity and Effects

Scientific evidence brings out interesting variations in the impact of these meditation methods on the brain. Research indicates that Transcendental Meditation engages the default mode network of the brain, i.e., the natural resting position and generates alpha frequency waves of the brain, which are linked to deep relaxation.

Mindfulness meditation, in its turn, in fact, disengages the default mode of network and produces theta brain waves, which are associated with the willingness to process information. That is why mindfulness is often more alert and involved, whereas TM is more profoundly restful.

The Remarkable Benefits of Both Practices

Stress Reduction and Anxiety Relief

The two forms of meditation are both effective in alleviating stress and anxiety, though in different ways. The studies published in different medical journals prove that the regular practice of meditation, mindfulness or TM significantly decreases cortisol levels and decreases the symptoms of the disorders of anxiety.

Transcendental Meditation methods have revealed remarkably good outcomes in investigations on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as numerous participants express significant relief from the symptoms. Mindfulness meditation is beneficial in dealing with daily stress and avoiding anxiety spirals due to the greater level of awareness in the present moment.

Physical Health Improvements

The health benefits of meditation go well beyond those of mental health. The two practices have been demonstrated to:

• Reduce heart disease and decrease blood pressure.

• Enhance the quality and length of sleep.

• Increase immune system functionality.

• Reduce the inflammation level across the body.

• Improve general physical health.

Transcendental Meditation is an option that has been recognized by the American Heart Association as possibly effective in treating hypertension, and mindfulness-based programs are ubiquitous in hospitals and other health care facilities.

Mental Clarity and Cognitive Enhancement

Both methods of meditation provide the same impressive results when it comes to sharpening your mind. The frequent users have noted that they have greater attention, a stronger memory, and increased creativity and problem-solving skills. The key difference? Mindfulness is more likely to increase control of attention and regulation of emotions, whereas TM can generally increase the coherence of the brain and cognitive performance in general.

Which Meditation Practice is Right for You?

Consider Mindfulness If…

Mindfulness meditation can be the best treatment option when you:

• Like to be flexible in your practice routine and approach

• Desires to meditate in everyday life

• Like to watch your thoughts and feelings

• Study effectively through apps, books or the internet

• Find a more convenient, less expensive point of departure

• Value the Buddhist philosophical framework

Choose Transcendental Meditation If…

TM would suit you well, provided that you:

• Wish to have a structure, a system

• Prefer having a personal teacher and ongoing support

• Difficult to calm a restless mind with free consciousness

• Desire a well-defined practice that has repeatable outcomes

• Able to dedicate 20-minute sessions 2 times a day

• You are ready to spend on formal training

Getting Started with Your Meditation Practice

Beginning with Mindfulness

The process of initiating a mindfulness meditation practice is simply fantastic. You can sit somewhere quiet and relax, and you need to start by listening to your breath. When you find yourself distracted (that is so natural), just take your focus back to your breathing by kindly reminding yourself to do so. Begin with only five minutes a day and build up slowly when you are comfortable.

There are many apps, such as Calm, Headspace, and Insight Timer, in which guided meditations can be done and are suitable even for a beginner. The MBSR program by Jon Kabat-Zinn offers a more detailed learning experience to individuals who would like to be guided.

Starting Transcendental Meditation

The first step to TM is to find an approved TM facility in your locality. The official training generally incorporates introductory training, personal training on which you get your mantra, and individual sessions where the training is followed up to make sure that you are doing it right. Although the personalized approach is more expensive than mindfulness resources initially, the costs can be justified by many professionals.

The Bottom Line: There's No Wrong Choice

The argument as to whether this is mindfulness or Transcendental Meditation is not about which is better, but rather what appeals to you. Both are effective forms of meditation that have significant scientific evidence and millions of stories of personal success in their wake.

Several meditators who have tried this technique actually combine the two by practicing mindfulness in their day-to-day life and TM as a way of undertaking deep relaxation. On certain days, you may require the presence of the mind grounded by being mindful; there are other days when the transcendence of TM may be knocking at the door.

It does not really matter what technique we practice during meditation, but it is rather consistent. It does not matter which method of meditation you follow (mindfulness meditation, Transcendental Meditation, and so on), but the important thing is to attend the meditation regularly and consider it a part of everyday life.

It is worth remembering that meditation is not a group effort. Something that may be genius to one individual may fail to resonate with another, but that is alright. It is a promise that is easy to follow: test either or both of them, keep inquiring, and find the way that brings you close to the inner peace and clarity you need.

The process of getting to a more relaxed state of mind and health begins with a single breath, a single mantra, and a single moment of being.