Every day, almost without fail, Connie Tellman escapes to the solitude of her grown daughter’s former room to meditate.

After doing yoga postures to relieve body tension, she sits cross-legged on a pillow, hands resting on her knees, eyes closed. For 15 minutes or so, she silently repeats her personal mantra, breathes rhythmically from her diaphragm and methodically touches the 108 small wooden beads of her mala necklace.

“Your mind concentrates on the breath,” said the 52-year-old Indianapolis woman. “You go within and close out the distractions of the world, so you can focus on your inner self.”

Local people who meditate agree on how it makes them feel: peaceful, calm, centered.

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