The pandemic is wearing on people. There will be a few meditations going up on my YouTube channel, but I wanted to call your attention to this longer meditation for relaxation I posted today

Relaxation is literally the antidote to stress. While some feel that relaxation is just a fancy or mainstream-friendly term for meditation, it goes deeper than that. Dr Herbert Benson‘s research describes the relaxation response as being something elicited by meditation, not the meditation itself. It seems to be the biochemical opposite of stress, a hypothalamic response which is consistent with a state of decreased sympathetic-nervous-system activity.

MRI shows increased activity in the higher-functioning portions of the brain (the areas associated with reasoning and rational thought, rather than instinct)

Breathing slows while oxygen concentration in the blood remains constant or increases slightly

Blood pressure lowers

PMS symptoms improve

The frequency of premature ventricular contractions in patients with proven, stable ischæmic heart-disease decreases

Brain chemistry over time, even when not in meditation, improves during stressful situations

Relaxation also helps relieve pain

 

While most articles seem to fixate on one technique for prompting the relaxation response, there is no one single method that works for everyone. Some options include meditation, prayer, yoga, tai chi, physical activity, knitting, and playing a musical instrument; anything that breaks the train of everyday thought. There are even “mini-sessions” that can be done to relax in a hurry.