It's a piece of advice yogis have given for thousands of years: take a deep breath and relax. Watch the tension melt from the muscles and all your niggling worries vanish. Somehow we all know that relaxation is useful for us.
Now the hard science has involved: a comprehensive scientific study showing that deep relaxation changes our bodies on a genetic level recently been published.
What researchers at Harvard Medical School discovered is the fact that, in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods for example yoga and meditation, far more ''disease-fighting genes'' were active, than these who practised no type of relaxation.
In particular, they found genes that protect from disorders like pain, infertility, high blood pressure and also rheumatoid arthritis were fired up. The changes, say the researchers, were induced with what they call ''the relaxation effect'', a phenomenon that is just as powerful every medical drug but with no side effects.
''We found an array of disease-fighting genes were in the relaxation practitioners that have been not active in the control group,'' Dr Herbert Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, who led your research, says.
The good news for that control group with the less-healthy genes is that the research didn't hang on a minute.
The experiment, which showed how responsive genes are going to behaviour, mood and environment, revealed that genes can switch on, just as easily because they switch off.
''Harvard researchers asked the control group to get started on practising relaxation methods every single day,'' says Jake Toby, hypnotherapist at London's BodyMind Medicine Centre, who teaches clients the way to induce the relaxation effect.
''After 8 weeks, their bodies began to change: the genes that help fight inflammation, kill diseased cells and protect the body from cancer all did start to switch on.''
More encouraging still, the benefits of the relaxation effect put together to increase with regular practice: the more people practised relaxation by meditation or deep breathing, the harder their chances of remaining clear of arthritis and pain with stronger immunity, healthier alteration in hormones and lower blood pressure.
Benson believes the study is pivotal because it shows how a person's state of mind affects the body with a physical and genetic level. It will also explain why relaxation induced by meditation or repetitive mantras is considered to be a powerful remedy in traditions for example Ayurveda in India or Tibetan medicine.
But merely how can relaxation have such wide-ranging and powerful effects? Researchers have described the negative effects of force on the body. Linked to the relieve the stress-hormones adrenalin and cortisol, stress enhances the heart rate and blood pressure, weakens immunity and lowers fertility.
By comparison, the state of relaxation is related to higher levels of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and to the increase hormone which repairs cells and tissue. Indeed, research has shown that relaxation has virtually the other effect, lowering heart rate, boosting immunity and enabling the body to thrive.
''On a biological level, stress is related to fight-flight and danger,'' Dr Jane Flemming, a London GP, says. ''In survival mode, heartrate rises and blood pressure shoots up. Meanwhile muscles, preparing for danger, contract and tighten. And non-essential functions for example immunity and digestion pass the wayside.''
Relaxation, however, is a state rest, enjoyment and physical renewal. Without any danger, muscles can
loosen up and food can be digested. The heart can slow and blood circulation flows freely towards the body's tissues, feeding it with nutrients and oxygen. This restful state is wonderful for fertility, as the body will be able to conserve the resources it must generate new life.
While relaxation techniques can be extremely different, their biological effects are essentially similar. ''When you relax, the parasympathetic nerves switches on. Which is linked to better digestion, memory and immunity, amongst other things,'' Toby says. ''As long as you relax deeply, you'll reap the rewards.''
No comments:
Post a Comment