September/October 2011 Featured Stories
Mantra Music Helps War Vets and Fire Fighters
by Lisa Greene
Yoga and meditation are increasingly becoming tools of the Veterans Administration, which is adopting body/mind approaches for soldiers struggling with the heavy toll of serving in battle.
One Iraqi War veteran said that the music of renowned mantra singers Deva Premal & Miten, along with other stress-reducing tools, helped him rebuild from the traumas of war: “It was really rough for me to come back and try to create a so-called normal life for myself. Now I practice meditation every day. I am doing so much better today as a result of Deva and Miten’s CDs. It is soothing, calming, healing, beautiful — a miracle.”
The Integrative Rest Institute, founded in 2006, teaches meditation and yoga through the Veterans Administration to aid veterans with post-battle stress. The institute’s protocols (called iRest for short) were developed through studies at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on the efficacy of yoga meditation for soldiers experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. The iRest programs are now operating at VA facilities in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Washington, DC.
Yoga and chant are proving beneficial for those on the domestic front lines too. Hal Martin, a retired fire fighter from Miami/Dade County, shares how meditation and the music of Deva Premal & Miten changed his life.
“When I look back on my life as a fire fighter, the practice of meditation had a major impact,” says Martin, who was a fire captain. “The more successful officers I have come across are the ones that are calm, cool and collected. Meditation has brought me to that space. On calls, in the back of my mind I was humming mantras.”
In 2006, while visiting his sister, Martin came across the music of Deva Premal & Miten and was “blown away.” The impact of Deva and Miten’s work resonates deeply with Martin.
“At the last Miami concert, everyone was chanting in unison like a well-tuned chorus and it created such a sense of unity — 750 people coming together in Miami — it just brought me to tears,” says Martin.
While Deva Premal & Miten have received accolades from such luminaries as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Cher, Anthony Robbins and Eckhart Tolle, the real impact of their music is reflected in the powerful testimonials from people of all walks of life, who are seeking a musical respite from their daily stresses, as well as those looking to learn about meditation.
See Deva Premal & Miten in concert in the Pacific Northwest on Sept. 14-16. For details, visit www.devapremalmiten.com.