Scientific Proof

"We now have compelling scientific proof that the mind can heal the body," says Herbert Benson M.D., director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and author of Relaxation Revolution. Benson's research has found that mind/body practices—meditation, yoga, tai chi, deep breathing, visualization—all elicit the relaxation response, quelling the release of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Your heart slows, blood pressure falls, digestion eases and immunity soars.
Pick something simple and recurring to focus on, a mantra. "It could be your breath, a prayer or a saying, like, 'May this be a good day,'" says Rick Hanson, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist in San Rafael, California, and author of Buddha's Brain, who teaches meditation. Then repeat it in your head as long as you can, up to 20 minutes. "If you get distracted, that's OK," he says. Gently refocus until the mantra has recaptured your attention.
There may be no quicker way to trigger the magical relaxation response (and all the good genetic changes that come with it) than by controlling your breath. Not only will deep breathing lower your blood pressure, but recent research shows sucking wind, as it were, can also increase antioxidant levels in your blood, helping protect you from oxidative stress and all the dastardly conditions associated with it, including heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimer's disease and plain ol' aging.
Start smiling
Not only are positive thinkers less likely to develop heart problems such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, they also live longer overall. In a 15-year study of more than 100,000 women, cheery types were 14 percent less likely to die in an eight-year period than gloomy gals were, the National Institutes of Health Women's Health Initiative finds. To change your thinking, visualize a happy moment: "Imagining yourself in a hammock on the beach can have an immediate, relaxing effect on the body that makes it more difficult to stay focused on the negative," says Andrea Bonior, Ph.D., a psychologist in Washington, D.C.

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Great post, Herbie. I have a picture of me in a hammock on a beach in Acapulco taken some years ago
and will put that on my computer desktop to remind me of how great I felt that day.

Here it is (if I can find it). Hooray, I found it!

 

I always liked that hat, too.

 

I remember reading Bernie Siegel's book Love, Medicine, and Miracles years ago, and being AMAZED. There was an instance of a surgeon telling a patient(who was under anesthesia) that he needed him to drop his blood pressure by 20 points, and the patient did it. I have NO doubt that our brain is the most crucial tool we have in any type of physical recovery. TMS-ers know this to be true!

 

Great article, Herbie! Walt, I love the pic…I think I need to find a hammock somewhere warm and sunny.

 

I can picture myself on the beach, my favorite place in the world. I spent so much time
there before moving to T.N. I loved your pic Walt! So relaxing looking. Thanks Erik, it was
a great post and I hope you are all doing well. Love ya guys, Nancy