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Interviewer Dylan Ratigan: If you work, you know this is true. We are
all doing more with less. We see it in the productivity numbers, the unemployment figures,
the jobless recovery as it were, the American worker stretched thinner than ever. And what’s
being done to ease some of this work place stress? From the lowest corporate ranks to
the highest executive echelons, action has been taken and is being taken from encouraging
employee meditation to hiring coaches for top executive bosses all in the name of maintaining
sanity.
Tonight we begin with Arjuna Martlin, who is a successful day trader from Chicago, who
is an ardent practitioner of Transcendental Meditation;
Gary Kaplan, Director of Clinical Neurophysiology at the North Shore Hospital in NY… He started
practicing TM in the 70s and has studied the effects of TM on hypertension and hardening
of the arteries. He says it works for both ailments;
Phil Roosevelt, the Assistant Editing Manager of Barrons magazine, where the article on
stress and meditation appears this weekend; And of course Becky Quick.
I will start with you, Arjuna. As the trader in the room, tell us both how you meditate
and how the meditation makes you better at what you do.
Arjuna Martlin: I practice Transcendental Meditation twice
a day and I would say the number one benefit of TM is really just peace of mind. With the
volatility of the markets and the intensity of the profession it’s just nice to have
that deep rest both morning and afternoon. Secondly, I think the main benefit as a trader
is to have a more focused and clear mind. In that way you are better able to *** and
take advantage of the opportunities in the market. So it’s very good for focus.
Interviewer Becky Quick: Phil, when we heard that this was going to
be in “Barrons,” we realized this must be a trend that‘s taking place because Barrons
very infrequently writes about things like this. So what’s going on out there? What’s
happening?
Phil Roosevelt: You’re right, people are stressed out; they
are stressed out about a lot of things. One sign of that is that a hundred million Americans
have trouble falling asleep at night. When we looked at that, we were wondering what
are people doing to try to feel better, get more focused on what counts in their lives.
We found a Harvard Medical school study that showed that about 20% of Americans have turned
to what are known as mind-body therapies generally, which could be yoga, meditation, visualization,
hypnosis, things like that. Meditation right now heads the list of all of them. It’s
even more popular than yoga, which has swept all health clubs and all the spas. People
are meditating, but you don’t see it because they do it privately. So it’s not as out
there as other trends. Our writer Robin Blumenthal found that it seemed especially suited to
traders and that’s why we got interested in it.
Interviewer Dylan Ratigan: Understood, I want to get to you, Dr. Kaplan.
You say that there are also medical benefits.
Dr. Gary Kaplan: There are plenty of medical benefits. It’s
really rather exciting. I think many physicians are excited about the benefits particularly
in the field of hypertension. Blood pressures are lower and we know it’s a major risk
factor for heart disease and for stroke, so we are all rather excited about it.
Interviewer Dylan Ratigan: Is it better or does it matter if one meditates
alone or with a group?
Dr Gary Kaplan: Well it’s great to meditate twice a day
regularly and most people do that alone, but the effect on the environment and the effect
on the individual is even better meditating in a group, so there are larger groups practicing
the TM technique in different areas around the country. This is a technique that’s
really for anyone in business, out of business. Just twice a day taking the time to perform
the TM technique is really worthwhile for one’s health.
Interviewer Dylan Ratigan: I honestly could not agree with you more.
Interviewer Becky Quick: I might take it up myself.