The relaxation response
When Dr. Herbert Benson introduced this simple, effective, mind/body approach to relieving stress forty years ago, his book became an instant national bestseller. Since that time, millions of people have learned the secret -- without high-priced lectures or prescription medicines. The Relaxation Responsehas become the classic reference recommended by most health care professionals and authorities to treat the harmful effects of stress. Discovered by Dr. Benson and his colleagues in the laboratories of Harvard Medical School and its teaching hospitals, this revitalizing, therapeutic approach is now routinely recommended to treat patients suffering from stress, including heart conditions, high blood pressure, chronic pain, insomnia, and many other physical and psychological ailments. It requires only minutes to learn, and just ten minutes of practice a day.
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4recommend
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2011–2018years
100% recommend
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What Hacker News says
- Thanks for the Link to the book, I put it on my list!
I have read "Relaxation Response" a few years back (https://www.amazon.com/Relaxation-Response-Herbert-Benson/dp...) and shortly after have practiced this method every day for 6 weeks with my partner. We did this by listening to the meditation "Bring Mindfulness to Your Day"[0] early in the morning and i recall this being a beautiful period of serenity for both of us. Highly recommend the meditation - her voice alone is incredibly calming, plus: it gave a good overview of different meditation techniques.
[0] This is the first track on Olivia Hoblitzelles meditation CD "Relaxing Mind and Body with the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine" which can be found here https://www.amazon.com/Relaxing-Mind-Benson-Henry-Institute-... and on itunes
- When I first started meditating I found the book The Relaxation Response helpful. It has a one page guide to activating the parasympathetic nervous system and is non-spiritual in its application.
- I can highly recommend reading the Relaxation Response for a scientific treatment of meditation.
Much like exercise, if it came in pill form, everybody would take it.
- The technique seems (from what little info they give) to be a simplified version of TM. A Harvard Cardiologist also created a simplified version of TM and you can probably get the book The Relaxation Response from a library.
Even better, here's an online step-by-step guide:
