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=                      The_Relaxation_Response                       =
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                            Introduction
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'The Relaxation Response' is a book written in 1975 by Herbert Benson,
a Harvard physician, and Miriam Z. Klipper. The response described in
the book is an autonomic reaction elicited by a mental device and a
passive attitude that has been used for altered states of
consciousness throughout various religious traditions and cultures.
The scientific characterization of the relaxation response was
initially prompted by research studies on Transcendental Meditation
("TM"), a yogic meditation technique, that was presented primarily to
people in the Western world.


                               Origin
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Benson writes in his book, "We claim no innovation but simply a
scientific validation of age-old wisdom". People from the
Transcendental Meditation movement, who felt they could reduce blood
pressure using TM, visited Harvard Medical School in 1968, asking to
be studied. The school, which at the time was studying the
relationship of monkeys' behavior and blood pressure, told them "No,
thank you." But when they persisted, Benson told them he would study
them. He met with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi first to find out if he could
agree in advance to any outcome, which Mahesh did. Benson mentions in
his book that independent studies were already underway by then-PhD
candidate R. Keith Wallace working with Archie Wilson at the
University of California, Los Angeles, but that no published studies
of TM existed. Benson's study found that when the subjects meditated,
their metabolic rate markedly decreased in a matter of minutes.
Further studies on subjects with high blood pressure showed that
meditation over several weeks lowered blood pressure by a
statistically significant amount.


                       Eliciting the response
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Benson's website and his book describe four essential components of
meditation needed to bring about the response: a mental device (a
simple word, phrase or activity to repeat to keep the mind from
wandering), a passive attitude, a quiet environment, and a comfortable
position. From these components, Benson developed a 6-step technique
for eliciting the response for study at the Thorndike Memorial
Laboratory and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. By 1996, only two
of the four components were found to be essential: a mental device and
a passive attitude. An updated edition of his book divided the 6 steps
further into 9 steps, as is taught at the Benson-Henry Institute at
Massachusetts General Hospital. The goal is to activate the
parasympathetic nervous system, which causes humans to relax.


                          Fight-or-flight
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Benson developed the idea of the response, which counters the
fight-or-flight response described during the 1920s by Walter Bradford
Cannon at the Harvard Medical School. According to Benson more than 60
percent of all visits to healthcare providers are related to stress.
Stress causes the “fight or flight” hormones, epinephrine and
norepinephrine, to secrete into the bloodstream. This incites or
exacerbates a number of conditions. They include hypertension,
headaches, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome and chronic low back
pain, as well as heart disease, stroke and cancer.

A physician with ABC News adds that the immune system works best when
relaxed. He said about twenty deep breaths per day, done "with
intention", can accomplish this.


                             Reception
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In a 1986 US national survey, reported in 'The New York Times', this
best-seller was the number one self-help book that clinical
psychologists recommended to their patients.


License
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Relaxation_Response