Here is a copy
of a recent article (Tuesday, 28 July 2009)
in the English newspaper “The Independent” which helps
explain in scientific terms why Clif’s 30 plus years of developing the practice
of Deep
Field Relaxation works so well.
Relax Your Way to
Perfect Health
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Cutting-edge scientific research
now proves what the yogis have always known: deep relaxation can have a
profound effect on a wide range of medical conditions. Anastasia Stephens
reports By Anastasia Stephens /
Source: The Independent UK
It's a piece of advice that yogis have
given for thousands of years: take a deep breath and relax. Watch the tension
melt from your muscles and all your niggling worries vanish. Somehow we all
know that relaxation is good for us. Now the hard science has caught up – for a
comprehensive scientific study showing that deep relaxation changes our bodies
on a genetic level has just been published.
What researchers at Harvard
Medical School discovered is that, in long-term practitioners of relaxation
methods such as yoga and meditation, far more "disease-fighting
genes" were active, compared to those who practised no form of relaxation.
In particular, they found
genes that protect from disorders such as pain, infertility, high blood
pressure and even rheumatoid arthritis were switched on. The changes, say the
researchers, were induced by what they call "the relaxation effect",
a phenomenon that could be just as powerful as any medical drug but without the
side-effects.
"We found that a range of
disease-fighting genes were active in the relaxation practitioners that were
not active in the control group," explains Dr Herbert Benson, associate
professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, who led the research.
The good news for the control
group with the less-healthy genes is that the research didn't stop there. The
experiment, which showed just how responsive genes are to behaviour, mood and
environment, revealed that genes can switch on, just as easily as they switch
off.
"Harvard researchers
asked the control group to start practising relaxation methods every day,"
explains Jake Toby, hypnotherapist at London's BodyMind Medicine Centre, who
teaches clients how to induce the relaxation effect. "After two months,
their bodies began to change – the genes that help fight inflammation, kill
diseased cells and protect the body from cancer, all began to switch on."
More encouraging still, the
benefits of the relaxation effect were found to increase with regular practice –
the more people practised relaxation methods such as meditation or deep
breathing, the greater their chances of remaining free of arthritis and joint
pain with stronger immunity, healthier hormone levels and lower blood pressure.
Benson believes the research
is pivotal because it shows how a person's state of mind affects the body on a
physical and genetic level. It might also explain why relaxation induced by meditation
or repetitive mantras is considered to be a powerful remedy in traditions such
as Ayurveda in India or Tibetan medicine.
But just how can relaxation
have such wide-ranging and powerful effects? Research around the world has
described the negative effects of stress on the body. Linked to the release of
the stress-hormones adrenalin and cortisol, stress raises the heart rate and
blood pressure, weakens immunity and lowers fertility.
By contrast, the state of
relaxation is linked to higher levels of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin
and to the growth hormone which repairs cells and tissue. Indeed, studies show
that relaxation has virtually the opposite effect, lowering heart rate,
boosting immunity and enabling the body to thrive.
"On a biological level,
stress is linked to fight-flight and danger," explains Dr Jane Flemming, a
London-based GP. "In survival mode, heart rate rises and blood pressure
shoots up. Meanwhile muscles, preparing for danger, contract and tighten. And
non-essential functions such as immunity and digestion go by the wayside."
Relaxation, on the other hand,
is a state of rest, enjoyment and physical renewal. Free of danger, muscles can
relax and food can be digested. The heart can slow and blood circulation flows
freely to the body's tissues, feeding it with nutrients and oxygen. This
restful state is good for fertility, as the body is able to conserve the
resources it needs to generate new life.
While relaxation techniques
can be very different, their biological effects are essentially similar.
"When you relax, the parasympathetic nervous system switches on and that
is linked to better digestion, memory and immunity, among other things,"
explains Jake Toby. "So as long as you relax deeply, you'll reap a variety
of rewards."
But, he warns, deep relaxation
isn't the sort of switching off you do relaxing with a cup of tea or lounging
on the sofa. "What you're looking for is a state of deep relaxation where
tension is released from the body on a physical level and your mind completely
switches off," he says. "The effect won't be achieved by lounging
round in an everyday way, nor can you force yourself to relax. You can only
really achieve it by learning a specific technique such as self-hypnosis,
guided imagery or meditation."
The relaxation effect,
however, may not be as pronounced on everyone. "Some people are more
susceptible to relaxation methods than others," cautions Joan Borysenko,
director of a relaxation programme for outpatients at Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center, Boston, US. "Through relaxation, we find that some people
experience a little improvement, others a lot. And there are a few whose lives
turn around totally."
The health benefits of deep
relaxation
The next time you tune out,
switch off and let yourself melt, remind yourself of all the good work the
relaxation effect is doing on your body. These are just some of the
scientifically proven benefits...
Immunity
Relaxation appears to boost
immunity in recovering cancer patients. One study at Ohio State University, in
the US, found that progressive muscular relaxation, when practised daily,
reduced the risk of breast cancer recurrence. In another study at Ohio State, a
month of relaxation exercises boosted natural killer cells in elderly people,
giving them more resistance to tumours and viruses.
Fertility
A study at the University of
Western Australia found that women are more likely to conceive at periods when
they're relaxed rather than stressed. Another study at Trakya University,
Turkey, found that stress reduces sperm count and motility, a finding that
implies that relaxation may boost fertility in men, too.
Irritable bowel syndrome
When patients suffering from
irritable bowel syndrome practised a relaxation meditation twice daily,
symptoms such as bloating, belching, diarrhoea and constipation improved
significantly. The method was so effective that the researchers at the State
University of New York at Albany, recommended it as an effective IBS treatment.
Blood pressure
A study at Harvard Medical
School found meditation lowered blood pressure by making the body less
responsive to stress hormones, in a similar way to blood pressure-lowering
medication. Meanwhile, a report in the British Medical Journal found that
patients trained to relax had significantly lower blood pressure.
Inflammation
Stress leads to inflammation,
a state linked to heart disease, arthritis, asthma as well as skin conditions
such as psoriasis, say researchers at Emory University in the US. Relaxation
can play a role in preventing and treating such symptoms by switching off the
stress response. In this way, one study at McGill University in Canada found
meditation clinically improved symptoms of psoriasis.
Take a deep breath... How
to relax deeply
So how can you access
relaxation's healing powers? Harvard researchers found that yoga, meditation
and even repetitive prayer and mantras all induced the relaxation effect.
"The more regularly these techniques are practised, the more deeply-rooted
the benefits will be," says Jake Toby. Have a go at one or more of the
following for 15 minutes once or twice a day.
Body scan
Starting with your head and
working down to your arms and feet, notice how you feel in your body. Taking in
your head and neck, simply notice if you feel tense, relaxed, calm or anxious. See
how much you can spread any sensations of softness and relaxation to areas of
your body that feel tense. Once your reach your feet, work back up your body.
Breath focus
Sitting comfortably, become
aware of your breath, following the sensation of inhaling from your nose down
to your abdomen and out again. As you follow your breath, notice your whole
body and let tension go with each exhalation. Whenever you notice your mind
wandering, come back to your breath.
Mantra repetition
The relaxation response can be
evoked by sitting quietly with eyes closed for 15 minutes twice a day, and
mentally repeating a simple word or sound such as 'Om'.
Guided imagery
Imagine the most wonderfully
relaxing light, or a soothing waterfall washing away any tension or worries from
your body and mind. Make your image as vivid as possible, imagining the
texture, colour and any fragrance as the image washes over or through you.
