The Story Continues
What’s the origin of Vedic Meditation? Is it the same as Transcendental Meditation?
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Founder of Transcendental Meditation, was a revered spiritual teacher from India’s Shankaracharya lineage of the Vedic tradition.
Holly Caracappa teaches Vedic Meditation and was trained to teach this form of meditation by Thom Knoles. Thom was trained as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation (“TM”) by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (“Maharishi”) and taught it for over 25 years with organizations affiliated with Maharishi. Since 1997, Thom has continued to teach this meditation practice as he learned it from Maharishi and has done so independently and separately from the TM organizations using the term “Vedic Meditation". Thom Knoles trained Holly to teach meditation as Thom was trained to teach by Maharishi. Holly teaches Vedic Meditation independently and separately from the TM organization. While not affiliated with TM, any meditator who has learned TM is welcome to join Holly for group meditations or other offerings as fellow members of the Shankaracharya tradition.
What Precisely Does the Practice Do?
The form of meditation Thom Knoles teaches, and taught for over 25 years with the TM organization as “Transcendental Meditation,” has been the subject of hundreds of scientific studies showing myriad benefits. These studies, which refer to this form of meditation as “Transcendental Meditation” or “TM” suggest the benefits of regular Vedic Meditation likewise include:
• Increased resistance to stress
• Increased energy
• Relief from depression and anxiety
• Relief from insomnia
• Improved relationships
• Improved, memory, concentration and learning
• Reduced risk of heart disease and tumors
• Relief from migraines, headaches and asthma
• Normalization of blood pressure
• Reduced cholesterol levels
• Normalization of weight
• Reversal of aging
• Increased self esteem
• Faster reaction times
• Improved athletic performance
• Reduced use of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs
Guru Dakshina
In the Vedic Tradition, students typically pay one week’s earnings as Guru Dakshina (reciprocal thanks) for initiation into the tradition. The belief is that for any great transformation to happen, an equal exchange must first be made. This honors and invokes the natural law of reciprocity which allows the practice’s profound impact to fully blossom in the student’s life.
For context, if you take just one guided meditation class per week at the average drop in rate of 20 dollars and go some 42 weeks per year, you’ll invest 840 dollars (minimum) in meditation for only 42 sittings. For a similar investment, one can learn the the life-long skill of Vedic Meditation and practice independently anywhere, twice a day, everyday—with or without a teacher—for the remainder of one’s life.
The initiation fee also covers a lifetime of support by the original teacher and the worldwide Vedic network (150 teachers plus) as well as free global meditations and events with Thom Knoles.
Modern Day Dakshina
The contribution for group courses is on a sliding scale based on income/location with most students offering something between $900-$2000.
Special rates available for full-time students and retirees.
As everyone’s birthright is joy, in cases of true hardship, trades can be negotiated in lieu of a course fee so to make this technique accessible to anyone interested in cultivating their human-merely-being.
Private Courses begin at 3000
Course Structure
Taught over 4 consecutive days for 1-2 hours each day
Day 1: One-on-One Gratitude Ceremony (puja) with Holly during which one receives her personal mantra.
Days 2-4: Meet as a group, with Holly, to understand the technique and the science behind it.
7-10s out: One-on-One virtual private (30 minutes) with Holly to discuss integration.
Lifetime: Support from Holly—and the Vedic Community internationally—through group meditations, special events, advanced offerings and private sessions.
Holly teaches in Manhattan and regularly visits Philadelphia, D.C as well as New Hope, PA.
She’s available for courses, elsewhere, by special arrangement supposing a quorum of students.
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