Behind the Scenes at TM for Women

ften women want to know more about our organization and history so here is some information that I hope you will find interesting. The Transcendental Meditation technique is a specific […]

A New Noteworthy Partnership

In December, TM for Women was honored to begin a formal partnership with Million Hearts®, an organization that brings together existing efforts and new programs to improve health across communities and help Americans live longer, healthier, more productive lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are the co-leaders of Million Hearts within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Million Hearts is a national initiative that has an ambitious goal of preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Partners of Million Hearts includes federal agencies; doctors, nurses, pharmacists, health care professionals; health advocacy groups; and community organizations. According to published research funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, the TM technique can reduce heart attacks and strokes by 48 percent and so we feel this partnership is a perfect fit. In the US, 25% of women pass away from heart disease. Narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself, is the most common cause. This coronary artery disease builds over time and is a significant cause of heart attacks.

Personal Foul

What peace can we hope to find elsewhere…if we have none within us? – Saint Teresa of Avila

A hunter is outside tracking his prey when he hears a tiger roar behind him.

He can either run away or stand his ground and fight. His very survival depends upon his quick reactions. A complex cascade of stress hormones, such as adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol, is triggered. These hormones have a powerful and widespread effect on his body’s biochemistry, physiology and psychology, giving him the extra strength and speed he needs to deal with the threat.

What’s Good for the Goose May Not be Good for the Gander

“For nearly 25 years, the Society for Women’s Health Research has fought for more research into gender differences in health and medicine. We’re pleased to see this critical issue for women getting the increased attention it deserves. The more women know how treatments may affect them differently from men, the healthier they will be. SWHR also actively supports the study of gender differences in heart disease. We encourage more study on the different risk factors for each gender. SWHR is proud to lead the way in exploring how diseases and conditions affect women more than, or differently from, men.”—Phyllis Greenberger, President and CEO, Society for Women’s Health Research

Men and women are different. It seems obvious, but apparently it’s not obvious when it comes to medical research, diagnostics and treatment.

Meditation or Medication? Today’s Plague of Pill-popping

An estimated 80 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, according to the American Chronic Pain Association, but women experience pain more often and with greater intensity. Research also shows men and women respond differently to pain medications, and in fact use separate mechanisms in the brain to achieve pain relief.

Gender Balance: What Women Bring to the Table

Thirty years ago, statistics showed that fifty percent of the college graduates in the United States were women. Thirty years later, women still only hold a small percentage of leadership positions in government, business and industry. This means that women’s voices are not heard in the decisions that most affect our lives.

Warren Buffett said recently in an interview in Fortune Magazine, “ For most of our history, women—whatever their abilities—have been relegated to the sidelines.” Mr. Buffet points at the amazing progress that has been made even when society has used only 50% of its human potential by sidelining women. He says, “If you visualize what 100% can do, you’ll join me as an unbridled optimist about America’s future…Women are a major reason we will do so well.”