The Relaxation Response

By Dr. Herbert Benson. This book can be found here. In this book, Dr. Benson writes about a response that is opposite to "fight or flight" response, which is called relaxation response (RR). He lists the benefits of this response and simple steps to elicit this response.

Summary

Field of medicine can be construed as a 3-legged sturdy stool
- medications
- surgery and similar medical procedures
- self-care
belief is potentially central to our health
remembered wellness (aka placebo effect) also elicits RR
2 step process in the mind/body technique:
- elicit RR to quiet the mind
- after the mind has become quiet rewire the thoughts and actions in the desired direction
have a balanced approach to all 3 of the legs of this stool. When in doubt, do consult your physician
technology instead of easing our lives has only resulted in more stress
we are frustrated that we can't even solve simple problems like being on time, due to congestion. Thus we become victims of stress.
stress not only affects us mentally, but also physically.
- hypertension is currently a worldwide phenomenon as well as an epidemic.
  - It is caused by
    - bad diet
    - lack of exercise
    - family disposition
    - environmental stress
- all animals respond to chronic stressful conditions via the "fight or flight" response (needed for survival)
- situations that demand we adjust our behavior elicit this response
- this response involves increased BP, shallow breath, increased heart rate.
- this response needs to be used, for eg, running away from or fighting with the enemy. If it is not used, over periods of time, it can lead to disastrous consequences, which is what is happening nowadays.
the opposite of "fight or flight" response is the RR
- it reverses the adverse effects of "fight or flight" response
- evoking RR is to be done via these steps
  - a quiet environment
  - a mental device (a word, phrase or mantra) that should be repeated. This repetition helps avoid distracting thoughts
  - a passive attitude (by disregarding other thoughts and returning to the mental device in case of any distraction). This is one of the key things to elicit RR!
  - a comfortable position
- the above process is also known as Transcendental Meditation, a refined yoga practice developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
the risk of developing atherosclerosis is directly related to the BP as well as cholesterol levels
HBP directly affects 3 organs: heart, brain and kidneys
events which require adjusting of our behavior cause stress in us. A stressful person is more susceptible to diseases and having more BP
we simply cannot deal with the complexities the life throws at us. So, better to learn effective ways to cope with those
it has been shown now that through voluntary mental acts, one can control the "involuntary" bodily mechanisms like BP, heart-rate, oxygen consumption, (aka metabolism) etc.
alpha waves are the brain waves which indicate the feeling of well-being
major physiologic change due to meditation is the decrease in metabolism
- aka hypometabolism
- only 3 things cause this: meditation, sleep or hibernation
- hibernation is shows a drop in rectal temperatures, meditation doesn't
- sleep and meditation
  - in sleep metabolism decreases gradually until 4-5 hrs
  - in meditation it decreases rapidly in the first 2-3 mins
  - meditation increases alpha waves in brain
  - meditation decreases blood lactate content (associated with anxiety)
  - thus meditation and sleep can't be substituted for one another!
altered state of consciousness
- RR is associated with this state
- it is one of the states in between coma -> sleep -> drowsiness -> alert -> hyper-alert
- this state needs to be purposefully evoked
people going psychoanalysis sessions will find it hard to assume passive attitude, thus difficult for them to elicit RR
excessive daily elicitation of RR can lead to hallucinations due to sensory deprivation
within few weeks of stopping RR, our body typically goes back to its original state, so better to be regular with this process