Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
- Guided Body Scan
MBSR is not a quick fix! Mindfulness is a universal human capacity that can be cultivated, sustained and integrated into everyday life by a daily practice of observing the breath meditation. Breathing is what we do mostly unconsciously all day and every day to keep us alive and lively!
By spending 20 minutes (or more) each day, sitting quietly and actively being aware of one’s breathing one can change one’s grasshopper mind with its chaotic thoughts to a mind that is more peaceful and tranquil.
The other tools for helping to achieve this gentle self-accepting and non-judgemental way of life are the Body Scan, Walking meditation and gentle yoga stretching exercises. Focusing on all five senses with intention also helps train and calm the mind through listening, hearing, observing, seeing, tasting and smelling.
Practising Mindfulness makes daily life much more meaningful. With motivation and commitment one is able to deal with emotional issues, pain, fear, despair, grief and traumatic events and live a more complete, compassionate and joyful life.
Mindful practice enhances living in this moment; being aware of our Self and conscious of our surroundings including other living beings; right here; right now. Not dwelling on the past, nor worrying about future events. Being….being happy and contented!
‘”Student, tell me, what is God?” “It is the breath inside the breath”.’ [Kabir]
“Breathe! you are alive!” [Thich Nhat Hanh]
“Our true home is the present moment. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment”. [Thich Nhat Hahn]
From the one eternal breath comes all life and mind, and the senses of all life. From the one eternal breath comes space and light, air and fire and water, and this earth that holds us all….Where all the subtle channels of the body meet, like spokes in the centre of a wheel, there the one breath moves in the heart and transforms the one form into many. One who knows all and sees all …. dwells as the eternal breath in the region of the human heart. When we know this presence in both immanence and transcendence, the ties that have bound the heart are freed and we move beyond the patterns of our karma…. In truth the eternal breath is All. From the Mundaka Upanishad
Being mindful, we become the observers and experiencers of life, rather than its victims. We become witnesses to the ever-changing flow of the inner life instead of being carried away by the currents of our minds or the reactions of our bodies.
Mindfulness is available to each of us. It is a basic human capacity. Mindfulness is an awareness that arises as we pay attention on purpose, non-judgementally, to unfolding experience in the present moment. The way of paying attention is crucial. Mindfulness is sensitive, warm, friendly, compassionate, and allowing. Mindful attention does not try to change what is happening. Instead, it reflects - accurately and precisely. Being mindful means being a witness to, and connecting consciously with, whatever elements of our life that are present now, in this moment. [Jeffrey Brantley, MD MBSR Programme. from Grieving Mindfully by Sameet M. Kumar, PHD
Relaxation Response (From Integrative Medicine 08.08.2008.)
Is it possible that a simple relaxation response can alter the expression of genes? A study appearing in the July 2 issue of the open-access journal PLoS One found the answer to be yes - potentially offering relief to people suffering from health issues ranging from high blood pressure to infertility as well as pain and rheumatological disorders. Research performed in a collaboration between the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Genomics Centre at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center suggests that the relaxation response, a physiologic state of deep rest, can influence the activation patterns of genes associated with the body’s response to stress.
Touted as the first comprehensive study of the mind’s effects on gene expression, this investigation focused on the relationship between the relaxation response and the activation or repression of certain genes. The first phase of the study compared gene expression patterns in 19 long-term practitioners of different relaxation response techniques with those of 19 individuals who had never engaged in such practices. The control participants then went through an 8-week training programme to determine whether initiating a relaxation response practice would change gene expression over time.
The results were conclusive. Each phase of the study indicated that the relaxation response alters the expression of genes involved in inflammation, programmed cell death, and the body’s handling of free radicals (those molecules produced by normal metabolism that can damage cells and tissues if not properly neutralised). To validate those results, both phases were repeated in 11 participants - 6 relaxation response practitioners and 5 non-practitioners. Results showed significantly similar changes in gene expression.
The relaxation response can be elicited by such practices as meditation, deep breathing, and prayer *(also Polarity Therapy & Therapeutic Touch, mindful body scan, deep relaxation & visualization) and has been documented in previous studies to alleviate anxiety, heart arrhythmias, high blood pressure, and post traumatic stress disorder. The Researchers of this study hope that their work will generate hypotheses that may later be tested in laboratory and clinical trials.
*my inclusion.