Liv Tyler and Sean Lennon Help Raise Funds for TM Scholarships

On a beautiful evening in New York City this past Fall, Liv Tyler and Sean Lennon performed together with Royston Langdon & Spacehog in a live rooftop benefit concert. They helped to raise funds for the David Lynch Foundation’s New York City First Responders’ Initiative.



The David Lynch Foundation’s First Responder Initiative was started to enable first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to learn the Transcendental Meditation technique, and to enable them to develop greater resilience to extreme stress.

According to the National Institutes of Health, first responders are generally considered to be at greater risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than most other occupations because their duties routinely entail confrontation with traumatic stressors. These critical incidents typically involve frequent exposure to life threatening situations. For many of New York City’s veteran first responders, the experience of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center is still a traumatic memory. According to ABC News, for many of the nearly 50,000 9/11 first responders, the wounds that resulted from their efforts to help those who were trapped during the Twin Towers’ attacks are far from healing. According to two studies published in 2011 in the British journal Lancet, these rescue workers continue to struggle with respiratory illness, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and many of them may be at increased risk for developing a number of cancers.


——————————————————–
Liv Tyler speaks about her motivation to support the David Lynch Foundation:

“I grew up around a lot of people – friends, family – who were meditating. Meditation is an incredible way of centering myself, of calming myself, and really getting perspective on where I am.

“After I did the first week of Transcendental Meditation where I did it twice a day, from that moment on I’ve never been that frazzled or that tired ever again. It was like it restored my body on such a deep level. There was like a week’s worth of sleep. From that moment forward it was like a new day in a way. I felt like my whole nervous system reacted differently. I feel much less panicked and anxious, and calm about things—deeply centered and rested.”

In the video below, Royston Langdon, who also participated in this benefit concert talks about his reasons for practicing the TM technique and his motivation to support the David Lynch Foundation.