An evidence-based, personalized meditation technique that has been practiced by millions since its conception over 50 years ago, transcendental meditation (or TM as it’s widely called), created by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, is designed to effortlessly slip into your daily rituals, and provide profound improvement in stress levels, brain function and cardiovascular health. Bob Roth, who was introduced to TM at age 19, is the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation. Since its founding in 2005, the organization has brought the practice to over a million people across the world. When asked about TM’s appeal to celebrities, Roth says, “So many of the most successful, creative people in finance, medicine and the arts meditate because it allows you to have both inner and outer development; not sacrifice one for the other.” Here, some of the most respected performers who use TM talk about how the practice helps them stay on top of their game. —Gabrielle Echevarrieta
JENNIFER LOPEZ: “It’s a whole rounded regimen that deals with your mind, your soul, your spirit and your body. It’s working out, it’s dancing, it’s meditating. And then, at the end of the day, just being happy, being with my kids and feeling the love and the joy that they give me. All of that helps balance it out, so work doesn’t feel so crazy.”
TOM HANKS: “I crumbled between 3 o’clock in the afternoon and 7. I mean, I was no good for anything. I couldn’t read; I couldn’t talk on the phone; I couldn’t do any work. It was really an unproductive four hours. And now, with meditation, they are the most productive hours of my day.”
MARTIN SCORSESE: “I’ve been a firm believer in suffering all my life. Yet I recently learned that you may not have to suffer through all that much. It may not be the way it’s supposed to be. For the past few years, I’ve been practicing Transcendental Meditation. It’s difficult to describe the effect it has had on my life. I can only mention maybe a few words: calm, clarity, balance, and at times—a recognition.”
LAURA DERN: “For me, as an artist, it helps to figure out how to be in the moment. If you’re an actor, a painter, or a mother—there’s no greater daily practice for learning how to turn your focus just to this moment. TM serves me beautifully in so many areas. I feel really lucky to have it.“
CLINT EASTWOOD: “There are enough studies out there that show that Transcendental Meditation, or TM as we all call it, is something that can benefit everybody…. I think that it is a great system to use in life in general—otherwise why would I have been doing it all these years?”
JENNIFER ANISTON: “It’s not one thing you can put a finger on. It’s like a kick start for your day, it just centers you and your stress levels are down. You find yourself interacting in the world easier and better, in a calmer way. There’s a peaceful joy that comes over you. I don’t know how or why; there’s no rhyme or reason.”
JOHN STAMOS: “Last year, I got back into daily meditation. It has helped me a lot—centering me and giving me a certain clarity. There’s something spiritual about it. To sit for 20 minutes a day and not be on my computer, phone or texting is empowering…. It clears my mind to let good things in.”
BILL HADER: “I’m a big David Lynch fan, and I happened to be listening to his audiobook of Catching the Big Fish when he talked about Transcendental Meditation. I thought to myself, ‘I should try that.’ I went to the TM center in Manhattan and met my teacher, Josh Pittman, who is one of the nicest guys in the world. He taught me TM, which essentially is as simple as someone teaching you how to brush your teeth. I took to it really quickly. I immediately felt a clarity and a calmness. The fear kind of ebbed out of me. I still knew all the stakes—that I could still mess up on national television—but I also had the feeling of, ‘So what if that happens? I’ll be OK, I’ll be alright.'”
MARY-LOUISE PARKER: “When I had my kids, it was hard for me to meditate regularly because I was so used to waking up and beginning the race. Over time I lost my practice, but I knew I needed to get it back. I’d always heard about Transcendental Meditation, and I thought, maybe that’s the way back in for me. I learned TM and it changed everything. People sometimes tell me, ‘I can’t meditate.’ Or, ‘Meditation didn’t work for me that time.’ But I say, ‘Be patient. It’s a progression.’ You feel one way after meditating for a week. You feel another way after meditating for two weeks. Over time, this little act of taking the time to meditate profoundly changes the way you sleep, the way you treat other people, the way you look at yourself in the world, the way you walk through life. It’s a commitment that is not just for you, but for the people around you.”
KATY PERRY: “There’s a struggle, so anything we can do—and I find personally with my own experience, meditation is the key to really finding your true authentic self. Finding that stillness. Recharging, having the mental strength, physical strength and immune strength, to be able to take on this big, technical, technological world.”
STELLA McCARTNEY: “It is something you can take everywhere. We carry a lot of baggage around in our lives. Meditation is something that I just carry around in my back pocket and in my heart with me for free. It’s weightless and effortless and it’s a real gift.”
ELLEN DEGENERES: “It feels like I’m home. Everyone gets used to the noise. Have you ever been in a room and you hear this humming sound and until it turns off, you didn’t realize there was a noise? I had no idea how noisy everything was until I was still and quiet. I’m grateful to Bob Roth for teaching me this, because it’s changed my life.”
HOWARD STERN: “I think a lot of people start to do it and feel really good from it and think, ‘I feel good, I don’t need to do it.’ They don’t realize it was because of the meditation and then they kind of just drop it. The Maharishi used to say, ‘If you’re too busy to meditate for 20 minutes twice a day, then you’re just too busy. You’ve got to examine your life.’ He was a brilliant guy, just incredible.”
JERRY SEINFELD: “Money’s great, but energy, physical and mental energy, to me, are the greatest riches of human life. And TM, it’s like a free account, an endless amount of it.”