Are relaxation techniques derived from yoga beneficial?

Drs. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and Ronald Glaser of the Ohio State University College of Medicine found that medical students who practiced relaxation techniques during exams increased their levels of helper cells that defend against infectious diseases. Those who did the relaxation techniques (which were derived from yoga) the most regularly had the strongest immune effects.

Meditation and imagery, too, are also ancient yoga techniques. Herbert Benson, M.D., a well-known cardiologist at the Harvard Medical School, has spent the past two decades conducting pioneering research on the beneficial effects of meditation. He found that regular elicitation of what he terms the relaxation response (in contrast to the fight-or-flight response) can lower blood pressure, decrease premature heartbeats, inhibit gastric acid secretion, and produce other beneficial effects. Jon KabatZinn, Ph.D., director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has found similar results in using yoga techniques with his patients. Carl Simonton, M.D., a radiation oncologist, and his former wife Stephanie Matthews Simonton studied and popularized the importance of visualization and imagery as adjunct therapies in treating cancer. Also, the books of Dr. Mike Samuels, Nancy Samuels, and others have inspired and educated many people about the importance of imagery in healing. Harvard psychologist Mary Jasnoski found that while relaxation alone increased defenses against upper respiratory infections, adding imagery enhanced the effect.

Millions of women have used Lamaze breathing techniques as powerful aids in childbirth. Athletes of all types have found that slow, gentle stretching helps to reduce the risk of injuries, and many are finding that meditation and visualization can improve athletic performance. These techniques also originate from yoga. Others have found that these methods help to slow the physical effects of aging - even Raquel Welch's beauty book is largely a collection of yoga techniques.

The point is simply this: While each of these yoga methods is very powerful even by itself, combining all of these techniques in their original context yields a power even greater than the sum of individual methods. That's because while yoga is a very powerful system of stress management, these techniques were designed for something much greater - as tools for transformation.

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