Resonant Frequency Breathing Promotes Wellness

This is a short (demo) version of a breathing exercise used in our research studies to train the participants to breathe at near resonant frequency (6 bpm) with both visual and audio aids.... You may try this technique when you feel nervous, stressed or anxious, or just want to relax. This program is based on the findings from studies of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback, and the longer version (15 to 20 min) has been used in clinical studies of treatment of hypertension, panic, asthma, major depression, fibromyalgia, and anxiety disorders....

- Dr Kevin Chen

'Green' exercise quickly 'boosts mental health'

This is a reprint from BBC News. The original may be found at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8654350.stm

Of course this makes a lot of sense! Getting outside into fresh air and sunshine (without the sunscreen, if you please!) is wonderfully uplifiting mentally, not to mention all the great things it does for you physically.

Mentally, the quiet alone reduces stress and worry reducing levels of stress hormones, and the sounds of the birds and animals is enjoyful which raises levels of good hormones. Just breathing fresh air is uplifting! Water sounds are always soothing - they often take us back to that primal water sound we were so comforted by in the womb. 

Physically, natural Vitamin D from sunshine supports many health functions in the body, and fresh air can do worlds of good in making sure your body is properly oxygenated.

Can you imagine just how great it would be to meditate or do qigong (Chinese moving yoga) in a beautiful, restful outdoor setting?! It sure would do a lot more than "boost mental health"!

Enjoy the article!

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Just five minutes of exercise in a "green space" such as a park can boost mental health, researchers claim.

There is growing evidence that combining activities such as walking or cycling with nature boosts well-being.

In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem.

The study in the Environmental Science and Technology journal suggested the strongest impact was on young people.

The research looked at many different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail.

The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes.

With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were clearly apparent but were of a smaller magnitude, the study found.

Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes - physical and mental - were particularly strong in the young and the mentally-ill.

Green and blue

A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water - such as a lake or river.

Study leader Jules Pretty, a researcher at the University of Essex, said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from "green exercise".

"Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health."

He also said exercise programmes outdoors could benefit youth offenders.

"A challenge for policy makers is that policy recommendations on physical activity are easily stated but rarely adopted widely."

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said the research is yet further evidence that even a short period of green exercise can provide a low cost and drug-free therapy to help improve mental wellbeing.

"It's important that people experiencing depression can be given the option of a range of treatments, and we would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate."

Mind runs a grant scheme for local environmental projects to help people with mental illness get involved in outdoor activities.

Relaxation Response Helps Cure and Prevent Genetic Stress-Related Illness

Below are two research reports showing that the invocation of the Relaxation Response can not only prevent illness, but reverse it as well.

Recent information states that 80% of all chronic illness is brought on by stress. It also has been shown that genetic-related illnesses are very frequently stress-related. When you have an "at risk" genetic marker, it does not mean that you will manifest that disease. That gene has to "express" first, it has to kick into the "on" position before the disease appears. Chronic stress is frequently the finger that presses the "on" button that causes chronic disease to manifest.

How to avoid chronic illness: No stress, no finger hitting the "on" button, no disease. Get it?

Your genes do NOT control you. You - and your lifestyle as it relates to stress - control which genes express and which ones do not. By reducing stress or by practicing meditation techniques like the Relaxation Response, you make the choice for wellness.

Enjoy the research reports below!

The therapeutic use of the relaxation response in stress-related diseases.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12601303

Med Sci Monit. 2003 Feb;9(2):RA23-34.

Esch T, Fricchione GL, Stefano GB.

The Mind/Body Medical Institute, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. tesch@aregroup.harvard.edu

The objective of this work was to investigate a possible (therapeutic) connection between the relaxation response (RR) and stress-related diseases. Further, common underlying molecular mechanisms and autoregulatory pathways were examined.

For the question of (patho)physiology and significance of RR techniques in the treatment of stress-related diseases, we analyzed peer-reviewed references only. The RR has been shown to be an appropriate and relevant therapeutic tool to counteract several stress-related disease processes and certain health-restrictions, particularly in certain immunological, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases/mental disorders.

Further, common underlying molecular mechanisms may exist that represent a connection between the stress response, pathophysiological findings in stress-related diseases, and physiological changes/autoregulatory pathways described in the RR. Here, constitutive or low-output nitric oxide (NO) production may be involved in a protective or ameliorating context, whereas inducible, high-output NO release may facilitate detrimental disease processes.

In mild or early disease states, a high degree of biological and physiological flexibility may still be possible (dynamic balance). Here, the therapeutic use of RR techniques may be considered particularly relevant, and the observable (beneficial) effects may be exerted via activation of constitutive NO pathways. RR techniques, regularly part of professional stress management or mind/body medical settings, represent an important tool to be added to therapeutic strategies dealing with stress-related diseases. Moreover, as part of 'healthy' life-style modifications, they may serve primary (or secondary) prevention. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the complex physiology underlying the RR and its impact upon stress-related disease states.

Genomic counter-stress changes induced by the relaxation response.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18596974

PLoS One. 2008 Jul 2;3(7):e2576.

Dusek JA, Otu HH, Wohlhueter AL, Bhasin M, Zerbini LF, Joseph MG, Benson H, Libermann TA.

Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Comment in:

• Forsch Komplementmed. 2009 Aug;16(4):271-3.
• Forsch Komplementmed. 2009 Feb;16(1):57-8.

BACKGROUND: Mind-body practices that elicit the relaxation response (RR) have been used worldwide for millennia to prevent and treat disease. The RR is characterized by decreased oxygen consumption, increased exhaled nitric oxide, and reduced psychological distress. It is believed to be the counterpart of the stress response that exhibits a distinct pattern of physiology and transcriptional profile. We hypothesized that RR elicitation results in characteristic gene expression changes that can be used to measure physiological responses elicited by the RR in an unbiased fashion.

METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We assessed whole blood transcriptional profiles in 19 healthy, long-term practitioners of daily RR practice (group M), 19 healthy controls (group N(1)), and 20 N(1) individuals who completed 8 weeks of RR training (group N(2)). 2209 genes were differentially expressed in group M relative to group N(1) (p<0.05) and 1561 genes in group N(2) compared to group N(1) (p<0.05). Importantly, 433 (p<10(-10)) of 2209 and 1561 differentially expressed genes were shared among long-term (M) and short-term practitioners (N(2)). Gene ontology and gene set enrichment analyses revealed significant alterations in cellular metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, generation of reactive oxygen species and response to oxidative stress in long-term and short-term practitioners of daily RR practice that may counteract cellular damage related to chronic psychological stress. A significant number of genes and pathways were confirmed in an independent validation set containing 5 N(1) controls, 5 N(2) short-term and 6 M long-term practitioners. 

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study provides the first compelling evidence that the RR elicits specific gene expression changes in short-term and long-term practitioners. Our results suggest consistent and constitutive changes in gene expression resulting from RR may relate to long term physiological effects. Our study may stimulate new investigations into applying transcriptional profiling for accurately measuring RR and stress related responses in multiple disease settings.

Type D Personality and How To Overcome theHealth Risks of Chronic Anxiety, Negativity, and Stress with Affirmations, Meditation, and Qigong

Are You a Type D Personality?

The article below is reprinted from Bottom Line's Daily Health News email newsletter of  March 9, 2010

What I love best about it is that it advocates the use of Meditation and Qigong (related to both tai-chi and yoga) to regain health and wellness. Affirmations would also work well in this situation, especially if you have a recording on iPod or CD that you listen to at night while asleep. These are very powerful techniques time-tested and study-proven to facilitate self-healing.

Are You a Type D Personality?

You’re probably aware of whether you tend toward a type A or type B personality, since those labels are part of our lexicon. What you may not know, however, is that there is a third type -- type D -- and it’s not a great category to find yourself in. The D stands for distress, and a growing body of research links this personality type with a variety of health risks and even early death -- so it may be especially important for these inhibited and gloomy folks to do everything they can to lighten up.

Remember Eeyore -- the sad, self-conscious donkey character in Winnie-the-Pooh? To my mind, he is a perfect illustration of the type D personality. He always expected the worst and therefore, that’s what he usually got. Traits associated with this personality type include social inhibition, a negative self-image, depressed mood, hostility, tension, chronic anger and a tendency to overreact to stressful events.


Type D & Death Risk

It’s already known that having this type D personality elevates risk for people who have had heart attacks, cardiac bypass surgery and/or stent implants. In new research from the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands, scientists set out to determine the impact of these characteristics on people with a common condition called peripheral artery disease (PAD), a circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs. People who have PAD have four to five times greater risk for heart attack and stroke.

Researchers asked 184 patients (average age 65) diagnosed with PAD to fill out a 14-item personality questionnaire to assess character traits, such as negativity and social inhibition. They rated statements such as "I would rather keep people at a distance" and "I often find myself worrying about something" as false or true on a scale of zero to four. During the next four years, 16 patients (9%) died -- six of cardiovascular disease, seven of cancer and one each from emphysema, pneumonia and acute pancreatitis. After factoring in other variables such as age, gender, diabetes and kidney disease, investigators learned that those with type D personalities were more than three times as likely to have died as those who were Type A or B.


How Distress Raises Risk

There are numerous pathways linking this particular personality type with poor health outcomes, I learned from study coauthor Johan Denollet, PhD, a professor of medical psychology at Tilburg University. Some are physical, other behavioral. For instance, Type D individuals tend to...

•    Experience chronic anxiety and negativity. Living in such a state has a variety of physical effects on your body, none beneficial. Chronic stress drives up levels of inflammatory proteins called cytokines, which leads to increased oxidative stress and contributes to disease. The adrenal glands respond to stress by pumping out cortisol, the hormone that helps us meet perceived threats. Having high and prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream causes serious problems, including blood sugar imbalances, reduced immunity, slower wound healing and increased abdominal fat.

•    Have poor health habits. Research has shown that people with type D personalities often neglect their health by eating improperly, not having medical checkups and being sedentary.

•    Are unlikely to be proactive in seeking medical care. Perhaps because they are unable to express their emotions and are tense, insecure and uncomfortable in social situations, type D individuals are often slow to seek the medical help they need. In one study, type D patients with chronic heart failure experienced more cardiac symptoms and worried more about them than other people but, paradoxically, were less likely to discuss them with health-care professionals. Other research demonstrates that heart failure patients with "inadequate consultation behavior" face a six-fold increased risk for impaired health.


What Can Help

Generally speaking, you can’t change your personality -- but if you recognize these traits in yourself or a loved one, there are plenty of things you can do to address the issues and minimize the impact on your health. For example, Dr. Denollet notes that type D personalities are more likely to experience anxiety and depression -- and points out that these can be managed to a significant degree with counseling and/or medication. Other strategies include...

•    Adopting healthier lifestyle behaviors, such as better diet and regular exercise.

•    Participating in programs or counseling to conquer addictions, such as smoking or alcohol abuse, or to improve social skills and learn to relax.

•    Using techniques such as guided imagery, breathing exercises, meditation, tai chi and yoga to help manage stress and mood and learn to control anger and hostility.

While you can’t change who you are, if you have a type D personality, you can take these concrete steps to make yourself healthier and, I’ll bet, happier.

Source(s):

Johan Denollet, PhD, professor of medical psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.

* * * End Quote * * *


If you would like help applying Affirmations, Meditation, or Qigong (Chi Kung) practice to this debilitating health issue, contact me at bewellwithmichelle@gmail.com

Guided Meditation Reverses Alzheimer's and Macular Degeneration

This article is reprinted with the author's permission from the website of the American Holistic Health Association of which I am also a member.

I can't add much more to this article than to say it's another stellar example of the healing power of the mind.

I believe this is the direction health care will take, harnessing your inherent power to heal, but only when you insist on using these methods will your healthcare provider get on board and work with you. If he or she refuses, please find a new, more open-minded health care provider!

Meanwhile, enjoy! And be ready to write your affirmation and record it after you read this article! ~Michelle~

Use of affirmations while sleeping

By Barbara Derrick, Ph.D.

Barbara Derrick, Ph.D. is a Summerville, SC psychotherapist in private practice. As president of ABC Holistic Wellness Foundation, she is a writer, lecturer, and researcher of holistic methods. She has lectured at holistic conferences and her work has appeared online and in national periodicals. Her primary study in improving symptoms of Alzheimer’s patients has proven successful. She believes in the Edgar Cayce contention that brain cells can be restored. You can contact Barbara at (843) 821-6532 or telldrbarb@bellsouth.net

Editor's Note: This is a true story. Wally's story also appeared in the July/August 2004 issue of Venture Inward [1], and his case history was presented at the 8th Annual Edgar Cayce Health Symposium in September, 2003

Introduction

Wally Decker is a widower who had cared for his wife of 52 years prior to her death. Though he was in his late 70s at the time, he took part in aerobics regularly and danced whenever he could find a partner. Like the hurricane that had once devastated the area around his South Carolina home, a storm arrived in Wally's life in 2002 at age 80. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He saw this diagnosis as a fate worse than death. For most of his life he had enjoyed perfect health. His Christian Science faith had sustained him through years clear of the usual maladies that plague most of us. As a matter of fact, he didn't even have a regular physician until he reached the age of 67. Now, his diagnosis presented him with a disaster worse than an ordinary lifetime's accumulation of illnesses. Wally's symptoms manifested as confusion, short term memory forgetfulness, and trouble with directional information causing him to go off in the wrong direction. His cognitive ability was diminishing also.

Case Study

When Wally called to tell me a clinical psychologist had diagnosed him with Alzheimer's the tremor in his voice told me how defeated he felt. Aside from delaying the progress of the disease, medical science offered little hope. He had been told that nothing had been found to cure the disease.

About that time I just happened to be at the same place as David McMillin, M.A., program director at the Health and Rejuvenation Research Center (HRRC), a division of the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) an organization that researches the body-mind-spirit connection and the readings of Edgar Cayce. [2]

David McMillin shared with me that the HRRC had just acquired a grant for an Alzheimer's research project to be titled, Suggestive Therapeutics Treatment and Protocol. The grant was funded by a private donor whose mother died from complications of Alzheimer's. After the protocol was formulated, slots would be open for those who qualified. One of the primary requirements for participation in the project was to have a medical doctor attest that a patient had Alzheimer's. The project's approach, focusing on assisting the body to heal itself, seemed to be a good match with Wally's early training in Christian Science. Our first step therefore was to get Wally's neurologist to attest that he had Alzheimer's.

When Wally and I went to his neurologist and explained the Suggestive Therapeutic Treatment Plan, however, his initial response was, "I don't believe in such stuff. And I don't want my name associated with anything like this." After some persistence on my part and hesitation on his part, the neurologist finally filled out the report and signed it.

We needed reports not only from physicians, but from family and friends who were asked to record their assessment of Wally's behavior. With my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and my psychotherapy practice I was also qualified to make certain assessments. I completed the reports and submitted all the color-coded papers. If requirements were met Wally could be a candidate for the Suggestive Therapeutics Treatment Plan and Research Protocol program.

As we waited for word of acceptance to the project, Wally began having doubts. Part of the program protocol required that he have a massage daily. This posed a challenge as he did not have anyone at home to do this and he could not imagine finding a massage therapist who could massage him each day. I advised him to wait for the decision of selection for the protocol and then try to conform to the protocol.

Finally, we heard that he had been selected. We reviewed the materials describing what was required to be part of the project. One important item was that Wally would need to have someone repeat an affirmation to him daily while he was relaxed. I thought of a way this could be accomplished. Just before one goes to sleep, there is a natural time of relaxation. He could listen to an affirmation at this time. I had used this pre-sleep intervention with clients many times and it had always worked well. Wally readily agreed to practice using the tape nightly if I made one for him.

My years of studying the Edgar Cayce readings had taught me that we should obtain approval before we offer a prayer or a meditation for anyone I wanted to be sure Wally could agree with every word. Working together, Wally and I prepared an affirmation that stated exactly what we wanted Wally to achieve. The affirmation read as follows:

As you relax, you are experiencing quiet, peace, happiness, and joy. You can feel God's love surrounding you. This allows you to rest in the knowledge that God's love is guiding you, helping you in every way to make each day good and purposeful. You have good, appreciative feelings for those around you, knowing that you wish every person in your life well and they hold you in high regard.

Your mind will move toward functioning well, and this will give you great pleasure. Your short-term memory is improving, your mind more alert and your recall of names and words improving day by day.

This time of relaxing will help to coordinate your nervous system and improve circulation through your body. The eliminating systems are removing toxins from your body. The foods that you eat will provide nourishment to your body.

You will be calm and cooperative to those around you at all times. You are self-sufficient. This makes you happy and proud. You will look forward to each day and enjoy life. Your short-term memory and your recollection of words and names are serving you well.

You are being healed -- you are becoming whole at all levels. The divine energy within you is rejuvenating your body, mind and spirit.

The voice he heard on the tape was mine. He trusted what I told him. That was good. I also knew if Wally told me he would do a certain thing, he would do it. He also had to keep a daily log of his activity relating to the program, which he did faithfully.

Wally began playing the tape each night just as he went to sleep. The meditation was repeated several times (for 30 minutes until the tape ran out) and he often fell asleep before the conclusion. But that was okay. He was still registering the words in his subconscious mind.

Up until this time, Wally had been falling asleep in front of the television, using a timer to turn the set off. In doing this, he had been opening himself to whatever happened to be on the television each night. In substituting the tape for the television news, his mind heard only the positive affirmations on the tape. Wally made a commitment to listen to the tape every night, get a massage every week, and follow the requirements of the Suggestive Therapeutics Treatment Plan and Research Protocol program.

True to his word, he found a massage therapy school in the area that would provide him a massage for a nominal fee. He obtained the required therapy regularly. As a matter of fact, according to the log sheet, the only three days he missed playing the affirmation tape were days when he was hospitalized for pneumonia. He compensated for this lapse by playing the tape for three mornings in addition to the usual evening tape.

During the period of time we were incorporating the affirmation tape and the massage into Wally's routine, he was told he had macular degeneration in his left eye. His doctor predicted he would eventually lose the sight in his left eye, which was his good eye. (The right eye had glaucoma). There was little the medical world could do, except to forestall the inevitable. He reconciled himself to the fact that he could not see well enough to drive at night. If he went out at night, he depended upon someone else to do the driving.

Assuming he would need to go into an assisted-living residence in the very near future, Wally decided to sell his house and began having repairs done. This independent man could soon become dependent on others because of his infirmities.

However, within 30 days of regular use of the tape changes became apparent in his behavior. He was happier. He looked upon others with a greater degree of compassion. He accepted the positions of others, even when he did not agree with them. He showed an unconditional positive regard for other people. Then Wally's eyesight began to improve. He was able to drive at night again.

A return visit to the neurologist brought good news. "I really thought you had Alzheimer's," the neurologist told him, "but now I don't think you have Alzheimer's after all." That was surprising. A clinical psychologist who does the testing for professionals in the area also agreed on this diagnosis. Wally asked him for an explanation but the doctor had none.

When Wally returned for a regular check-up by a professor in the department of ophthalmology at a well-respected medical university, he received more good news. This professor was the one who had made the diagnosis of dry macular degeneration in his left eye with the concurrence of another ophthalmologist. Now, he told Wally there was no longer evidence of macular degeneration.

Conclusion

The two illnesses that had distressed Wally so much were now non-existent. The affirmation tape purposely included the wider spectrum of overall good health as well as the Alzheimer's. He had been cooperative and diligent in his daily practice of using the tape, open to healing possibilities and followed the protocol to the full extent. It worked.

As of 2007, Wally is in his mid-80s. A recent check with his doctors confirmed that his condition is the same and they see few signs of Alzheimer's. He is still playing the tape, although not as often, is still driving, dancing and is self sufficient, living alone in his own home.

The results achieved by Wally through the Suggestive Therapeutics Treatment and Protocol have been replicated with other patients at the Mattie C. Hall Health Care Center in Aiken, SC (For details see article "Singing on the Alzheimer's Unit" by Barbara A. Derrick, Ph.D. that appeared in the September/October 2007 issue of Venture Inward. Used by permission, Venture Inward magazine, Edgar Cayce's A.R.E., www.EdgarCayce.org). The medical director has attested to the good results and benefits of the program. Dr. Mark Meyer attests to weight gain, positive behavior changes and psychotropic medication reduction. The final results of this program will be published in the September/ October 2007 issue of Venture Inward.

A full report of the Mattie C. Hall Health Care Center study, a copy of the affirmation used, and other CDs are available from the Association for Research and Enlightenment bookstore at (800) 333-4499. The next phase of this project is to find another health care facility willing to replicate the findings already medically documented in Aiken, South Carolina. Administrators and/or medical directors of interested health care facilities should contact Dr. Derrick.

References

[1] VENTURE INWARD: Bi-monthly magazine of Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), at Virginia Beach, Virginia.

[2] Known as the "sleeping prophet" Edgar Cayce for forty-three years demonstrated the uncanny ability to put himself into a self-induced state of relaxation and meditation that enabled him to place his mind in contact with all time and space. From this trance state he could respond to questions as diverse as "What are the secrets of the universe?" and "How can I remove a wart?" His responses to these questions came to be called "readings." His readings contain insights so valuable that even to this day individuals have found practical help for everything from maintaining a well-balanced diet and improving human relationships to overcoming life-threatening illnesses and experiencing a closer walk with God.

Practicing qigong can change your gene's response to stress

Below are some excerpts from "Researching the Benefits of Mind-Body Practice by Investigating Genetic Expression" by Roger Jahnke, OMD.

The full report on this exciting breakthrough in how practices like qigong can actually change gene expression is available on his website at www.instituteofintegralqigongandtaichi.org/pdfs/Qigong_GeneExpression.pdf

I have included a link to one of my earlier articles on telomeres, the protective caps on immune cells, and have made a few comments about holistic practices at the end of the quote.

First: Just what is "Gene Expression?" This, from wikipedia Gene expression is the process by which inheritable information from a gene, such as the DNA sequence, is made into a functional gene product, such as protein or RNA.

Regulation of gene expression is the cellular control of the amount and timing of appearance of the functional product of a gene. Any step of gene expression may be modulated, from the DNA-RNA transcription step to post-translational modification of a protein. Gene regulation gives the cell control over structure and function, and is the basis for cellular differentiation, morphogenesis and the versatility and adaptability of any organism.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_expression

So, with that in mind, here is the feature article:

*** Begin Quote ***

Page 4 – 5

In a number of press releases the authors of Genomic counter-stress changes induced by the relaxation response made a number of comments that are easily applicable to all three studies. They state that:

"This study provides the first compelling evidence that the RR [relaxation response] elicits specific gene expression changes in short-term and long- term practitioners."

Actually the other studies were earlier and they all suggest this.

The Genomic Counter-stress authors wrote that their findings suggest:

"Consistent and constitutive changes in gene expression resulting from RR may relate to long term physiological effects," and that "Our study may stimulate new investigations into applying transcriptional profiling for accurately measuring RR and stress related responses in multiple disease settings."

It is likely that these studies portend a “sea change” in research and will trigger an outpouring of similar research. Dr. Herbert Benson, professor emeritus of Harvard University and director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute and co-senior author of the study said:

"Now we've found how changing the activity of the mind can alter the way basic genetic instructions are implemented," said Benson.

Dr. Towia Libermann, director of the BIDMC Genomics Center and also co-senior

author of the study added:

"This is the first comprehensive study of how the mind can affect gene expression, linking what has been looked on as a 'soft' science with the 'hard' science of genomics.” "It is also important because of its focus on gene expression in healthy individuals, rather than in disease states," explained Libermann.

The authors said their study showed that the relaxation response changed the expression of genes involved with inflammation, programmed cell death and the handling of free radicals. Free radicals are normal byproducts of metabolism that the body neutralizes in order to stop damage to cells and tissues.

Page 5 – 6

Probably the most compelling statement from the article on the findings of the study was “It is becoming increasingly clear that psychosocial stress can manifest as system-wide perturbations of cellular processes, generally increasing oxidative stress and promoting a pro-inflammatory milieu. Stress associated changes in peripheral blood leukocyte expression of single genes have been identified. More recently, chronic psychosocial stress has been associated with accelerated aging at the cellular level. Specifically, shortened telomeres, low telomerase activity, decreased anti-oxidant capacity and increased oxidative stress are correlated with increased psychosocial stress and with increased vulnerability to a variety of disease states.”

These 3 studies strongly suggest that Mind-Body practices, especially those that trigger a sustained and accumulative RR effect – a counter stress effect – can prevent and ameliorate disease. This effect of Mind-Body practice on gene expression transforms the landscape of scientific exploration and launches an entirely new direction for the investigation for the emerging field of health maximization based integrative medicine.

Page 21 – 22

It is becoming increasingly clear that psychosocial stress can manifest as system-wide perturbations of cellular processes, generally increasing oxidative stress and promoting a pro-inflammatory milieu [23]–[25]. Stress associated changes in peripheral blood leukocyte expression of single genes have been identified [26]–[28]. More recently, chronic psychosocial stress has been associated with accelerated aging at the cellular level. Specifically, shortened telomeres, low telomerase activity, decreased anti-oxidant capacity and increased oxidative stress are correlated with increased psychosocial stress [29] and with increased vulnerability to a variety of disease states [30]. Stress-related changes in GEP have been demonstrated by microarray analysis in healthy subjects, including up-regulation of several cytokines/chemokines and their receptors [31], and in individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, including inflammation, apoptosis and stress response [32] as well as metabolism and RNA processing pathways [33]. The pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-kappa B (NF-κB) which is activated by psychosocial stress has been identified as a potential link between stress and oxidative cellular activation [34].

[For a brief explanation of the connection between telomeres (the protective caps on the ends of immune cells) and stress, see my post "Scientists identify mechanism behind mind-body connection" http://successstressrelief.blogspot.com/2008/07/scientists-identify-mechanism-behind.html on my Stress Relief for Savvy Women blog.]

The RR is clinically effective for ameliorating symptoms in a variety of stress-related disorders including cardiovascular, autoimmune and other inflammatory conditions and pain [15]. We hypothesize that RR elicitation is associated with systemic gene expression changes in molecular and biochemical pathways involved in cellular metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation/generation of reactive oxygen species and response to oxidative stress and that these changes to some degree serve to ameliorate the negative impact of stress. Genome-wide evaluation of PBL GEP is a reasonable approach to survey the transcriptional changes that are involved in elicitation of the RR. The GEP of RR practitioners presented here reveals altered gene expression in specific functional groups which suggest a greater capacity to respond to oxidative stress and the associated cellular damage. Genes including COX7B, UQCRB and CASP2 change in opposite direction from that in the stress response [31], [32].

Our findings are relatively consistent with those found in a study of Qi Gong [17], a practice that elicits the RR. In their study of 6 Qi Gong practitioners and 6 aged matched controls, practitioners had down-regulation of ubiquitin, proteasome, ribosomal protein and stress response genes and mixed up- and down-regulation of genes involved in apoptosis and immune function. We find a similar pattern of GO categories that are significantly over-represented in GO or enriched in GSEA in our cross sectional comparison, M vs. N1. However, in our data-set ribosomal proteins were up-regulated.

Overall, similar genomic pattern changes occurred in practitioners of a specific mind body technique (Qi Gong) as well as in our long-term practitioners who utilized different RR practices including Vipassana, mantra, mindfulness or transcendental meditation, breath focus, Kripalu or Kundalini Yoga, and repetitive prayer. This indicates there is a common RR state regardless of the techniques used to elicit it.

Footnotes included in the above quoted materials:

15. Astin JA, Shapiro SL, Eisenberg DM, Forys KL (2003) Mind-body medicine: state of the science, implications for practice. J Am Board Fam Pract 16: 131–147.

17. Li QZ, Li P, Garcia GE, Johnson RJ, Feng L (2005) Genomic profiling of neutrophil transcripts in Asian Qigong practitioners: a pilot study in gene regulation by mind-body interaction. J Altern Complement Med 11: 29–39.

23. Irie M, Asami S, Nagata S, Miyata M, Kasai H (2002) Psychological mediation of a type of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hyDr.oxydeoxyguanosine, in peripheral blood leukocytes of non-smoking and non-Dr.inking workers. Psychother Psychosom 71: 90–96.

24. Yamaguchi T, Shioji I, Sugimoto A, Yamaoka M (2002) Psychological stress increases bilirubin metabolites in human urine. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 293: 517–520.

25. Zheng KC, Ariizumi M (2007) Modulations of immune functions and oxidative status induced by noise stress. J Occup Health 49: 32–38.

26. Glaser R, Kennedy S, Lafuse WP, Bonneau RH, Speicher C, et al. (1990) Psychological stress-induced modulation of interleukin 2 receptor gene expression and interleukin 2 production in peripheral blood leukocytes. Arch Gen Psychiatry 47: 707–712.

27. Glaser R, Lafuse WP, Bonneau RH, Atkinson C, Kiecolt-Glaser JK (1993) Stress-associated modulation of proto-oncogene expression in human peripheral blood leukocytes. Behav Neurosci 107: 525–529.

28. Platt JE, He X, Tang D, Slater J, Goldstein M (1995) C-fos expression in vivo in human lymphocytes in response to stress. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 19: 65–74.

29. Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, et al. (2004) Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101: 17312–17315.

30. Epel ES, Lin J, Wilhelm FH, Wolkowitz OM, Cawthon R, et al. (2006) Cell aging in relation to stress arousal and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Psychoneuroendocrinology 31: 277–287.

31. Morita K, Saito T, Ohta M, Ohmori T, Kawai K, et al. (2005) Expression analysis of psychological stress-associated genes in peripheral blood leukocytes. Neurosci Lett 381: 57–62.

32. Zieker J, Zieker D, Jatzko A, Dietzsch J, Nieselt K, et al. (2007) Differential gene expression in peripheral blood of patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Mol Psychiatry 12: 116–118.

33. Segman RH, Shefi N, Goltser-Dubner T, Friedman N, Kaminski N, et al. (2005) Peripheral blood mononuclear cell gene expression profiles identify emergent post-traumatic stress disorder among trauma survivors. Mol Psychiatry 10: 500–513, 425.

34. Bierhaus A, Wolf J, AnDr.assy M, Rohleder N, Humpert PM, et al. (2003) A mechanism converting psychosocial stress into mononuclear cell activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100: 1920–1925.

*** EndQuote ***

Bottom Line: Qigong, mindfulness meditation, the use of mantras and other chants, and other mind-body practices can change how your genes respond to stress! If this occurs at the cellular level, it is an indication that qigong and other mind-body practices can actually change your cells or cellular activity.

As a stress-relief consultant and qigong instructor, I can help you to use these methods, enabling you to be healthier, avoid "a variety of stress-related disorders including cardiovascular, autoimmune and other inflammatory conditions and pain" (see above), age slower, look younger, live longer, and life a fuller and happier life!

Contact me through the form in the sidebar or through my email address in my profile. I am committed to helping you relieve stress in the natural and holistic ways that work best for your mind, body, and spirit.

Daoism on Concentration

19th century Phrenology chart, from Fowlers & Wells

courtesy Wikimedia

"Imagination, song, the soaring spirit.
Separate them to know them as aspects of the whole,
Join them to know the mystery of totality.”

"The mind, if focused, can become the most powerful force we know. Yet for most of us, we are lost in the vastness of our own uncharted minds. We play around with different aspects, find certain modes that we can get by with, and leave the rest unexplored. Those who follow Tao do not do this. They want to explore all the dimensions of the mind so that they may find a wholly integral mode of consciousness.

"The primary means of exploration is through concentration of the mind. Practitioners first select an aspect and delve into it by daily focus. Only when they have fully understood do they go on. It is like studying. When you are first introduced to a subject, you must put your attention to work in order to master the knowledge. Such concentration leads to absorption, like mixing liquids together in a bottle: Once they are combined, they cannot be distinguished from one another.

"With concentration, all the various aspects of the mind can be joined together into one superconscious mode. Sound is the same as sight, taste is the same as smell, touch is the same as thought, and all that we are is identical with the spiritual energy that resides within us. In this high concentration, there is complete union, and we feel the joy of total integration with all our facets."

"Concentration" from 365 Tao: Daily Meditations by Deng Ming-Dao.

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Some years ago here in the U.S. a television commercial solicited money to send young minority students to college. The tag line was "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

When you think about your ability to concentrate or to be focused, you realize that you waste an awful lot of your mental acumen on flitting thoughts and idle mental chatter. This contributes to stress by making you feel unproductive, unable to cope with whatever is going on, and just generally ineffective.

Not only that, concentration seems to be something of the past in this day of multi-tasking where you type away on a laptop computer or a PDA, and engage in a phone conversation at the same time. These demands on your mental resources also contribute to stress.

When was the last time you were driving, eating, and talking on your cell phone all at the same time? I'll bet it was not all that long ago....last week? Yesterday? This morning? When was the last time you were reading a book for pleasure or a bedtime story to your children but kept losing your place as you mentally slipped over to tomorrow's "To Do" list?

The mind is an amazing thing, but it can concentrate on only one thing at a time. Consider this experiment: in a dark room, you must read two reports on related topics. The "light" that allows you to read each report is your mind but, like a flashlight, it enables you to concentrate on only one page at a time.

Shine your mind (the flashlight) on one piece of paper and read the first sentence. Now, flick the light over to the other piece of paper and read that first sentence. Now, flip back to the first paper and read the second sentence; flip to the second paper and read the second sentence; flip to the first paper and read the third sentence; flip to the second paper and read the third sentence. I encourage you to perform this little experiment for real and then assess how much of the content of any of those sentences is still in your mind, and how well you can distinguish the writings from the first paper to the second.

How well did you do?

Not only did you start to get stressed out, but the information from each of the reports is all jumbled together, isn't it? Now, multiply the results of the experiment by twelve, fourteen, even sixteen hours each and every day.

This is how most people use the “most powerful force we know,” by dividing it and scattering it until it is useless. Think of the most powerful army in the world. How powerful would it be if its forces were divided and scattered all over the globe? (You’ve heard of “divide and conquer,” haven’t you?) Your army would be very weak and ineffective, and so too is your mind when you scatter your mental forces in too many directions, onto too many tasks at once.

Consider the accomplishments of someone you admire; an Olympic athlete perhaps, or a wealthy entrepreneur or successful business-person. Do you think this person rose to the heights of fame or fortune he or she enjoys by flitting from one thing to another? Or, did he or she use dedication, focus, and concentration to achieve his or her success?

This is the most important statement in today’s writing: "The mind, if focused, can become the most powerful force we know.” If you are completely focused, if you are mindfully dedicated to attaining whatever goal you set for yourself no matter how large or small it is, You Cannot Fail.

Brain Scans Reveal Why Meditation Works

This is a news story from Live Science published a couple of weeks ago on Yahoo! I love it when science catches up with empirical knowledge, I really do – no sarcasm intended. For people who need that reassurance, this sort of investigation and result just validates what we holistic practitioners have promised for a long time: great results without the worry about costly pharmaceuticals and their undesirable, often debilitating side effects.

Meditation has been known for thousands of years as a safe, holistic way to calm the body and the mind.

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Brain Scans Reveal Why Meditation Works

Melinda Wenner Sat Jun 30, 2007

If you name your emotions, you can tame them, according to new research that suggests why meditation works.

Brain scans show that putting negative emotions into words calms the brain's emotion center. That could explain meditation’s purported emotional benefits, because people who meditate often label their negative emotions in an effort to “let them go.”

Psychologists have long believed that people who talk about their feelings have more control over them, but they don't know why it works.

UCLA psychologist Matthew Lieberman and his colleagues hooked 30 people up to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines, which scan the brain to reveal which parts are active and inactive at any given moment.

They asked the subjects to look at pictures of male or female faces making emotional expressions. Below some of the photos was a choice of words describing the emotion—such as “angry” or “fearful”—or two possible names for the people in the pictures, one male name and one female name.

When presented with these choices, the subjects were asked to pick the most appropriate emotion or gender-appropriate name to fit the face they saw.

When the participants chose labels for the negative emotions, activity in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex region—an area associated with thinking in words about emotional experiences—became more active, whereas activity in the amygdala, a brain region involved in emotional processing, was calmed.

By contrast, when the subjects picked appropriate names for the faces, the brain scans revealed none of these changes—indicating that only emotional labeling makes a difference.

“In the same way you hit the brake when you’re driving when you see a yellow light, when you put feelings into words, you seem to be hitting the brakes on your emotional responses,” Lieberman said of his study, which is detailed in the current issue of Psychological Science.

In a second experiment, 27 of the same subjects completed questionnaires to determine how “mindful” they are.

Meditation and other “mindfulness” techniques are designed to help people pay more attention to their present emotions, thoughts and sensations without reacting strongly to them. Meditators often acknowledge and name their negative emotions in order to “let them go.”

When the team compared brain scans from subjects who had more mindful dispositions to those from subjects who were less mindful, they found a stark difference—the mindful subjects experienced greater activation in the right ventrolateral prefrontral cortex and a greater calming effect in the amygdala after labeling their emotions.

“These findings may help explain the beneficial health effects of mindfulness meditation, and suggest, for the first time, an underlying reason why mindfulness meditation programs improve mood and health,” said David Creswell, a UCLA psychologist who led the second part of the study, which will be detailed in Psychosomatic Medicine.

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Michelle here.....

To learn more about Mindfulness Meditation and how it can help you achieve health and wellness, read the book by Jon Kabot-Zinn, Ph.D., the man who created the modern, stress-reducing program for the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. This book describes that program:

Summing up meditation

Since the meditation series spanned more time than I would have liked due to my computer problem, I thought I’d do a bit of a summary to bring it all back together.

Meditation is the introduction to what meditation is and what it can do for you. The rest of the series describes the major styles of meditation from most active to most contemplative. I know you can find one that is just right for you!

Walking Meditation tells you how to synchronize walking with breathing, and discusses two forms of walking meditation: random and labyrinth or pattern walking.

Standing Meditation introduces you to zhan zhuang qigong, the energy practice of “standing like a tree.” To learn more about qigong, see Eight Pieces of Brocade Qigong. I will also be talking more about qigong in the future, so stay tuned!

Journaling and Mandala Meditation is about stream-of-consciousness writing and art. This post contains links to several sites with free mandala drawings you may print and color.

Mantra and Mudra Meditation discusses the use of sound and vibration in meditation, and the use of hand acupressure to stimulate the flow of your qi, your internal energy.

Focus and Visualization Meditation are two different sides of the Art of Paying Attention.

Breath and Seated Meditation, the most contemplative of the meditation methods, discusses how to sit (and why!), and several breathing styles.

The wonderful Tree of Contemplative practices picture is courtesy of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. They have made available several sizes of the image for download. Thanks to JLB for letting me know about this image…I just love it!

Breath and Seated Meditation

Breath and Seated Meditation is sometimes called Insight Meditation because the practice has been known to lead to those “Ah-Ha!” moments.

On the surface, seated meditation appears to be the least active of the meditation styles which may be why it is considered to be the most difficult. If you are usually a very active person, doing what you perceive as “sitting and doing nothing” can be challenging. It goes against the grain of Western education and culture to not be “doing something” every waking moment. It’s very important to understand that while conscious physical activity is at a minimum during this style of meditation, you are far from “doing nothing.” There is quite a lot going on, energetically speaking, within your body and mind during seated meditation.

As with every meditation style, you should always strive to practice daily; the benefits of meditation are cumulative, so practicing five minutes every day will be more beneficial in the long run than a once-a-week marathon session lasting an hour or two.

The first thing to do for seated meditation is to be seated comfortably.

The Lotus Position is best for seated meditation. Take note of the picture above and notice how the toes are pressing on the thigh. I believe that posture is important, and will explain why in a moment.

The second best position can be attained easily by kneeling and using a meditation bench. Usually made of wood, these can be found from very simple to very elaborate designs, and come in two styles, one center leg or two legs. I prefer the center-leg version because I find it much easier to get into and out of the seated position, and it allows more freedom of leg movement. When using a meditation bench of either style, the tops of your feet will be on the floor and your toes will be pressing onto the floor from the top and outer-edge angle. (I’ll come back to that foot position soon.) The added benefit of kneeling while using a meditation bench is that you are not sitting on your legs and completely cutting off your circulation!

If neither of those postures suits you, just be seated comfortably in a chair with good back, shoulder, and neck support. Do not put your arms on the arms of the chair. That posture often forces your shoulders into a hunched position which creates tension and discomfort. Find something rounded that you can rest your foot on; it should be something fairly small (any smooth, round object about an inch in diameter is perfect) that will rest comfortably under your foot in the soft spot just behind the ball of the foot.

For all three seated styles, keep your elbows at your sides, and let your hands rest in your lap. You may do a mudra if you wish. (If you aren’t familiar with mudras, see Mantra and Mudra Meditation.)

Now, about that foot position: Here is why I believe it is important to sit in a position that creates pressure on that upper, outer edge of the toes and feet. On the side of the little toe that touches the toe beside it is the start point for the kidney meridian, an upward-flowing energy pathway that travels from your toes to your kidneys and onward. The spot just behind the ball of the foot is the second point on that energy pathway. By stimulating these points in the feet, you encourage the energy to flow in its upward direction. When it reaches the kidney, the main energy path continues on, travels through the liver, through the lungs, and ends at the base of the tongue. As this energy channel passes through the lungs, a secondary channel branches off, passes through the heart, and connects with yet another energy channel in the chest area. Knowledge of this energy flow is important because, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the kidney is the storehouse of your life essence, that energy that keeps the form of your body working and in balance, the source for growth, development, and reproduction. By placing your feet in a position that puts slight pressure on the first or second points of the kidney channel, I believe you are in effect giving yourself a mild acupressure treatment, and encouraging the flow of health-restoring, harmonizing, life essence energy through four very vital organs: kidney, liver, lungs and heart.

There are three breathing styles you may practice during seated meditation.

The first is “Belly Breathing,” or Tan Tien Breathing. Breathe slowly and deeply, filling your lungs. Inhale as though you are breathing so deeply that the oxygen is filling your lungs, your chest, and your abdomen. Always inhale through the nose; you may exhale either through the nose or the mouth. Done correctly, your abdomen will expand slightly as you inhale, and return to normal on the exhale. Of course, don’t “push” out the abdominal area, just let it rise and fall naturally. This breathing style is fluid; do not pause between breaths. You may count breaths if it helps your focus, or simply apply your attention to a positive emotion and let each inhaling breath fill you with gratitude, compassion, love, or the emotion of your choice. As you exhale, see yourself sharing the gratitude, compassion, or love with your family, your friends, your community, and beyond if you like. You may want to start with a five-minute session (yes, it’s okay to use a timer!) and build up to the amount of time that suits your schedule; twenty to forty minutes a day is recommended.

Another breathing style you may want to experiment with is breath pausing. This is performed the same as Tan Tien breathing, but you pause for a few seconds between each inhale and exhale. This style promotes deep relaxation. An advanced version of this practice is to lengthen the pauses between inhale and exhale until the pause is equal in length to the count of the inhale or exhale. For example, say you inhale to the count of 4, pause for a moment, then exhale to the count of four. The normal practice would be to hold the breath to the count of one then exhale. In the advanced practice, you may lengthen the pause to a two, three, or four count.

Alternate breathing is a style in which you inhale and exhale alternately through only the nostrils. It helps to balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain. To practice, put your hands in the prayer position, and rest your thumbs under your chin. Place your index fingers so they rest on the sides of your nose.

1 - Press the left index finger on the left nostril so that nostril is closed and inhale through the right nostril.

2 - Release the left nostril, press the right nostril closed with your right index finger and exhale through the left.

3 – Don’t move your fingers; keep your right nostril closed and inhale through the left nostril.

4 - Press the left index finger on the left nostril so that nostril is closed and exhale through the right nostril.

5 - Repeat steps 1 through 4.

Are you vibrating at a higher frequency?

If you meditate, the answer is probably “Yes.”

If you have ever heard someone claim to be “vibrating at a higher frequency,” or if you have read things like “As humanity begins to vibrate at a higher level...” and thought it was a bit strange and “New-Age” (it’s actually very scientific), here is what that is all about. I have to admit that the reason I researched this topic was partly because you hear it everywhere these days, and partly because someone I trust actually told me I was vibrating at a higher frequency; I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to spontaneously combust or anything.

Brainwave frequencies as measured by EEG (electroencephalograph) are measured as follows (though there are slight variations on the ranges of cycles per second from source to source):

Delta: 0.5 to 4 Hz. (Hz or Hertz = cycles per second) Deep, dreamless sleep.

Theta 4 to 8 Hz. Deeply relaxed; daydreaming (the state between wakefulness and sleep).

Alpha 8 to 13 Hz. Relaxed but not sleepy.

Beta 13 to 27 Hz. Focused attention, alert mental activity

Gamma 25 to 42 Hz. Very high level information processing. “When the brain needs to simultaneously process information from different areas, its hypothesized that the 40Hz activity consolidates the required areas for simultaneous processing.” http://www.crossroadsinstitute.org/

This “higher vibration level” topic is usually spoken of within the context of recognition of spiritual energy or achievement. It takes time and dedication to achieve brainwave consistency at this vibration level, but it can be accomplished through meditation. It’s likely that the most devoted practitioners are found in Buddhist monasteries where up to eight hours a day is spent in meditation.

A small study compared the brainwave frequencies of long-term Buddhist meditation practitioners who routinely “vibrated at a higher level” in the Gamma range to a group of people who didn’t. These people expressed interest in meditation but had never practiced. The results of the study were extremely interesting [my emphasis]:

“Our study is consistent with the idea that attention and affective processes, which gamma-band EEG synchronization may reflect, are flexible skills that can be trained [i.e. learned]. It remains for future studies to show that these EEG signatures are caused by long-term training itself and not by individual differences before the training, although the positive correlation that we found with hours of training and other randomized controlled trials suggest that these are training-related effects.”

You may read the full study here: “Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice”

The bottom line is: Yes, meditation can not only relax your body, lower your blood pressure, restore health and wellness, it can raise your level of vibration and lead to permanent improvements in many areas of brain function!

Focus and Visualization Meditation

Focus and visualization meditations are about two different ways of seeing. Focus uses your eyes to concentrate on objects usually for the purpose of relaxation. Visualization uses the power of your mind for relaxation, or to see and even manifest your desires.

Focus

Focus meditation is an excellent tool for calming the mind. Here you are, it's half-an-hour before bedtime and you know you're going to be tossing and turning for hours because the events of the day just keep running through your mind like a horror movie; the guy who rear-ended you at the traffic light, your boss yelled at you about a project that isn't even yours, a coworker is backbiting you, your dog ate the newspaper and your slippers, your spouse had to work late, and so on……whew, no wonder you can't relax!

For the purpose of relaxation, focus meditation is a way to release the emotions that create your mental anxiety and physical tension. For example, you probably wouldn't be so upset if the guy who rear-ended you at the traffic light had insurance, the boss had given you a chance to get a word in edgewise, and the dog ate yesterday's newspaper instead of today's. Focus meditation requires such diligent concentration that your problems are crowded out, allowing you to physically relax.

Your mind can focus only on one thing at a time, and the more dedicated you are to the focal point, the more everything else is shut out. For example, just about everyone has done this at one time or another: while reading a book (the focal point), you completely lose track of time (time has been shut out). It wasn't your intention to lose track of time, but that is the outcome of deeply focused attention.

To use this meditation technique to relax, choose an item that is pleasing to the eye. It can be anything you like, from a simple geometric shape on paper to an item you hold in your hand, to the flame of a candle you set in a convenient but safe location. This item should be one to which you have no emotional attachment; that is, the item will not generate strong feelings of any kind – it should be completely neutral since you are meditating to neutralize the emotions that are creating tension and anxiety.

The item you choose should be one that will hold your attention for a while; the more detailed the object is, the easier it will be to focus on it for an extended length of time, say fifteen to twenty minutes. For example, it will be much easier to focus for fifteen minutes on the intricacies of the mandala you made or colored than to focus on a simple red rubber ball which may hold your attention for about five minutes.

A word about focusing on moving objects…the flame of a candle is fine; it's small and contained. Don't choose things that move quickly, or things that move in and out of your field of vision. You'll spend all your time following the movement and not enough time concentrating.

When you have your object and you're ready to start, get comfortable! If you are performing this technique to ease yourself into a good night's sleep, go ahead and get into bed. Otherwise, be seated comfortably in your favorite chair, or recline on the sofa. Hold your object in such a way that it is easy to see without being tiring to hold. In most cases, it is better to have the object on a table in front of you so you can view it without holding it at all so that all of your muscles (including hands, arms, and shoulders) have the opportunity to relax.

Gaze comfortably at your object, don't stare. It isn't a contest to see how long you can watch an item, it's to put all of your attention in one place and let everything else go. Get to know the object with your eyes, every nook and cranny, every color, every texture. You may even imagine its taste or smell if you like. When other thoughts intrude on your examination of the object, just let them go without emotion. Don't intentionally dismiss them or try to forget them – that actually gives them more attention, not less. Deprive unwanted thoughts and emotions of all attention and energy by gently bringing your focus back to your object.

Pay some attention to your breathing as you examine your object and try to breathe deeply at the relaxing rate of about ten breaths per minute.

A mistake that many people make with this technique is to chastise themselves, and become angry or frustrated when unwanted thoughts and emotions occur because they feel they aren't blocking them successfully. Don't let that happen to you. These thoughts are supposed to occur! By doing this technique, you are psychologically training yourself to let go of intrusive thoughts and emotions when you need to relax and rest. These thoughts and emotions need to come into your thoughts so that you can dismiss them, you can say "not now" to them, you can let them go and relax. There is a difference between blocking unwanted thoughts and emotions (which often causes anxiety and stress) and letting them go; you are working here on letting go part. You can't let go of something if you don't have it; you can't let go an intrusive thought or anxiety-creating emotion until you have it and then let it go.

(Of course, if you have ongoing or severe anxiety problems, you should seek stress counseling, or even work with an excellent psychotherapist.)

Depending on how tense you are when you begin this technique, you may want to take fifteen to thirty minutes to relax. When finished, go ahead and turn off the light and go to sleep or, if this was a break and you now need to continue with the rest of your day, stand up and stretch for a minute. A five or ten minute focused meditation in the middle of the day is a great way to relieve tension and anxiety. It allows you to better focus on the rest of your upcoming tasks because you've given yourself that extra little bit of TLC, and any focus and concentration training practice will carry through and enable better focus and concentration in every area of your day.

Visualization

Visualization is focus without the item. Instead of gazing at something outside of yourself, you use your mind's eye to imagine a scene that brings you relaxation or release.

This technique is similar to focus in that it requires so much of your attention that intrusive thoughts and emotions are shut out. It is different in that you have the opportunity to have fun and be creative if you like.

There are two methods of using visualization techniques, the guided visualization and the visualization you create yourself.

Guided visualizations usually come on CD or DVD (though there are probably a few on the internet). You settle yourself in a comfortable position and participate as the scene described on the CD or DVD unfolds around you. There are many, many varieties to choose from; nature walks through a forest, lying on the beach, hanging out near a waterfall. There are other visualizations available that help you work on specific problems. These usually guide you through a method of letting go or cutting away unwanted problems and anxieties.

Self-created visualizations can be used for anything from stress and anxiety relief to manifesting the things you want. (This is called the Law of Attraction and states that the things on which you put your attention and energy are the things that will come to you. Be careful with your thoughts, though…if you always think "I don't have enough money" you will always not have enough money! I may write more about visualization and manifestation later, but for now I want to focus on stress and anxiety relief.)

Visualizations often work best if you take a few minutes to go through a progressive relaxation first. For instructions, read Progressive Relaxation Technique from the "Living Stress-Free ~ Naturally!" archives.

If you find a guided meditation or visualization you like and it is in print, you may record it and play it back, or read through it a few times and then let your imagination run with it. It's okay if you change it a little and tailor it to your needs. If you record it for playback, remember to speak slowly and distinctly. Oftentimes, guided visualizations are read too fast, and much of the benefit is lost. You won't relax if you are straining to hear the words or hurrying to follow the guide!

Here is a sample you may use, a visualization for getting rid of problems.

Imagine that you are in a museum. See yourself standing in a crowded room, the walls covered with tastefully arranged beautiful paintings. Imagine that all the other people in the room are all the problems nagging you and keeping you from relaxing. Hear them talking all around you and buzzing like angry mosquitoes, bugging you, demanding your attention. You walk away from them, but they follow. They continue to annoy you. Keep walking away from them and ignoring them. (Never imagine or visualize anything bad or harmful happening to anyone or anything, always just walk away from the problem). One particular painting on the wall captures your interest. Walk toward it through the swarm of people still buzzing like angry mosquitoes. Stand before the painting…it is most incredible! The colors are amazing! The style is sublime! You can almost feel the textures of the paint on the canvas. As you admire and enjoy the painting, the noise around you becomes less and less, the people become fewer and fewer. Without reacting, you notice that they are leaving…one by one they exit through the doors of the room. You return your attention to the painting, continuing to admire its beauty…even the frame is just perfect. Around you, the room becomes quieter and quieter as the people leave, as the problems leave, one by one, out the door, until you are surrounded only by the beauty and the silence of the art. (You may want to repeat the "problems leave, one-by-one, out the door" phrase as many times as it takes to visualize all the problems departing.

That is a very basic visualization meditation. You may include other details or ideas to make it as alive to your five senses as possible, perhaps imagining the scent of something, or a taste….maybe imagine it’s a new exhibit and you had a sample from the complimentary wine and cheese buffet!

To be most effective, guided visualizations should seem as alive as possible, so feel free to include whatever details help you make the scene as real as you can. You may suspend "real" reality and visualize yourself on different planets, in mythical places, or with imaginary creatures if it helps you to relax. The only rule is "do whatever works for you as long as it is positive and beneficial."

Here are a few guided meditation resources:

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