How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [90]
You can do this whole exercise in just a few minutes or for as long as twenty to thirty minutes. The longer you do it, the more peaceful and relaxed you will feel. This practice trains your mind to be still, but neurologically it is in a heightened state of awareness—the perfect state in which to set about on the tasks that you need to do. As you become more familiar with breathing awareness, feel free to vary it in any way you like, combining it with any of the following exercises, or just watching how your mind responds as you consciously breathe in and out.
EXERCISE 2: DEEP YAWNING
Now that you have had the experience of “mindful” breathing, I want you to compare how yawning affects your awareness, alertness, and bodily relaxation. Even though I enticed you to yawn in the previous chapter, I'm formalizing it here because it is so important for your brain. Yawning will physiologically relax you in less than a minute, and this allows you to move more rapidly into other meditation states. Start the exercise by doing the following:
Find a quiet, comfortable place where you won't be disturbed by others. Stand in a place where your arms are free to swing side to side. You can sit, but standing allows you to achieve a fuller inhalation.
Begin by taking a very deep breath and stretching your mouth wide open. As you exhale, make a long, sighing sound. Don't worry if you don't feel like yawning or don't believe you can. Just use your memory and fake a series of yawns. Continue faking them and pause briefly after each yawn. By the fifth or sixth one you'll feel a real one coming on.
Pay close attention to what happens in your mouth, your throat, your chest and belly, and don't be surprised if your eyes start watering.
You should allow yourself about twelve to fifteen yawns with a few seconds pause between each one. The total time for this exercise should be about two minutes.
If you have trouble yawning, get together with a family member or friend. Yawning is a “contagious” activity, for if you hear and see someone else yawn, it will neurologically stimulate the same response in you.
Conscious yawning generates a deep sense of relaxation, calmness, and alertness, and as we detailed in the previous chapter, it stimulates a unique circuit in the brain that enhances self-reflective consciousness, the key to any contemplative or spiritual practice. Yawn before you tackle a difficult problem, and yawn when you find yourself in a conflict with another person. If you do aerobic exercises, yawn at various times and you may feel an immediate improvement in motor coordination. Yawning will help reduce stress, literally in a matter of minutes.
EXERCISE 3: THE RELAXATION RESPONSE
Dr. Herbert Benson at Harvard made this meditation famous thirty years ago, and it is one of the most researched techniques in the world. Today it is used in hundreds of stress reduction programs throughout the country, generating neurological and psychological states of serenity and health.16 You simply focus on a word, phrase, or mantra—love, peace, God, om, etc.—that makes you feel happy, peaceful, or calm, and you repeat it as you breathe slowly and deeply. Or, if you prefer, you can recite a brief passage from a sacred text.
What matters is that you find it personally meaningful and relaxing, not which religious tradition you choose. In one intriguing study, equal benefits were obtained by those who used “om mani padme hum” (Buddhism), “Rama, Rama” (Hinduism), “Lord have mercy (Christianity), or “Shalom” (Judaism).17 In fact, mere repetition of any positive phrase will reduce stress, anxiety, and anger while simultaneously improving one's quality of life.18 This exercise has been adapted from Dr. Benson's work:
Find a comfortable place to sit where you won't be disturbed, and close your eyes.
Take several deep breaths, and as you exhale, silently, or with a whisper, say a word, phrase, or sound that gives you a feeling of serenity or joy (peace, love, slow down, relax, om, God, etc.).
Stay with your breathing and the repetition