The Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corp., a group advocating transcendental meditation, is looking for office space in Arlington.
The group, supported by filmmaker David Lynch, is looking to acquire 15,000 square feet of office space in the area by the end of the summer, according to Bob Roth, spokesman for the Transcendental Meditation Program.
Meditation, a controversial method of reducing stress, has been growing in popularity in recent years, Roth said. While some in the medical community dismiss the value of the practice, Roth said a National Institutes of Health grant of $20 million to study the effects of meditation on heart disease and attention deficit disorder speaks to its scientific merit.
Roth said the Arlington offices will complement offices in Bethesda. Practitioners will be able to come to the office and meditate, and classes for new students and businesses will be offered. Prices will vary depending on the instructor, Roth said.
The development corporation is also considering building a second university dedicated to integrating transcendental meditation with traditional undergraduate degree courses of study. The first university is in Fairfield, Iowa.
Lynch, the director of surreal productions like “Blue Velvet,” “Mulholland Drive” and “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me,” is a major financial backer of the Iowa university and the offices in Arlington, Roth said.
He said Lynch’s foundation has given more than $2 million in recent years to promote meditation in schools.
By the numbers
Roth said about 40,000 people in the D.C. area practice transcendental meditation to reduce stress.
