Tag: children and meditation

Students in the Caribbean Benefit from Transcendental Meditation

Posted on by Tammy

Select schools throughout the Caribbean island of Dominica have begun to employ the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique as a stress-management tool to help students reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Since January, Dr. Lucia John, director of the Dominica TM Center, has been teaching the TM technique to children in several towns, with positive feedback from students, parents, and teachers regarding the benefits for ADHD.

“The results kids are reporting from TM practice include calmer, more collected minds; greater ability to focus; better memory; greater ability to do homework without distractions; and better relationships at home, at school, and with friends,” said Dr. John. “Teachers have also started noticing these positive changes. Parents are experiencing greater calm, more normal blood pressure, and greater happiness with their children.”

The TM technique is a meditation technique practiced 20 minutes twice each day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. Extensive published research shows TM reduces stress and anxiety, improves learning ability, and promotes wellness for mind and body.

“A wide range of studies have documented the effect of practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique on the health, behavior, and well-being of children,” said Dr. John. “They return to respecting their parents, teachers and peers, and grow up to excel in whatever field of study they undertake. They enjoy greater ability to focus, inner happiness, better memory, and tolerance and improve their grades.”

The TM technique is available in the USA through Maharishi Foundation USA, a federally recognized non-profit educational organization. Through partnerships with other non-profit organizations and foundations like the David Lynch Foundation, full TM scholarships have been given to more than 250,000 at-risk children, veterans suffering from PTSD, homeless people, and others.

For more information, visit www.tm.org.

 

Memphis Middle School Kids Skip Recess for Meditation

Posted on by Tammy

At Lausanne Collegiate School, a middle school in Memphis, Tenn., a group of middle school children opted out of recess so they could meditate, according to a recent report by Channel 3 News Memphis.

The group of 5th through 8th grade children sit this way once per week to help improve their concentration in class, and approximately 50 kids have signed up so far, and there is a waiting list of another 50 who want to enroll, the report stated.

“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Greg Graber.  “The kids say not only do they enjoy it but it helps them concentrate and to focus and to feel better. They feel re-energized.”

One student, 11-year-old Henry Clayton, told the news outlet: “After you do it, you just feel a lot more relaxed, and you feel like a lot better about yourself and how the day’s going to go.”