The Relaxation Revolution
William Proctor, Herbert Benson, 2010, The Relaxation Revolution: Enhancing Your Personal Health Through the Science and Genetics of Mind Body Healing
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The Relaxation Response
Briefly stated, the relaxation response is defined as the response that is the opposite of the fight-or-flight or stress response. It is characterized by the following: decreased metabolism, heart rate, blood pressure, and rate of breathing; a decrease or “calming” in brain activity; an increase in attention and decision-making functions of the brain; and changes in gene activity that are the opposite of those associated with stress.”
The relaxation response. As Benson says above, it’s basically the opposite of the fight-or-flight response that most of us spend way too much of our time in these days. Our bodies are brilliantly architected in such a way that, when faced with a life-threatening danger, all systems necessary for our survival are activated: from our hearts pumping blood to our legs so we can make a quick exit to adrenalin flooding our system so we’re as strong as possible for a potential fight.
Now, back in the day when we needed to worry about saber-tooth tigers having us for lunch, that fight-or-flight response mechanism was pretty sweet. Unfortunately, our body’s evolution hasn’t quite kept up with our mind’s evolution and now a sideways glance from our boss or someone cutting us off in traffic often elicits the same response. All. Day. Long. That constant barrage takes a significant toll on our well-being. And, researchers have discovered that our ability to induce its opposite relaxation response is huge.
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Enhancing Your Personal Health Through the Science and Genetics of Mind Body Healing