The Relaxation Response: Find Inner Peace

Meditation
Great book

A Scientific Case for Meditation and Stress Management Techniques
At the beginning of the 1970s, Harvard University hired Herbert Benson to investigate whether the meditation techniques that were beginning to be fashionable in the United States had any tangible effect on health. Benson published the result of his research in 1976 through this book “The Relaxation Response.”In this book, Dr. Benson provided conclusive scientific evidence showing how those who practiced regular meditation had profound (and measurable) effects on the body, mind, and gene expression.Before beginning his research, Dr. Benson measured different “markers” among the study participants, such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and levels of stress-related hormones, among others. Later he divided the participants into different groups. One group would act as a placebo or control and the rest of the groups were asked to perform a set of meditation and relaxation practices.The results of the study were very striking at the time. Benson observed that the groups that did some type of meditation practice showed improvements in metabolism, heart rate and blood pressure, plus the indicators that mediate stress hormones were statistically lower in relation to the control group. In turn, between the groups that had meditated, there were no statistically significant differences in the improvements obtained. This meant that the technique or the type of meditation did not matter so much but that it was practiced regularly.The other great finding of the study was to show that relaxation techniques also influenced gene expression. Benson observed that the groups that had practiced relaxation techniques had positive variations in approximately 2209 genes compared to the control group.These positive effects were achieved in less than 8 weeks and with only 15-30 minutes of daily practice.To sum up, this book provided a scientific case for meditation and stress management techniques.

Great information, but it is there anything new here?
The message of this book could be summarized as “Relaxation is good for your health. You can relax by 1)Finding a quiet place 2) Sitting in a comfortable position/posture that will keep you alert but won’t lead you to sleep 3) choosing a mental device that will let you concentrate 4) maintaining a passive attitude during this period”. The rest of this book goes into the health dangers of stress (as understood in 1975),the health benefits of relaxation and how it differs from sleep, different ways to evoke the relaxation response, and how the relaxation response has been evoked throughout history in the context of various cultures and religions. I think this book is of great historical interest because it was one of the first attempts to expose the dangers of stress in a clear way (I found his discussion on how high blood pressure leads to heart disease particularly illustrating) and gave scientific validity to age-old ways of treating it without involving the methods traditionally sanctioned by Western medicine such as surgery and high-priced pills. His findings are based on research he performed with Transcendental Meditation followers, so he spends much effort on qualifying his conclusions, adding disclaimers, and otherwise protecting himself from possible attacks because of his work with such a fringe group. I think this limits the practical usefulness of the book and makes it somewhat dated, particularly since no one today questions that stress is bad and relaxation good. I think a more appropriate revision of this book should include not just a new introduction by the author, but also references to current research on which meditation techniques or approaches bring the most tangible health benefits and how they differ from placebos. A new assesment on the advantages of modern medicine vs. alternative therapies for preventing heart disease would also be in place. By being properly updated, a book of this nature would be very influential in setting a balance between the new age crowd that has little regard for science in medicine, and the medical establishment that has a vested interest in the status quo and thus rejects alternative medicine as a whole.

Sent quickly
It got here fast! Our pastor was talking about this book in her sermon this past Sunday. I’m a worrier so I definitely need this. Thanknyou!

Muy claro y útil para iniciar la práctica de meditación.

I like the honesty of this book and the fact that it clearly sets out the case for a simple method of relaxation that can be practised by anyone. If you’re thinking of paying a lot of money to learn Transcendental Meditation, think again. Buy or borrow this book instead and find a way that the author has tested scientifically and has found to be equally effective. He has newer books that take the method further.