Let Reiki strengthen your immune system. Contact me for distant, hands-free sessions.
Anyone can benefit from Reiki healing. If you’re experiencing health issues, Reiki is a wonderful complementary therapy that can help you to deal with stress or physical pain. And if you’re the picture of perfect health, Reiki can help to ensure that your energy fields are functioning at their highest levels. It’s completely safe either way. Life force energy is the foundation of all life, a sort of subtle cosmic soup that supports, nourishes, and sustains the cycle of birth, life, and death of all living things. When we are in touch with this energy through prayer, meditation, or Reiki, we feel less separate and increasingly whole within ourselves and within the whole of creation. Reiki can help you to always be blessed, guided, and protected. Ask me and I will tell you more.
During a distance healing session, I visualize you as a way to connect with your energy. Then, I will send Reiki to you, focusing on those energy fields that are in need of healing. The process is very similar to what you’d experience if you were having an in-person session. Reiki demonstration by Sakeenah Myers below. Distance healing is just as effective and can be sent to any location. Let's work together!
About Us
Reiki is a simple yet profound system of hands-on healing that transcends cultural and religious boundaries. It is also a gentle, yet powerful path to personal and spiritual growth. One of the greatest and amazing things about Reiki is you can get Reiki treatment at home while the practitioner may sit anywhere in the world. Get back in alignment with your true self with this universal healing system. Reiki can have a profound effect on health and well-being by rebalancing, cleansing, and renewing your internal energy system. You deserve to be free of pain. Reiki (Universal Life Force Energy) teaches us that we are more than just our physical bodies and that Reiki surrounds us as an energy body. Reiki energy connects on our spiritual and energetic levels. Distant Reiki sessions work because energy is not limited by distance. Distance is only a physical limitation, so sessions can be done without clients being physically present. We are all connected, as we are all energy matter and part of a larger whole. Contact me for distant sessions.
Our Team
I love helping you have a fulfilling life.
Sakeenah Myers
Reiki Healer
I was trained in Reiki in 2000 by my mother. As a Reiki Master, I gently work with your energy to ignite and assist you with activating the healing universal life force energy within you. This is always done in a respectful and caring manner and can be adjusted for those who are sensitive to touch. Reiki passes through clothing, casts and surgical dressings. During our time together I will work in your energy field to help you draw whatever healing energy you need. Will I Feel Anything?
Everyone’s experience with Reiki is a bit different. But most frequently, people report feeling tingling or pulsating sensations as well as warm spots on their body. Many also experience a deep sense of relaxation during and after the session. Of course, some individuals report that they don’t feel anything during a distance healing session. This doesn’t mean that it hasn’t worked. For some people, it just takes a little while to feel the full effects. If you are not in the New Jersey-New York area, that's okay. You can set a distance healing appointment that is just as effective.
The Reader
I am here to help you chart your spiritual path.
Rose Thorne
Diviner
I've always had a fascination with exploring spiritual mysteries. I’ve had a natural talent for art, spiritual insight, and seeing. Because of that, I began intense self-study for a number of years. I began doing public Tarot divination in 2017. Also my continued study led me to initiation into Traditional African spiritual systems in which I gained more formal training in divination and spiritual investigation. Now I integrate these traditional methods into my Tarot Divination to provide an effective unambiguous divination service.
To make direct appointments, please go to my website by clicking the link below.
https://brookethorne1.wixsite.com/mysite
or email me at brookethorne1@gmail.com
The Coach
Meditation instructor, life coach and spiritual counselor.
Heru Maahket Neb Shakara
The Coach
I have been involved in martial and yogic practices from age 6, having studied various Asian, Western and African arts including Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, western boxing, Fencing, Kick boxing, Capoeira, Silat, Ground &standard Jujitsu. I am a master practitioner of the Upatano Ngumi styles of African Diasporic martial arts attaining the title of Mtu Malanga (Sr. Master). I am also an accomplished energy healer. I am a Mene Akhu Guru, Reiki Master, and Elemental Tantra instructor. These warrior and healing practices led me to various Tibetan Buddhism Ordinations and initiations such as the Tibetan Ra Kalachakra and the Gesar Lion King initiations, I have also studied and initiated in various traditional African spiritual systems and shamanic studies.
I am an NLP behavioral counselor (Master Practitioner) which I have integrated into my rites of passage training system and my life coaching. I also attained a NJ professional teaching license with endorsements in Mathematics, Economics and Social Studies.
This NLP combined with years of public-school teaching form the coaching and pedagogic base which rounded out my counseling, martial arts and yoga teaching methodology, which focus on social education and character development.
I promote a holistic learning model that focuses on teaching the whole person to be a civic minded, culturally sensitive, spiritually balanced, global citizen and socially well intergraded, lifelong learner.
I strive to use my various teaching experience to transfer social education to economically and socially empower and transform both youth and adult learners enabling them to navigate the complexities of a modern fast paced world, while successfully articulating their personal dream and life missions.
Contact Me at
https://ancestralegbe.wixsite.com/home
(for my African traditional healing modes)
or call 973-819-9718
and ask for whatever you need!
Reiki (Universal Life Force Energy) teaches us that we are more than just our physical bodies and that Reiki surrounds us as an energy body. Reiki energy connects on our spiritual and energetic levels. Distant Reiki sessions work because energy is not limited by distance. Distance is only a physical limitation, so sessions can be done without clients being physically present. We are all connected, as we are all energy matter and part of a larger whole. Reiki can have a profound effect on health and well-being.
Reiki
By setting mental intentions, reiki can also be used to heal relationship problems at work or home; to complement and strengthen other therapies such as aromatherapy and reflexology; to find new employment, a new house, or anything else; to have a safe and swift journey while traveling; to find a solution to a specific problem; etc. Reiki even works distantly, you need not be physically present for a session.
Did you know that distance Reiki is just as effective as an in-person session?
One of the greatest and amazing things about Reiki is you can get Reiki treatment at home while the practitioner may sit anywhere in the world. Get back in alignment with your true self with this universal healing system.
Reiki News
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Fashion designer Donna Karan has opened two centers in the United States, Urban Zen Foundation, to support well-being and healing. This story includes a photograph of Karan giving Reiki to a cancer patient. Country superstar musician Shania Twain received a Reiki session in an episode of her show Why Not? With Shania Twain on OWN. Pro golfer Phil Nickelson and the Chicago White Sox have benefited from receiving Reiki, according to theNew York Times.
”
Our Blog
An ongoing series of informational entries
WHAT IS REIKI?
- Excerpted from Women's Health Magazine -
So yeah, what is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese spiritual healing technique in which practitioners can help your body heal itself through touch. “Rei” translates to “universe” or “life force,” and “ki” translates to the physical energy of the body (also known as qi); put together, Reiki translates to “universal life force energy.”
That means the job of a Reiki practitioner is to help your body work its own healing magic. "We don’t consider ourselves healers, because the body is its own healer,” explains Brian Brunius, a New York City-based Reiki master who founded the NYC Reiki Center in 2007. “The process of giving Reiki to someone is the process of giving them even more of the life energy that they already have—so we just give the body the extra energy to do with it what it will.”
In the modern world, he explains, we’re all running around on empty, with just enough energy to get through what we have to do every day—meaning there’s not a lot of energy left over for your body to work on maintenance, repair, and deeper healing. “And so when you give your body extra energy, it takes that energy and uses it how it wants to, likely for deeper healing,” Brunius explains.
Wait, how is Reiki actually done?
During a Reiki session—which can last anywhere from half an hour to nearly two hours, depending on where you go—you sit on a massage table, fully clothed and covered with a sheet and/or blankets, and a practitioner lightly rests his or her hands on (or hovers them over) various parts of your body where energy is said to flow the most.
The hand positions are designed to cover three main areas: your major organs, your major chakras, and your major meridians (energy pathways). These areas can be found all over the body, so Reiki practitioners may touch or hover above your head, extremities, midsection, and feet. During a session, patients tend to fall into a trancelike state where they have incredibly lucid dreams (a.k.a., "Reiki sleep), says Brunius.
Honestly, I'm still skeptical: Is Reiki even safe?
According to Robert Graham, MD, a Harvard-trained, board-certified doctor of integrative medicine who runs the integrative health clinic FRESH MED, Reiki is safe and possibly even helpful—as long as it’s used as a complementary medicine, not an alternative one.
That's an important distinction, says Dr. Graham: "What people don’t understand sometimes is that there is a big difference between those two types of medicine," he explains. Alternative medicine is when you forgo Western medicine to go with something else entirely, whereas complementary medicine is when you practice another form of healing in addition to conventional medicine. And when you practice Reiki as a complementary medicine, it can certainly be a win—or, at the very least, not a loss, Graham explains.
“When it comes to complementary medicines, it all comes down to a risk-benefit ratio,” he explains. “If the benefit outweighs the risk, it’s game on. But when the risks outweigh the benefits, it’s game over.”
And according to Dr. Graham, Reiki falls under the game-on umbrella. “From a safety point of view, Reiki hasn’t been shown to have any harmful effects,” he explains. “And I do believe that there is an untapped mechanism behind energy that supports your own body’s healing abilities that we don’t understand just yet—so it’s certainly worth a trial if you’re in pain.”
So when should I give Reiki a try?
According to both Dr. Graham and Brunius, Reiki is most often used as a solution for people who are in pain—both physical and mental.
"What makes pain so hard to cure is that it’s not quantifiable. Aside from the pain scale, there’s no objective measurement of how much pain someone is in, which is why there isn’t a magic-bullet cure for most things pain-related," says Dr. Graham.
And when there isn’t a magic-bullet cure, it can’t hurt to try complementary therapies like Reiki, he continues. "Reiki has a long healing tradition in medicine, particularly in the nursing world—it’s really safe and gentle."
In fact, even if you’re not in any particular pain and just want to try it out, that’s cool, too. “There’s actually a lot of anecdotal evidence that it can help your psychological wellbeing with no adverse effects, no matter if you have a particular ailment or not,” explains Dr. Graham.
Brunius, who works with many patients who come to just check it out, agrees. “People who come to just find out what Reiki is tend to report that they’re able to sleep better and feel calmer after just one session. But if you have a specific problem you’re trying to cure, it tends to take a number of sessions to start working,” he explains.
One word of caution before you go down the Reiki road: Be really careful about which practitioner you choose. “Reiki is incredibly practitioner and user dependent, so you want to be sure you are choosing someone with good credentials,” says Dr. Graham.
Of course, that can be easier said than done. Reiki, unlike more conventional therapies, is more of a folk-based practice with many different styles, which means that there isn’t necessarily one common, gold-degree standard. Reiki masters are the highest level of Reiki practitioner, as they are able to teach Reiki to others, but you can also receive Reiki from first or second-degree practitioners, who aren’t masters yet but can still administer Reiki.
Your best bet? Look for someone who has been trained for a while, and who practices often. And, perhaps most important of all, always go in with an open mind.
Tarot vs Oracle Cards: Which One Is Right for You?
Lifestyle
Posted: January 4, 2018
Tarot vs Oracle Cards: Which one is right for you?
Growing up as a Latina in a Catholic family, the word “bruja” was never mentioned in a positive context. It was typically spoken with a tone of trepidation. So one can imagine how I was initially received when I brought my first tarot deck home. I say this to put divination in context for what it’s often perceived to be. This was the late 90s and how things have changed.
Gone are many of the stigmas associated with divination, specifically Tarot and Oracle decks. In the past few years, we’ve seen what was a highly taboo practice go mainstream with decks being sold at retailers like Barnes and Noble and Target.
There is literally a deck for just about everything. I have a collection of approximately 100 decks that range from erotica to religious, and everything in between. I even created my own oracle deck two years ago for personal brand mastery and business development. Now, before you run to Amazon to buy your next deck, take some time to learn the difference between a Tarot deck and an Oracle deck.
Tarot Decks
These are the most well known type of divination cards. They use a very specific structure, breaking up into two parts: the Minor Arcana and the Major Arcana.
There are 22 Major Arcana cards, each representing life situations and/or experiences. These cards follow a story, very similar to the Hero’s Journey. The first card is the Fool and the last card is the World. As you go from the Fool to the World there are opportunities to learn from all the cards in between.
The Minor Arcana has a similar storytelling structure, but these cards are broken up into four suit types: Cups, Pentacles, Wands, and Swords. There are 56 Minor Arcana cards, bringing a full tarot card deck to 78 cards total.
The Minor Arcana cards resemble the traditional playing deck used for Poker, Spades, or Solitaire. The Cups are represented by the hearts, the Pentacles are represented by the diamonds, the Wands are represented by the clubs, and the Swords are represented by the spades. Whereas a traditional card deck only has 3 court cards (Jack, Queen, and King), the Minor Arcana has 4 court cards for each suit (Page, Knight, Queen, and King).
Each suit represents a journey or story that corresponds with that type.
The Cups represent a journey of emotions and creativity.
The Pentacles represent a journey of money and wealth.
The Wands represent a journey of spirituality and taking action.
The Swords represent a journey of intellect and power.
Oracle Decks
These decks are the ones that have gained momentum in popularity because there’s no set structure for how each oracle deck is created. Anyone can create an oracle deck and assign to it whatever purpose and outline they want. Coaches often create their own oracle decks to use with their clients, while artists often create decks to showcase their creativity.
When deciding which deck is right for you, the best thing to do is understand what exactly you want to gain from a reading. A good reading will offer you insight to reflect on whatever you need to reflect on or gain clarity with.
Oracle decks are great for short term type of questions that require you to do some inner reflection and soul searching.
•What should I focus on this month?
•I’m stuck between two choices.
•How do I figure out my purpose?
Tarot cards are great for long term type of questions that speak to your overall life journey.
•How should I prepare for the new year?
•What do I think about before quitting the job I hate?
•WTF am I doing with my life?
The more you know about decks, the better you can leverage them to help give you that fresh perspective and insight that you’re looking for.
9 TYPES OF MUSCLE TENSION CAUSED BY TRAPPED EMOTIONS by ALETHEIA LUNA
Your body is a map and storage house of every experience you have ever had.
So many of us carry repressed and trapped emotions within multiple areas of our bodies, without even knowing it. In fact, we can go for years, even decades, completely oblivious to the blocked energy our muscles are holding on to. This repressed energy is responsible for countless ailments and chronic health conditions that cause us great suffering.
The fact is that your body doesn’t forget.
Your body is the most honest and obvious way to access trapped feelings and even traumatic memories. No matter how much you try to ignore, intellectualize or suppress how you feel, your body knows the truth.
If you are struggling with chronic tension in your neck, shoulders, back, thighs, legs, or any other area of your body, this article may help you get to the root of your pain, once and for all.
What Causes Chronic Muscle Tension?
According to various studies and papers, we develop chronic muscle tension as a result of four different causes.
The first cause is social conditioning. Social conditioning starts in early childhood and is reinforced throughout the rest of our lives by our parents, friends, teachers, family members, and society at large. A lot of the muscle tension that we develop is the result of unspoken social beliefs that we were taught to adopt as a way of being “acceptable” or likable. For example, many of us were taught that “only babies cry,” so as children, we learned to suppress our tears and sadness in order to “not be a baby.” Many of us were also taught that expressing anger is a “bad” thing as we were punished as children for expressing it. This form of conditioning is strengthened throughout adulthood, particularly in our workplaces where expressing anger is seen as “unprofessional” and potentially dangerous to our job security.
The second cause of muscle tension is trauma. Traumatic experiences can range from being spanked as a child all the way to extreme violence. Trauma may have been deliberately inflicted on us (e.g. rape or physical assault) or accidental (e.g. a car crash). When these traumatic experiences aren’t consciously dealt with, they can result in chronic fear, stress, and even occurrences of PTSD. This chronic anxiety, anger, and grief tend to get stored within the body resulting in muscle tension which contributes to numerous other illnesses such as fibromyalgia, digestive disorders, mental illnesses, and even cancer.
The third cause of muscle tension is psychological tension. Psychological tension is any form of anxiety, frustration, sadness or anger that we develop as a result of our perceptions. For example, we may develop psychological tension as a result of our thoughts regarding our coworker (e.g. they’re lazy) or of us being stuck in traffic (“this shouldn’t happen). Our automatic tendency to attach to these thoughts and take them seriously is what causes us psychological tension. The more negative, fearful or fault-finding our perspective is, the more tension we tend to store in our muscles.
The final cause of muscle tension is environmental stressors and habits. For example, our sedentary lifestyles (working at a desk all day) tend to exacerbate our physical pain because we aren’t giving our muscles a chance to expel the tension. Other habits such as poor posture, lack of sleep, drug use, unhealthy eating, and environmental pollution tend to increase the likelihood of us developing chronic muscle tension.
Consequences of Chronic Muscle Tension
The field of psychosomatic medicine has conducted numerous studies through the years exploring the mind’s effect on the body, and vice versa.
Journal of Psychosomatic Research
The Journal of Psychosomatic Research is a multidisciplinary research journal covering all aspects of the relati...
In terms of muscle tension caused by mental and emotional factors, we tend to experience many health issues:
· Mood disorders (anxiety, depression, SAD)
· Joint pain and increase chance of injury
· Dysmenorrhea (menstruation problems)
· Insomnia
· Skin problems (acne, psoriasis)
· Asthma and hayfever
· Headaches and migraines
· Palpitations and chest pain
· Nausea
· Fibromyalgia
· Irritable Bowel Syndrome
· GI issues (diarrhea, bloating, constipation, cysts)
· Hypertension/High blood pressure
· Sexual dysfunction (premature ejaculation, painful sex)
· Increased tendency towards addictive behavior
This list is by no means complete, and there are many other consequences out there of muscle tension. So if you believe I’ve missed something out, please comment below.
9 Types of Muscle Tension Caused By Trapped Emotions
According to a study conducted in 2012, 25.3 million Americans (11.2%) suffer from chronic pain every day and 17.6% suffer from severe levels of pain. This single study reveals a grim reality: so many of us are suffering from muscle tension on a daily basis. Surely there must be a better way to live.
NIH Study: Americans Are In A Whole Lot Of Pain
Lecia Bushak
Chronic pain impacts a large fraction of Americans, a new NIH analysis finds.
As a person who has struggled with chronic neck and shoulder pain for many years, I was lucky to discover the source of my pain thanks to a healing method known as “floating.” Thanks to my experience in a float tank (also known as a sensory deprivation tank or isolation tank) I was able to discover that my muscle tension was intimately linked to old memories and repressed emotions. Lying in the dark, with no sound or sensory input on top of 800 pounds of dissolved Epsom salts, I gradually started feeling my muscles unwind. As each muscle group relaxed and spasmed, thoughts and emotions fired through my head. For example, as my spine let go into the water, I could feel grief pour through me and memories from childhood run through my mind. I could feel my upper thighs release their contraction as anxiety and loneliness bubbled up through me. I could feel the fear and burden be released from my shoulders and neck area.
Isolation tank
The isolation tank was developed in 1954 by John C. Lilly, a medical practitioner and neuropsychiatrist.[1][2][3...
Although everyone is different and there are no (known) absolute places in the body where outright emotions are stored, there are certain places which tend to accumulate specific types of emotions.
Below, I want to share with you nine of the most common types of muscle pain and what underlying emotions are connected to them.
1. Shoulder Tension = Burdens and Responsibilities
When we feel weighed down by the stress of life, we tend to accumulate these feelings within our shoulders. Ever heard the expression “carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders”? Shoulder tension seems to be intimately linked to social and emotional responsibilities, including unconsciously carrying the burden of other people’s pain. As such, many empaths, healers, and caretakers struggle with chronic shoulder muscle tension.
2. Neck Tension = Fear and Repressed Self-Expression
Neck tension is often connected to throat chakra issues such as the inability to communicate clearly or be your authentic self around others. Fear and anxiety are also frequently stored in this area, particularly as a physical response to danger (as the neck is a vulnerable area) or strange environments. Neck muscle tension is also related to trust issues.
3. Upper Back = Grief, Sorrow, and Sadness
Unexpressed and unreleased sadness tends to build up within the upper back region. As this area is close to the heart, it is also where emotions connected to heartbreak and loss are stored. For instance, if you carry around grief regarding a loved one or your family at large, you will likely feel tense in this area.
4. Middle Back = Insecurity and Powerlessness
Healing traditions such as reflexology link middle back pain to feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and insecurity. If you’re feeling unsupported by other people or life, you probably carry tension here.
5. Lower Back = Guilt, Shame, and Unworthiness
Lower back issues often correlate with feelings of low self-worth and lack of self-acceptance. Feelings such as guilt, shame, and even sexual inadequacy or trauma can be stored here as well.
6. Stomach = Inability to Process Emotions
The expression “I can’t stomach it” appropriately describes stomach muscle tension. If your stomach feels stiff or sore, you might struggle to process both negative (and even positive) emotions.
7. Inner Thighs = Fear of Vulnerability
Are you nervous and untrusting around other people? If you struggle with social anxiety, you might also have inner thigh pain. Because our legs are biologically programmed to run when we first spot danger, fear towards others is often stored here.
8. Outer Thighs = Frustration and Impatience
How fast do you live life? The more quickly and mindlessly you live, the more likely you have frustrated and impatient energy stored in your outer thigh muscles. Our jobs and personal lives can also contribute greatly to muscle tension in this area.
9. Buttocks = Anger and Rage
How often do you have to deal with people who are a “pain in the bum”? Anger and suppressed rage are often stored in the buttocks. Pay attention next time you feel your head boil: is your but tensing up as well?
How to Release Trapped Emotions
Now you may be wondering how to release the muscle tension you have. Here are some tips:
· Allow yourself to “feel it to heal it.” One of the easiest ways to let go of muscle tension is to actively feel and let go of emotions when they come. Of course, this is not always possible, so at the end of every day, make sure you allow yourself the space to feel the emotions you’ve had through the day. Feeling these emotions might involve crying, punching or screaming into a pillow, or any other form of catharsis.
· Adopt an attitude of non-judgment. When we judge our emotions as something “bad” or “wrong,” we actually deepen our suffering and solidify the tension within our muscles. Instead, simply realize that an emotion is an emotion. It doesn’t need to mean anything about you unless you let it.
· Journal about how you feel. Let all of your emotions out in a journal, completely unfiltered. This is a very healing practice if done regularly and is a powerful form of shadow work.
· Be gentle with yourself. Muscle tension tends to add to our negative inner voices which cause us even more tension. To break this cycle of the body feeding the mind and the mind feeding the body, be kind towards yourself. Treat yourself as you would a child or best friend. This practice is a simple but profound way to relax.
· Stretch your muscles. Do simple stretches or try yoga to relax your muscles. Even just five minutes a day is beneficial.
· Breathe deeply. Shallow breathing causes a restriction in air, blood flow, toxin removal, and increased anxiety. Deep breathing stimulates the vagus nerve which calms the mind.
· Try floating. Unless you can afford to go into outer space or an anti-gravity chamber, floating is the only opportunity there is on this planet to experience total weightlessness. “Sensory Deprivation Tanks” may sound daunting, but actually they’re immensely healing and calming. People with claustrophobia frequently have no issues with floating. Some of the main benefits include reaching deep states of inner peace and bliss, muscle relaxation, enhanced magnesium, better sleep, improved skin, mental clarity, and improved focus. To get the most out of floating, try a minimum of three sessions.
What is Floating? Sensory Deprivation Benefits | Wellness Mama
Floating, a modern form of controlled sensory deprivation may help balance hormones, reduce stress, improve slee...
· Get a massage. Seek out a licensed massage therapist to reduce your muscle tension. Alternatively, use something like the Acuball to give yourself a deep tissue massage (the Acuball is what I use).
· Meditate. Meditation is a great way to become more present and conscious of muscle tension as it arises.
· Art therapy. Express how you feel through painting, drawing, sculpting or any other method of self-expression as a form of therapy.
***
The Coach at https://loveunlimitedreiki.net/
Meda
January 15, 2019
7 Health Benefits of Meditation
SOURCE: SYDNEY MORNING HERALD JAN 26, 2012
It's a piece of advice yogis have given for thousands of years: take a deep breath and relax. Watch the tension melt from your muscles and all your niggling worries vanish. Somehow we all know that relaxation is good for us.
Now the hard science has caught up: a comprehensive scientific study showing that deep relaxation changes our bodies on a genetic level has just been published. What researchers at Harvard Medical School discovered is that, in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation, far more ''disease-fighting genes'' were active, compared to those who practised no form of relaxation.
In particular, they found genes that protect from disorders such as pain, infertility, high blood pressure and even rheumatoid arthritis were switched on. The changes, say the researchers, were induced by what they call ''the relaxation effect'', a phenomenon that could be just as powerful as any medical drug but without the side effects. ''We found a range of disease-fighting genes were active in the relaxation practitioners that were not active in the control group,'' Dr Herbert Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, who led the research, says. The good news for the control group with the less-healthy genes is that the research didn't stop there.
The experiment, which showed just how responsive genes are to behaviour, mood and environment, revealed that genes can switch on, just as easily as they switch off. ''Harvard researchers asked the control group to start practising relaxation methods every day,'' says Jake Toby, hypnotherapist at London's BodyMind Medicine Centre, who teaches clients how to induce the relaxation effect. ''After two months, their bodies began to change: the genes that help fight inflammation, kill diseased cells and protect the body from cancer all began to switch on.''
More encouraging still, the benefits of the relaxation effect were found to increase with regular practice: the more people practised relaxation methods such as meditation or deep breathing, the greater their chances of remaining free of arthritis and joint pain with stronger immunity, healthier hormone levels and lower blood pressure. Benson believes the research is pivotal because it shows how a person's state of mind affects the body on a physical and genetic level. It might also explain why relaxation induced by meditation or repetitive mantras is considered to be a powerful remedy in traditions such as Ayurveda in India or Tibetan medicine.
But just how can relaxation have such wide-ranging and powerful effects? Research has described the negative effects of stress on the body. Linked to the release of the stress-hormones adrenalin and cortisol, stress raises the heart rate and blood pressure, weakens immunity and lowers fertility. By contrast, the state of relaxation is linked to higher levels of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and to the growth hormone which repairs cells and tissue. Indeed, studies show that relaxation has virtually the opposite effect, lowering heart rate, boosting immunity and enabling the body to thrive.
''On a biological level, stress is linked to fight-flight and danger,'' Dr Jane Flemming, a London GP, says. ''In survival mode, heart rate rises and blood pressure shoots up. Meanwhile muscles, preparing for danger, contract and tighten. And non-essential functions such as immunity and digestion go by the wayside.'' Relaxation, on the other hand, is a state of rest, enjoyment and physical renewal. Free of danger, muscles can relax and food can be digested. The heart can slow and blood circulation flows freely to the body's tissues, feeding it with nutrients and oxygen. This restful state is good for fertility, as the body is able to conserve the resources it needs to generate new life.
While relaxation techniques can be very different, their biological effects are essentially similar. ''When you relax, the parasympathetic nervous system switches on. That is linked to better digestion, memory and immunity, among other things,'' Toby says. ''As long as you relax deeply, you'll reap the rewards.'' But, he warns, deep relaxation isn't the sort of switching off you do relaxing with a cup of tea or lounging on the sofa.
''What you're looking for is a state of deep relaxation where tension is released from the body on a physical level and your mind completely switches off,'' he says. ''The effect won't be achieved by lounging round in an everyday way, nor can you force yourself to relax. You can only really achieve it by learning a specific technique such as self-hypnosis, guided imagery or meditation.''
The relaxation effect, however, may not be as pronounced on everyone. ''Some people are more susceptible to relaxation methods than others,'' says Joan Borysenko, director of a relaxation program for outpatients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston. ''Through relaxation, we find some people experience a little improvement, others a lot. And there are a few whose lives turn around totally.''
7 Health Benefits of Deep Relaxation
The next time you tune out and switch off and let yourself melt, remind yourself of all the good work the relaxation effect is doing on your body. These are just some of the scientifically proven benefits …
1. Increased Immunity
Relaxation appears to boost immunity in recovering cancer patients. A study at the Ohio State University found that progressive muscular relaxation, when practised daily, reduced the risk of breast cancer recurrence. In another study at Ohio State, a month of relaxation exercises boosted natural killer cells in the elderly, giving them a greater resistance to tumours and to viruses.
2. Emotional Balance
Emotional balance, means to be free of all the neurotic behavior that results from the existence of a tortured and traumatized ego. This is very hard to achieve fully, but meditation certainly is the way to cure such neurosis and unhealthy emotional states. As one’s consciousness is cleansed of emotionally soaked memories, not only does great freedom abound, but also great balance. As one’s responses then are not colored by the burdens one carries, but are instead true, direct and appropriate.
3. Increased Fertility
A study at the University of Western Australia found that women are more likely to conceive during periods when they are relaxed rather than stressed. A study at Trakya University, in Turkey, also found that stress reduces sperm count and motility, suggesting relaxation may also boost male fertility.
4. Relieves Irritable Bowel Syndrome
When patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome began practising a relaxation meditation twice daily, their symptoms of bloating, diarrhoea and constipation improved significantly. The meditation was so effective the researchers at the State University of New York recommended it as an effective treatment.
5. Lowers Blood Pressure
A study at Harvard Medical School found that meditation lowered blood pressure by making the body less responsive to stress hormones, in a similar way to blood pressure-lowering medication. Meanwhile a British Medical Journal report found that patients trained how to relax had significantly lower blood pressure.
6. Anti-Inflammatory
Stress leads to inflammation, a state linked to heart disease, arthritis, asthma and skin conditions such as psoriasis, say researchers at Emory University in the US. Relaxation can help prevent and treat such symptoms by switching off the stress response. In this way, one study at McGill University in Canada found that meditation clinically improved the symptoms of psoriasis.
7. Calmness
The simple difference between those who meditate and those who do not, is that for a meditative mind the thought occurs but is witnessed, while for an ordinary mind, the thought occurs and is the boss. So in both minds, an upsetting thought can occur, but for those who meditate it is just another thought, which is seen as such and is allowed to blossom and die, while in the ordinary mind the thought instigates a storm which rages on and on.
How to switch off stress
How can you use relaxation's healing powers? Harvard researchers found that yoga, meditation and even repetitive prayer and mantras all induced the relaxation effect. ''The more regularly these techniques are practised, the more deeply rooted the benefits will be,'' Jake Toby says. Try one or more of these techniques for 15 minutes once or twice a day.
Body Scan
Starting with your head and working down to your arms and feet, notice how you feel in your body. Taking in your head and neck, simply notice if you feel tense, relaxed, calm or anxious. See how much you can spread any sensations of softness and relaxation to areas of your body that feel tense. Once your reach your feet, work back up your body.
Breath Focus
Sit comfortably. Tune into your breath, follow the sensation of inhaling from your nose to abdomen and out again. Let tension go with each exhalation. When you notice your mind wandering, return to your breath.