By Hugh Winig, M.D.
Dr. Winig is a retired psychiatrist and a longtime OLLI @Berkeley member and volunteer
Some people pray to God believing literally that their message will be heard by a supreme being who will respond. Others, termed agnostics, believe that the existence of a supreme being is not knowable, but they too may pray. Still others, atheists, believe that no such supreme being or power exists. Despite these different theistic orientations, all three of these groups may practice meditation, Yoga, Thai Chi, or other techniques that bring their mind and body into synchrony to experience emotional comfort and solace. The reality is that each of these groups is trying to tap the very same inner resources to comfort themselves by utilizing behaviors that activate the body-mind continuum.
The psychiatrist Herbert Benson (who recently died at age 86) was an early investigator in the 1970s of trying to understand this “body-mind” connection — that within our own biological selves, there are emotional resources to be accessed that help our minds deal with unknowable forces. It's these inner resources that can elicit powerful control that help us manage distressful feelings and help maintain our emotional equilibrium. No one experiences “smooth sailing”, so we all need strategies that work for us as individuals, and there is no single way to accomplish this.
The concept of whether one has a “soul” is another way to look at this metaphysical quandary. No one knows where or whether a soul exists within one’s body. Is it in our heart, or our brain, or is it elsewhere even possibly external to one’s body? Meditation in various forms, however, brings comfort to a large percentage of people regardless of the actual physiological or psychological mechanisms that are activated within us.
Dr. Benson proposed the use of a “mantra” (any repeated word or phrase) that induces a relaxation response, the exact opposite of the fight or flight response that severe anxiety might induce. Instead of one’s heart rate, blood pressure and adrenaline release increasing, the relaxation response has the opposite impact.
The connection between body and mind is now firmly accepted as a useful concept to help each of us develop internal mechanisms to manage our emotional distress. Transcendental meditation, defined as a form of silent, mantra meditation per se, is an established form of creating comfort to manage emotional distress. It was developed in the 1950s in India and is widely practiced now in the United States by a vast range of people who may even make it a daily ritual to experience emotional relief and relaxation.
One’s mind and body are intrinsically and intricately connected. Taking advantage of this connection especially during these tumultuous times may be an opportunity for each of us to establish some form of regular body-mind connection that will help us continue to manage and enjoy our lives, feel gratitude for having the life we have, and not feel helpless to control the anxiety and emotional distress that may limit our contentment.
Hugh Winig, M.D. is a retired psychiatrist, the author of a book of short stories and a book of humanistic aphorisms. He was a founding Trustee of the Lafayette Library and Learning Center and a past President of the East Bay Psychiatric Association. He is a longtime OLLI @Berkeley member and volunteer, and a regular contributor to our blog.