Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
TwitThisJump-Starting the Relaxation Response
But Benson has grown accustomed to skepticism about his work. Trained as a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School, Benson began in the 1960s to study how stress affects physical well-being -- then considered a radical idea. Many of his colleagues told him he was wasting his time and would ruin his career.But Benson went on to become a pioneer in the now-flourishing field known as mind-body medicine, which explores how our thoughts and feelings contribute to disease. Internist Larry Dossey, author of Healing Words, says Benson's research, and his standing as an eminent doctor, jump-started serious study in mind-body medicine. Now more than half of U.S. medical schools teach the relaxation response. "Herb has the satisfaction of now being able to say, 'I told you so,' " says Dossey.
In The Relaxation Response, Benson helped patients reduce blood pressure, control pain and speed healing through a basic form of meditation meant to quiet the mind and shut down the body's fight-or-flight reaction: Sit comfortably, breathe through your nose, and every time you exhale silently say the word one to yourself. If other thoughts intrude, gently disregard them and resume your focus.
As the years passed, Benson discovered that there is more than one way to evoke that calm, and the process may have applications beyond the clinic. "People from various disciplines -- theology, business, athletics -- were all saying, You know, we do something like the relaxation response to break the train of everyday thought and we get better results."
Advertisement 
feeds instead
