Rooks experiment with meditation

The Norwich Guidon
October 5, 2011
Written by Thomas Carson

Norwich University has received a $40,000 grant from Foundations of America to conduct a study on how to lower stress among rooks. One rook platoon is using Transcendental Meditation (TM) twice a day, every day, to see if meditating helps, according to Dr. Peg Meyer, director of academic achievement and educational effectiveness.

“The big thing about the TM practice is that it is an individual tool, people will say, ‘What about a team performance or a platoon performance’ but it is really about what it does for you,” said Shelby Wallace, the director for student success. “I have been TM’ing for almost a year now this December, and it has definitely helped with a level of prioritization.” more

Veterans learn about meditation for treating post traumatic stress

Veterans learned about an old world technique called transcendental meditation as a treatment for post traumatic stress, which is growing in popularity and praise for it’s effectiveness.

WEAU 13 News
September 16, 2011
Written by Matt Hoffman

Studies show up to 35 percent of our veterans return home with post traumatic stress disorder. But an old world technique is being used in a new way to help veterans, and some say it’s having great success.

Veterans in Eau Claire heard from Jerry Yellin. He fought in World War Two as a fighter pilot, but when he returned home he couldn’t escape the horrors of war he experienced. more

Ruben Rosario: Recovered veteran’s latest mission: helping those like him

TwinCities.com
September 13, 2011
Written by Ruben Rosario

Jerry Yellin flew 19 hair-raising combat operations over Iwo Jima and Japan as a World War II P-51 Mustang fighter pilot. But one of the toughest missions the 87-year-old ever undertook came last year.

A family friend, Dory Klock, a married father of two and a U.S. Army veteran who fought in Bosnia, killed himself. Yellin knew the 32-year-old man was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues. more

A Transcendental Cure for Post-Traumatic Stress

One study of soldiers showed a 50% reduction in symptoms after eight weeks of meditation.

The Wall Street Journal
Opinion
June 13, 2011
Written by David Lynch and Norman E. Rosenthal

War wounds come in many forms. Some are obvious, such as scars, gashes and amputations. Others, the psychological ones, are less visible but equally devastating. The numbers in this second group are staggering: The military’s latest mental health survey of combat troops in Afghanistan found that 20%—one in five—suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

People with combat-related PTSD often suffer from periods of emotional numbness and depression that may coexist or alternate with intense anxiety and delusional thinking. Their days may be afflicted by flashbacks to traumatic situations. Their nights are often disrupted by sleeplessness and nightmares, from which they awake drenched in sweat as though back on the battlefield. more

Just Say Om: Meditation May Alleviate PTSD Symptoms

Medscape News
June 13, 2011
Written by Deborah Brauser

Transcendental meditation (TM) may help alleviate symptoms of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), new research suggests.

In a small pilot study of male veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, those who practiced TM showed a significant reduction in PTSD symptoms, significant increases in quality-of-life measures, and improvements in communication and sleep after 8 weeks. more

Alternative treatment promoted for soldiers
suffering from PTSD

CNN International
June 8, 2011
Written by Charley Keyes

Celebrities and a medical researcher want to convince the Defense Department this week that meditation could help the increasing number of military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress.

Star-studded events in New York and Washington are bringing together people experienced in transcendental meditation with soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. more

Meditation Heals Military Vets With PTSD

ABC News
June 6, 2011
Written by Lara Salahi

For months, David George, 27, of Fairfield, Iowa, had been eyeing a pistol he saw at a local store.

In 2004, shortly after returning from Iraq, the former specialist in the 101st Airborne Division moved into his parents’ home in Maryland. At every noise, George, who owned a rifle, systematically moved from one room to the next to make sure the house was clear. The pistol, he thought, would make it easier. more

Transcendental Meditation Helps Vets with PTSD

Psych Central
June 2, 2011
Written by Rick Nauert

A recently published pilot study suggests the practice of Transcendental Meditation reduces symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Although the research employed a very small number of participants (n = 5), the veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars showed a 50 percent reduction in their symptoms of PTSD after eight weeks of practicing Transcendental Meditation. more