No, no, no…. Not resolutions. Revolutions.
Back in the 1970s, when Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School coined the term, “Relaxation Response,” he ushered in several decades of resolutions based on the concept of relaxing for better health—both physical and mental. He also provided scientific support for the practice of meditation, which was entering “mainstream” consciousness at about the same time. His new book, Relaxation Revolution: Enhancing Your Personal Health Through the Science and Genetics of Mind Body Healing, written with William Proctor (New York, Scribner, 2010) details the accumulation of research since the publication of the first book and provides specific health applications. This is powerful stuff.
If you ever wondered whether meditation would be good for you, this is the book that will answer that question definitively. Most of us in the field of “holistic health” (a broad category if ever there was one) have been believers in and practitioners of meditation for a long time. We are also among those who recognize that “meditation” is a broad category that includes a wide variety of forms, including karate, Tai Chi, and long-distance running (moving meditations) and a variety of hypnotic techniques. (A number of studies have demonstrated that hypnotic trance, even without specific suggestions, promotes health and well-being.)
If you’ve been wondering what you can do to enhance your own health and well-being for the coming year, buy a copy of Relaxation Revolution and start meditating. The meditative technique suggested by Benson is easy to learn and forgiving. If your mind wanders while you are supposed to be focused on your breathing, you just say to yourself, “Oh, well,” and return your focus to your breathing. One of the nice things is you need only about 15 minutes to enjoy the health benefits of relaxation. Another benefit is that your ability to focus will improve with practice. “Focus,” of course, applies to more than relaxing for health. It applies to everything you do that requires sustained attention, and especially those things that benefit from your using both sides of your brain.
If you’re the kind who enjoys bringing the power and convenience of technology to bear on problem solving, you’ll find the emWave Personal Stress Reliever©, which is based on the HeartMath© system of reducing stress and creating better health. The emWave machine provides an external point of focus for your meditative state and provides biofeedback to guide you into the relaxation response.
In my opinion, one of the most important discoveries with the advances in science in general and medicine in particular is that, in spite of the resistance from what is inherently a reductionist approach to knowledge is the way in which science is increasingly reaching the same view of the cosmos that mystics have held since the dawn of recorded history. This is not, of course, to say that resistance is gone, but it has certainly been losing ground with recent discoveries, such as the way thoughts and attitudes influence the epigenes that control gene function and the demonstrated advantages of the relaxation response.
What could be a better way to start the New Year than getting in step with both science (left brain) and mysticism (right brain) and enhancing your own health and that of everyone you know through the connections between mirror neurons? (For more information about mirror neurons, see a previous blog, “Intuition: Not Just for Women” and enjoy the process of learning more about joining the Relaxation Revolution with your New Year’s Revolutions in thinking.
