Over the past several decades much has been studied about how meditation, particularly in the form of conscious breathing techniques, can affect our well-being.
The benefits of meditation are many, according to Herbert Benson, M.D., whose studies at Harvard Medical School inspired the technique and the book, The Relaxation Response. He discovered that a regular meditation practice could relieve fatigue; help cope with anxiety; relieve the stress that can lead to hypertension, heart attack and stroke; and conserve the energy that helps us stay more alert, focused and healthy.
Benson’s studies during the seventies revitalized the ancient art of meditation as a modern therapeutic technique. Since that time, the mainstream medical community has conducted many studies on the benefits of meditation. Their results have led to a widespread acceptance of meditation practices as a viable mode of reducing stress and supporting the healing process.
Today, many alternative health practitioners, including medical doctors like Andrew Weil, are recommending that their patients explore some of these practices. They have learned that the benefits from a yoga and meditation practice help to relieve stress and tension, allowing the body’s natural healing process to function in an optimal setting.
So, how does focusing on your breath help create a way to manage your health?
According to Dr. Weil, in his book called Healthy Aging, “Meditation is nothing other than focused attention, directed inward or outward—to the breath, for instance, which is probably the most natural object of meditation…”
With a technique like meditating on the breath, the body and mind are working together as a whole. It is this “wholistic” approach that creates the most favorable healing environment. The key is to alleviate the experience of stress—whether we notice it more in the physical body (in the form of pain) or in the emotional and mental bodies (as some form of anxiety or depression).
For example, when we experience chronic pain, we often have a sense of wanting to protect ourselves from feeling more pain. So we might become less active, and end up moving less, stretching less and becoming less flexible. This, in turn, creates tightness in the muscles, so that when we do try to move, it hurts more.
Even one of the most important muscles of the body is affected by this cycle: the diaphragm. When the diaphragm is tense and contracted, then breathing is impaired. Less oxygen in the lungs means less in the blood stream, and fewer freshly oxygenated cells being directed to the painful or injured parts. One sees how this cycle can prohibit optimal healing. In addition, while the pain may feel like it is only physical, the mental and emotional aspects of our being are affected also, often manifesting as anxiety or depression. In a way, we simply “give up”— on all levels.
In today’s health fields, we can find a variety of techniques designed to cope with stress and manage chronic pain, other than—or in addition to—standard medications. Many of these complementary methods have as their foundation a very basic focus: the breath.
From the ancient yogic practice of pranayama (controlling the life force using specific breathing exercises) and the Buddhist practice of anapanasati (mindful meditation on the breath), we have learned that focusing our attention on the breath calms the mind and relaxes the body.
From modern research of scientists like Dr. Herbert Benson and Dr. Andrew Weil (who, in his own words, has “long promoted the benefits of working with the breath as the simplest, most efficient way to affect both physical and mental health”), we see how these practices can help create an environment which promotes the body’s natural healing capabilities. Such practices are now known to help alleviate the worry, stress and tension—and even depression—that often accompany conditions of chronic pain.
By establishing a regular practice of breath awareness and meditation, you can create the kind of relaxed body and calm mind that is such an integral part of the healing process and continued good health.
A short practice, called the Tranquility Belly Breath, was developed by yoga therapist, Rhoda Miriam. Excerpted, in part, from her CD, Relax with Rhoda, it is designed to offer a brief experience of the effects of breath awareness meditation. Try it, and notice how even just a few minutes of paying attention to your breath can shift how you feel.
This article was originally published in the Dynamic Systems Rehabilitation newsletter, The DSR Clinics, July 2007 Volume II Issue 3... Resources for this article include “The Relaxation Response” by Herbert Benson, M.D., “Healthy Aging” by Andrew Weil, M.D., and the CD, “Relax with Rhoda” by Rhoda Miriam.