The Relaxation Response
When you are in Deep Relaxation, your body is experiencing the Relaxation Response. This is a natural state in which your body and mind are calm and relaxed. Physical and emotional healing occur when the body is in the Relaxation Response.
This is very different from what you are experiencing when you are stressed. The Stress Response (sometimes called fight-or-flight) is when your body is mobilized to the highest degree, as if you had a sabre-toothed tiger to fight – or flee from. Chronic high levels of stress lead to bodily systems remaining in a highly activated state – which is why you feel such deep fatigue sometimes.
For comparison, here’s what’s going on in your body when you are experiencing the Stress Response or the Relaxation Response.
Body System |
Stress
Response |
Relaxation
Response |
Cardiovascular |
heart rate up
blood pressure up
cholesterol up
|
heart rate slowed
blood pressure stable
blood lactate levels decline
|
Immune |
more susceptible to infection
risk of autoimmune disorders |
immune system boosted |
Nervous |
anxiety
depression
irritability
sleep disorders
decreased libido
|
sense of wellbeing
improved sleep
normal libido
slower brain wave patterns
|
Digestion |
digestion slowed
increased appetite
|
normal digestive processes |
Herbert Benson, the medical researcher who first studied the Relaxation Response, defined it thus: "a physiological state characterized by a slower heart rate, metabolism, rate of breathing, lower blood pressure, and slower brain wave patterns."
The Stress Response, while helpful in emergencies, is damaging to health when it is chronic. The body is not designed to function normally with high levels of stress hormones always present. Fight or flight systems are activated, for immediate response. This leads to physical, mental and emotional exhaustion and depletion.
The Relaxation Response is the body’s natural healing mechanism. Everything in the system quiets down, allowing the immune system and other healing and regenerative processes to work. It is deeply restful and restorative to the body and the mind – and the antidote to Stress.
Listening to Disc One of The Alchemy of Peace and Love teaches you relaxation techniques and guides you in the process of relaxing your body and mind into Deep Relaxation – which is the Relaxation Response.
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To read other articles on this topic go to:
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Recommended books:
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