Re: Meditation, Sport & Health

[Guest guest]

Mel Siff<Mcsiff@...> wrote:

Re meditation, Benson's (1975) 'Relaxation Response', and autogenic

training. Taking this thread a little further...

Many stress-reducing techniques such as transcendental meditation,

relaxation response (Benson, 1975), hypnosis, yoga, autogenic training and

biofeedback involve the power of the mind in the application of relaxation

or visualisation directed towards altered states of consciousness (Ornstein,

1975). One comprehensive and successful Western deep-relaxation

techniques is autogenic training ( Schultz, 1932).

With autogenic training individuals learn to relax tense muscles and to

regulate blood flow and heart rate using verbal phrases. Autogenic training

and meditation share a common orientation, a state of passive concentration

which allows the body to self-regulate towards homeostasis (Graham, 1990).

According to Benson, when conflicting information between cortical and

subcortical processes is removed, the relaxation response induces a state of

optimum mind/body functioning. Biofeedback takes this process one step

further.

Biofeedback is basically quite simple. When a person is provided with

immediate knowledge of his/her own internal body processes, he/she can learn

to control areas of physiological functioning that normally operate

involuntarily. The idea is not new. As early as 1905, Schultz (1932) used

hypnotherapy combined with the disciplines of yoga to develop a system of

autogenic training, as mentioned earlier. Green (1969) developed Schultz1s

work with the aid of electronic equipment to provide feedback with regard

biological measures; ie biofeedback.

The aim of biofeedback is self-regulation of muscle tension, body

temperature, cardiovascular and respiratory functions and brain wave

rhythms. Courses of treatment vary in length, with 10-15 half hour weekly

sessions being typical ( Lewith et al., 1996). Biofeedback can achieve

control of physiological processes that are usually regarded as autonomic

(see Figure 6) such as hypertension ( Patel, 1973; Elder, 1977). According

to Green (1969) a consciously perceived sense input triggers an emotional

and/or cognitive response which in turn produces a response in the limbic

system. Neural pathways to the hypothalamus and pituitary affect

physiological changes such as body temperature and heart rate. At this

point, the same information that has been relayed by biofeedback reaches

consciousness and results in a direct perception of the Œinside-the -skin Œ

event as an emotional and/or cognitive response.

It is on the conscious side of the loop that the individual1s volition or

Œmetaforce1 as Green refers to it, works to make use of the

Œinside-the-skin1 events. Once the person has learned to control his/her

internal states with the aid of biofeedback instruments, self regulation is

generally maintained in the absence of instruments giving immediate

feedback. Biofeedback training has been used successfully in a wide range of

applications. Good responses have been reported in the treatment of migraine

(Fahrion, 1978) and tension headache (Kondo & Canter, 1977), asthma (Peper

& Tibbetts, 1992) and hypertension (Patel & North, 1975). These results are

impressive. Biofeedback also appears to be useful in the treatment of

urinary incontinence, irritable bowel syndrome, muscular dysfunctions, back

pain and bipolar disorders (Drury, 1983).

Because of its benefits in immune system dysfunction (Lewith et al., 1996),

there is currently interest in applying the imagery of biofeedback across a

wide range of autoimmune disorders including AIDS and rheumatoid arthritis.

According to Pelletier (1977), it appears that a will or volition from

outside the physiological system can determine how the system functions and,

that positive expectations of the treatment and belief in the provider of

the treatment (ie placebo effects) may also be considered as factors outside

the physiological system that can influence biofeedback's functioning.

Biofeedback provides compelling evidence for placebo effects and a profound

mind-body nexus implicated in preventative and self-regulated health care.

References avail on request.

Dickman.

---

Dickman BSc,Psych Hons, DipEd.

nancy.dickman@...

Newcastle New Body New Life

43 Bradman Street, town 2290, Australia.

[Guest guest]

Dear Mel:

*I agree:

*PN: By the way thank you for getting my goat, good stimulus for going

deeper into this stuff.

*Our models and perceptions are powerful autogenic facilitators of who

we are, can be, do and can do. No one way of meditation is unique or

the answer, there are many ways to elicit this important (inherited)

physiological response. Unfortunately many people get the impression

that permanent comfortable relaxation is the key state to attain.

That's sufficient if you exist and live in a monastery, ashram etc.

*Were getting into one of my favorite subjects; Spiritual Hedonism.

However social and cultural linguistic prejudice prohibits its use. I

prefer the word Mind-Embodiment. As I had eluded to earlier is the

heredity driven need of connecting the body to the mind can be best

done with flow states through movement induced peak performance

states.

*Fred Shoemaker wrote in " Extraordinary Golf " " Comfort and complete

aliveness don't always go together. Learning and growth require a

willingness to explore and take risks, which often leads to an initial

feeling of discomfort and confusion. We are conditioned to label

feelings of discomfort as undesirable. …Fear limits our possibilities.

… One of the most meaningful things that my mother ever said was " I

don't want to be comfortable, I want to be alive " .

*Personally I've had difficulty sitting quietly and meditating (TM and

others), must be the ADD Hunter Gatherer ancestry. I personally have

found " expressive meditation " , through dance, skiing, the golf swing

and other movements and sports to provide the most ingraining

" Relaxation Response " . The bevy of movement patterns I have been

steadily discovering with Counter Tension Kinetics (CTK) is now

providing a readily available window of awareness and accusation in-to

this essential physiologic process.

*In my humble opinion , staying with just mind-body recipe (model) of

" cherry on top of the cake (Mcsiff) " does a grave disservice to our

evolutionary integrity. Mind-embodiment or body-mindedness or the new

recipe of " Cherries Jubilee " (zhands) seems to reflect a more

appropriate model. Autogenic, morphogenetic, placebo (remembered

wellness) effects appear to be much broader reaching. The revolution

that all sciences are currently experiencing is guiding updated models

of us about us.

*Feedback association appears to be main facilitator to learning,

mapping and re-mapping the feed-forward function in the brain and

spinal cord and very possibly " body-wisdom " . Brain maps of individuals

with peripheral dysfunction and chronic injuries have shown

characteristic patterns which seem to provide protective feed-forward

operational codes. Connective tissue (fascia, muscle, tendon, ligament

and bone) perturbation or insult from unbalanced structural and

functional (tension) patterns (by injury, overuse or choice, usually a

combination) is a key feature. Most people perceive this abnormal

tension only as discomfort and improperly perceive discomfort signals

as being bad. As I alluded to in an earlier post, most people don't

understand that the body is innocent, IT JUST IS " . It only gives

signals that something is either not going good, going Ok or going

really good. This is then interpreted by the individual based on whom.

I perceive it as one-in-the-same scale important to the success as a

human..

*I recently found conformation that neuromuscular, sensorimotor

learning/re-learning (re-map) occurs most rapidly through a high

threshold efferent stimulus induced by a variable co-active

load-tensioning process.

*Body-wisdom appears to fit into first Fullers then Ingber (and all)

molecular mechano-transduction tensegrity model. " few if any have any

problem recognizing that the musculoskeleton is organized as a

tensegrity system (albeit hierarchical and multimodular in nature.. "

Since the tensegrity cell model is billions of years old. The

body-wisdom thing appears to be evolutionarily ancient . What I

perceive as an older brain(intelligence) within a newer

brain(intelligence) inherent. This intrinsic intelligence fits the

tensegrity model set forth thus far primarily due to the study of

microtubules as coherent processors that " shimmer " under the electron

microscope (Hameroff). The integrated almost piezo-electric

hierarchical communication, morphology and integrated intelligence of

all this can only, at this time be explained through the above model.

http://mentalhealth.about.com/health/mentalhealth/library/archives/060

0/blrr600.htm?iam=mt & terms=%2Bbenson+%2Bherbert

> The Mysterious 'Medication' of Meditation Ancient Tradition

Undergoes 21st Century Scientific

Scrutiny

By Jeanie WebMD Medical News

BOSTON, June 2 (AScribe News) -- A preliminary brain imaging study

suggests that meditation activates specific regions of the brain that

may influence heart rate and breathing rate. These data suggest a link

between the mind and body and may yield clues about the physical

health benefits ascribed to meditation.

>Boston researchers used a brain imaging technique known as functional

magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, which measures blood flow changes

as an indirect measure of brain activity…. Many clinicians believe

that relaxation -- however it is achieved -- is the crucial factor.

**So the question still remains, what is the better ways to more

efficiently reprogram-remap and maintain a balanced healthy growing

energetic state. Interestingly in searching the literature on the

physiology of peak performance states, flow states, zone states etc

the main physiologic findings are all very similar. Slow brain (DC)

potentials, balanced skin conductance with coactive tensioning of the

neural- facial -muscular elements, alpha state. This seems almost

identical to those findings with concentrative types of meditation.

> " There are three basic kinds of meditation:

Concentrative, awareness, and expressive.

1) Transcendental meditation and Kundalini are concentrative, focusing

on a mantra;

2) Vipassani is a mindfulness or awareness meditation, becoming aware

of thoughts, feelings, and sensations as they arise; and

3) expressive meditation is dance, twirling, shaking, " says S.

Gordon, MD, director of Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington,

D.C.

> " Each may have slightly different physiologic effects, but that

doesn't mean that one technique is better than the other. Different

kinds of meditation are appropriate for different people at different

times, " Gordon tells WebMD

>Benson says yoga, tai chi, Lamaze breathing, and repetitive prayer

such as the rosary can do the same. " They all share this common

physiology, " he says. " Repetition is key to creating the response….So

it could be a mantra; it could be a prayer; it could be a repetitive

muscular activity. The other feature is, when other thoughts come to

mind when you do a repetition, simply let them go and come back to the

repetition. "

** So the old adage that " there is no best way " seems to hold true on

all fronts. Depending on the individuals goals, desire and indented

outcome there seems no shortage of ways to tap into " IT " . As long as

there is feedback awareness of high enough intensity or repeated

enough times that is required for the re-mapping and morphogenetic

process to eventuate.

>Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

http://onhealth.webmd.com/alternative/resource/althealth/item,45095.as

p

>Tense muscles can cause pain, but the technique of progressive muscle

relaxation uses tensing of muscles to reduce and relieve pain. It is a

technique that can be done practically anywhere, and it is good for

people just starting to explore mind/body therapy because it is easy

to master.

>To practice progressive muscle relaxation

: lie or sit in a comfortable position. Focus on a single body part or

muscle. Take a deep breath, tense the muscle area, and then slowly

relax it as you exhale. Continue doing this for each body part or

muscle area throughout your body. Many people start with their heads

and work to their toes.

*Progressive Muscle Relaxation is one of the oldest most successful

and easiest techniques because it's simple and the individual can do

it anywhere. Tension zone awareness (feedback) is an essential factor

because it doesn't bias the perceptional model with muscle

illustrations. " The mind knows only of movements not muscles " . The

linguistics to describe the dynamics and physiology of movement are

changing in the literature such as coactivation vectors, motoric

dual-task performance, moment angles, activation ratios, triphasic

agonist/antagonist/agonist electromyographic (EMG) burst patterns, and

so on and so on. My understanding of the physiology of muscles and

movement is slowly getting overhauled.

*Progressive muscle relaxation helps identify (self-awareness) tension

zones so the individual is better able to connect with real time

functional tension feed back. The important question based on our

current models, are their more efficient ways to tap this.

*What I am continually discovering with CTK based on the growing tool

bag, (variety of kinesthetic aids) is that the individual can

creatively design an infinite variety and vectors of co-active load

tensioning patterns (perturbations). All based on awareness of

unbalanced altered tension zones. The most remarkable thing is that

test loading certain patterns is by far the best way to expose them.

Standard passive, active, functional postural, joint play, end play,

soft tissue palpation as well as history all give a historical snap

shot. A snap shot of predictable adaptive patterns, what is now. I

think Jack Nicklaus once said in essence " before you play golf go hit

some balls and see how your body is for that day , so you can adjust

your swing accordingly " .

*Remarkably however this represents only the present adaptive state

and is highly changeable. I perceived long ago, our tremendous

morphogenic and plastic ability, I never realized how truly remarkable

our adaptive powers are (body-wisdom) and how quickly those changes

can occur (in either direction). I have found (as have many others)

that beyond the functional active evaluation methods there is a far

more sensitive and efficient way to bring it home to the

patient-client-student. Many authors in sensorimotor rehab have stated

that treatment is the test. Older clinical tests have proven

ineffective at exposing anything other than significant instability.

*The patterns I have discovered with CTK quickly uncover co-activation

and tension imbalances and bring an all important feedback awareness

to the individual ( " ownership is 100% of the law " - " VIVA INVIVO " ).

Once aware of the deed to be done, they then co-actively load and

restore the specific lost tension within the patterns. Reexamination

provides the clues to whether the patterns are effective. If the

pattern was the right (hierarchically correct, current weakest link in

the chain ) the initial findings will show a significant response

(morphogenisis ?). Adaptive shortened tissue remodels and inhibited

myofascial tension-tone is improved, less pain-no pain, postural

attitude is improved and the individual feels more relaxed but

energetic. The individual starts to feel and quickly own the control

to move from one layer to a deeper layer and progressively restore

balance.

*How much the individual gets and does is predicated on whom and how

far they want to go.

*Our models and perception of us and our relationship to our world

will be continually changing. With the current breakthroughs and huge

shifts going on in almost every science, our perceptions and models of

ourselves are taking a huge shifts. The rapidly expanding technology

has given us the ability at peering into our very physical molecular

fabric and possibly some glimpses of the deeper mechanics of our

sensory perceptual self (conscious ?). This understanding demands that

we create some new models to update that dogma that can create a

stagnate autogenic plateau.

The very fact that Molecular Biologists are describing the action of

ATP as a rotary-motor which exhibits proton-motive force. The

observations of mechano-transduction, neuropetides and so on. WOW!!,

that's a different. The findings through nuclear magnetic resonance

research and stimulation are amazing.

So maybe a new refined method to elicit the relaxation response

Expressive Progressive Co-active Muscle Activation Relaxation

(EPCMAR). But the name doesn't matter so much as the experience.

I hope I wasn't to scattered here, I continue to learn.

Best Regards

A. Zenker D.C.

Performance Edge Dynamics

Santa Cruz, CA (Soquel)