Serving the Mendocino Coast​

   with in-home care since 1993

Brain Healthy News for June 2013

Mind/Body Autogenic Healing And Stress Reduction

Compiled by David R. Larsen, MFHD

As you know stress kills. It’s a major inhibitor of memory, and the prolonged expression of cortisol, which it creates, can decimate memory cells, impair the immune system, accelerate aging and increase risk for dementia and a host of other ills. So learning how to relax our body and focus our mind’s healing powers can have a major impact on both physical and mental health. In this newsletter I share some fascinating insights for controlling stress, two great new CEU courses on this, and a FREE special report on how to maintain a healthy brain and prevent dementia.

•Strategies for calming your mind and healing your body and brain

•Great new CEU training opportunities

•My summer classes and schedule

•Special FREE Report on how to prevent or arrest dementia, you can share with clients, friends and family!

•New website initiative and offerings

•Try New Optimized Tryptophan for a good night’s sleep!

•Nitric Oxide update

Strategies For Calming Your Mind And Healing Your Body & Brain

One of the first cases studies I ever read about someone who overcame a serious memory problem was conducted by Dharma Khalsa, MD. Dr. Khalsa, believed stress, in addition to poor nutrition, was a major contributor to Alzheimer’s as well as other memory problems. And he advocated meditation for maintaining or improving brain function. Of course several studies have now shown the wisdom in this approach.1, 2, 3

A 2004 University of Wisconsin, Madison study showed the brains of long-term Buddhist practitioners who have meditated every day for many years generated the highest levels of gamma waves--a pattern of brain activity associated with attention, working memory, and learning--ever reported in such studies.

But one doesn’t have to be a Buddhist monk to benefit from autogenic relaxation and meditation. One of the most dramatic studies appeared in the January 30, 2011 issue of Psychiatry Research. In this study they found that Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. What we pay attention to impacts the actual structure, as well as the health of our brain and body.

Another study at the University of Kentucky further demonstrated the effects of meditation on memory. In this study, subjects who took a late-afternoon test after meditating for 40 minutes had significantly better scores than those who napped for the same period. Subjects were also retested after being deprived of a full night's sleep, and again those who had meditated scored better than their study counterparts.

How could that be? According to Bruce O'Hara, PhD, a coauthor of the study, meditation, like sleep, reduces sensory input, and this quiet state may provide a time for neurons to process and solidify new information and memories. Brain scans also reveal that meditation produces a state somewhat similar to non-REM sleep (which many specialists believe is the more mentally restorative sleep phase). However, unlike when you sleep, consciousness is fully maintained in meditation, so there is no grogginess upon awakening.

In 2011 I was inspired by the story of Jeff Smith who nearly seven years after a disability retirement due to Alzheimer's was able to write an amazingly insightful and articulate article, with no apparent impairment, about “surviving Alzheimer’s” and the various things that had helped him including meditation.

But the health effects of meditation, mindfulness, and other forms of autogenic relaxation extend far beyond memory enhancement, especially when you add in affirmations and guided imagery. Lynn Johnson, PhD has been using relaxation and guided imagery in his counseling practice for many years. He cites studies showing that relaxation and imagery can reduce headaches, and an upset stomach, even nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy. It can lower blood pressure and heart rate and decrease stress, pain and anxiety in anxious or depressed individuals. Carl Simonton, MD in his book Getting Well Again described how he used relaxation and guided imagery to optimize immune systems to rid his patients of various types of cancer.

If you have never been taught relaxation techniques, here are some basic instructions.

Start by finding a soft comfortable chair to it in, then do some tensing and releasing (or stretching) of muscle groups, and 3 slower deeper breaths (much like yawning). Sometimes I like to count to 4 as I breathe in and to 5 as I breathe out.

Then repeat to yourself the following self-statements. Repeat every phrase, silently, in your mind, three times. Say the phrase in a quiet, thoughtful way. Pause after and notice how you feel. Focus on your feelings for two or three breaths. Practice each until you feel their relaxing effect, at least twice a day.

I feel quite quiet. . . I am easily relaxed. . .

My right arm feels heavy and relaxed. . . My left arm feels heavy and relaxed. . . My arms feel heavy and relaxed and relaxed . . .

My right leg feels heavy and relaxed. . . My left leg feels heavy and relaxed. . . My arms and legs feel heavy and relaxed and relaxed. . . My hips and stomach are quiet and relaxed . . . My shoulders are heavy and relaxed and relaxed . . My breathing is calm and regular . . . My face is smooth and quiet . . .I am beginning to feel quite relaxed. . .

If you have time, it will also help if you can then vividly imagine yourself in some quite peaceful place or vacation site, in sensory rich detail.

The more often you return your body to this state of restful quiet, the easier and faster this process will become, and the more energy and self-control you will experience.

It’s hard to adequately explain this on paper. There are lots of different methods that work, and almost endless affirmations and imagery that can be used, with color and heat, metaphors, ethereal or imaginary guides and healing visualizations. But the best way to learn this is by experiencing this with a master – someone who really knows what they are doing. And I know just the man, and just the opportunity.

2 Autogenic Relaxation/Healing Training Opportunities

Looking for some great continuing education? I just learned Dr. Lynn Johnson, one of the top experts in autogenic relaxation techniques, will soon be offering a new online course on Autogenic Training – Meditation and Healing for professionals. The modules will include:

•Autogenic Training – overview and benefits

•Meditation How it works -- Basic Essentials plus advanced insights

•Healing and Pain Relief – The results may amaze you

•Mental Training – How to train your brain to get the most from your mind

•Sleep Skills – How to sleep deeper and longer and wake refreshed

•Love and Compassion – Healing ourselves and humanity in practical ways