Recent longitudinal research in Canada demonstrated an average reduction of 7% per year in health care costs among those who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, in comparison to matched controls and controlling for inflation (48).

• Developing inner stability and resistance to stress. Teachers need to be able to maintain focus on their objectives, while adapting to continually changing demands in the classroom. Research on the Transcendental Meditation program indicating increased physiological stability and field independence is thus highly relevant to effective teaching. Studies examining galvanic skin responses, which measure physiological excitation, found that the Transcendental Meditation technique enables more rapid mobilization of one’s physiological resources, while at the same time facilitating quicker recovery to baseline levels of functioning (81). Similarly, studies of field independence, a measure of the ability to maintain internal stability in a distracting environment, have found significant improvements among those who learn the Transcendental Meditation program (15).

• Increasing teacher creativity, personal satisfaction, and self-actualization. Educational research has found that in schools perceived as effective the teachers are satisfied with their careers and teaching circumstances (84). Other research indicates that a major factor contributing to teacher dissatisfaction is the sense of stagnation which occurs after the strategies that the teacher has learned in the past begin to become obstacles to growth and personal progress.

An analysis of research studies found the Transcendental Meditation program to be uniquely effective in promoting self-actualization (40). Other research shows longitudinal increases in figural and verbal creativity (2, 21) and physiological, cognitive and behavioral flexibility (9, 10, 14, 27). The growth of these qualities supports the ability to avoid stagnation in the teaching profession, to continue to develop new and more effective teaching strategies, and to enjoy increasing fulfillment in teaching on the basis of expanding creativity.

• Results relating to effective administration and organization. The Transcendental Meditation program has been adopted in hundreds of businesses. It is viewed by managers as a means of developing the human resources of business, and also as a means of increasing the efficiency and productivity of the company. Many of these benefits apply equally to administration of an educational institution.

One study in a business setting, utilizing both self-report questionnaires and evaluations of co-workers and supervisors, found significantly improved job satisfaction, enhanced job performance, and better relations with peers and supervisors, as well as decreased turnover potential among people practicing the Transcendental Meditation program, as compared to non-meditating controls (41).

A recent three-month study in two occupational settings, which compared managers and employees who learned the Transcendental Meditation program to demographically similar controls, found that participants in the Transcendental Meditation program showed significant decreases, as compared to controls, in trait anxiety, state anxiety, job worry, and cigarette and alcohol use. They also showed increased job satisfaction, improved general health, greater efficiency and productivity, and better work and personal relationships (42).

A large-scale study by researchers at the National Institute of Industrial Health of the Japanese Ministry of Labor found that workers at Sumitomo Heavy Industries showed improved physical and mental health after learning the Transcendental Meditation program, in comparison to matched controls (45, 46).

In addition to the increases in employee satisfaction, the cost savings due to reduced illness and health care utilization by people practicing the Transcendental Meditation program, as described above, are sufficient to warrant the inclusion of this technology in any administrator or teacher development program.