Yoga the relaxed state and science
By Robert Nilsson
Queues and bottlenecks occur during rush hour in our cities. At other times of the day, the traffic is less active and therefore flows better. It is the same with the body and mind; when activity is reduced, we experience a less stressed and less blocked state than that which we normally find ourselves in with our daily chores.
The states of consciousness were previously divided up into three main categories: waking state, dream and sleep. But over the last thirty years, science has acquired a broader view of our states. In the late sixties an American doctor, Dr. Keith Wallace, had his doctoral thesis accepted under the title Meditation as a Fourth Major State of Consciousness. Since then there have been a lot of different publications and research on altered states. One of the major works from 1969 is still worth reading: Altered States of Consciousness edited by Professor Charles T. Tart, is a collection of articles from researchers all over the whole world.
The relaxed brain
The relaxed state soon received a scientific classification, which is practical, but also limiting. It was called the Alpha state. By pasting small round silver discs called electrodes on various places on the scalp, the brain's activity could be measured. The electrodes were connected to a machine, an Electroencephalograph (EEG). There was a row of pens on the EEG and each one was connected to an electrode on the head. The pens were attached in such a way that each drew a line on a piece of paper that was running through the machine underneath. Every time an impulse came from the electrode, the pen moved so that the line on the paper became a wavy line, hence the expression brain waves. Today everything is recorded on computer, so that the waves can be analyzed and displayed on a screen.
The activity of the brain is divided into four states. See the chart below. 
Beta, 13-40 waves/sec., normal, active
Alpha, 8-13 waves /sec., relaxed
Theta, 4-8 waves /sec., dream, sleep
Delta, 1-4 waves /sec., deep sleep
Activity of the brain
The more active the brain is, the more impulses the nerve cells fire. A description of the four states shown on the left, their frequency (oscillations or waves per second) and their scientific names are also shown there.
The EEG sinks from Beta to Alpha when one relaxes, but it is rarely pure; this means that there is both Alpha and Beta concurrently
Besides the EEG, there are other means of measuring the relaxed and somewhat deeper meditative state.
Skin resistance, for example, is measured on the palm between two electrodes. If you have a high skin resistance, then your palm is dry and you are relaxed. However if you become provoked a little, within a few seconds the skin resistance will fall due to an imperceptible perspiration on the palm. Skin resistance is used to measure the reactions in the autonomous nervous system, and can reveal when the level of stress or anxiety increases or diminishes. A similar method is used in lie detectors.
Muscular tension decreases when you relax, just as a tension decreases when you keep a muscle stretched for a while in a yoga pose. The muscular tension is also measured by placing two electrodes on the muscle in question.
The pulse drops during relaxation or meditation. As does the breath rate and frequency.
What does it mean to be relaxed
"Not everyone believes they can concentrate, not to mention relax. Maybe it is true that they cannot do it just like that, by using willpower.
Some people claim that all they need is to sit in a chair, put their feet up and close their eyes. However, they do not always show an improvement if, for instance, their blood pressure is measured.
Still, I maintain that everyone can achieve deep relaxation through correct and systematic guidance. And once you can relax, you can also improve your concentration."
It is possible to have experiences with yoga, relaxation and the like and still fool oneself into believing that one is relaxed, even though one is not. I have had days where I thought it was okay to skip my yoga practice. When I nevertheless took the time to do yoga, I could feel a distinct difference in my state afterwards. It is important not to be blinded by your ideas of how you feel. You should also not try to achieve a certain experience - you just follow the technique
The relaxation response
It is easy enough to become excited or stressed. The way the body reacts during such a state is called the fight or flight response; in a perilous situation the body prepares itself for fight or flight. The blood pressure rises and the blood flow to the brain and muscles increases at the expense of the internal organs. Often this automatic reaction is completely out of proportion compared to what has triggered it. Even just a minor daily problem can be enough to create a stressed state.
Dr. Herbert Benson from Beth Israel Hospital School in Boston has realized, through his research into high blood pressure, the significance of proper relaxation. With his first book The Relaxation Response he introduced this term in relation to methods for relaxing and lowering the blood pressure. In contrast to the fight or flight response, the relaxation response does not always come by itself when it is needed.
"Just sitting quietly or, say, watching television, is not enough to produce the physiological changes. You need to use a relaxation technique that will break the train of everyday thought, and decrease the activity of the sympathetic nervous system." (Dr. H. Benson)
By relaxation technique, we mean something that can provide a more effective form of relaxation than that which can be achieved by taking a stroll or sleeping. Through the use of a relaxation technique, you learn to achieve a state of rest that is deeper than that of sleep, while you remain conscious and experience what is happening. You become familiar with the relaxed state.
"The advantage seems to come from the physiology of relaxation rather than by mere suggestion." (Dr. P. M. Lehrer)
The relaxation technique works by itself; you need only lie still and follow the instructions.
Through meditation and awareness training you will also be able to see when the fight or flight response is about to be triggered, and thereby become better at choosing how to react.
What do you get from relaxing?
"Wellbeing, of course," is the answer if you ask those who know how to use a good relaxation, "and creativity." Current research is interested in more than that though. They want to see if there are permanent and deep physiological effects.
Recently I looked into a database (Medline) containing reports that have been published in recognized research magazines. It contained more than 27,000 reports on relaxation, yoga and meditation published over the last twenty years.
I realized, as I went through the reports, that some of the researchers regard meditation as an unalterable quantity. Therefore they cannot understand why there is a discrepancy in their research. The fact is that the results largely depend on which meditation technique is used.
In some meditations you learn to withdraw the senses; in others you are more present in your senses. There are meditations where you learn to make your mind one-pointed, and meditations without a focal point, which are based on the ability to experience the totality in and around oneself. It should also be added that some methods give only a light relaxed state, while others produce very clear changes in your general state. Certain Tantric meditations, for example Inner Silence, are constructed as a developing sequence containing a whole array of the mentioned methods - it spans the spectrum from outer awareness to deep inner rest in oneself.
Some researchers have documented that relaxation techniques, sometimes supplemented with other yoga techniques and meditation, can be used as an alternative or a supplement to traditional treatment for people who suffer from diabetes
 , high blood pressure, stress, sleep disorders, chronic pain, rheumatism, anxiety, cancer, psoriasis, alcoholism, epilepsy, to name but a few.
The immune defence system is strengthened by relaxation
Perhaps the most interesting thing for most of us is the fact that relaxation strengthens the immune defence system. Therefore it can help in keeping sickness at bay by making people more resistant to viruses. The degree of effectiveness naturally depends on whether or not one uses relaxation regularly.
Examples from research:
- At the Marylebone Health Centre in London, they have been able to cut their prescribing costs by 40% by using methods including yoga, meditation and relaxation.1)
- An American fighter pilot, with a six-year history of high blood pressure, underwent various treatments (medicine, diet, physical exercise) without results. Following a six weeks program of yoga and relaxation, his blood pressure was normalized, and he regained full flight status. And as the researchers pointed out, relaxation also has an advantage over medicine in that it has no side effects, something which can be hazardous for a fighter pilot.2)
There are numerous reports on the effect of relaxation on high blood pressure - yoga also works well for low blood pressure, because the exercises normalize the blood pressure.
- "After about ten lessons, the patient will be able to control his own stress and high blood pressure."3)
- From research into HIV positive:
"These results suggest that stress management [through relaxation and meditation] to reduce arousal of the nervous system and anxiety would be an appropriate component of a treatment regimen for HIV infection."4)
- Of 149 diabetics, 104 were able to reduce their intake of medication after 40 days treatment with yoga and relaxation.5)
- 11 epileptics who were resistant to epileptic medicine meditated 20 minutes a day. After a year, a significant reduction in seizure frequency and duration was measured.6)
- Of 73 patients with advanced cancer, who had attended at least 20 sessions of intensive meditation, 10% showed a remarkable slowing in the growth of the tumor and a further 10% had a less marked reduction. 50% experienced a greatly improved quality of life.7)
- 51 chronic pain patients, whose condition had not improved with traditional medical care, took part in a 10 weeks meditation and relaxation program. 50% of the patients showed a 50% or more reduction in pain, while a further 15% of the patients had a reduction of 33% or more.8)
- 9 patients with asthma took part in a residential course in yoga and relaxation. After a week they were generally more relaxed, and were able to breath more easily, as the inspiratory and expiratory muscles were more relaxed.9)
Our experience on some of our longer courses, the 3 months course for example, is that some students have achieved what you might call a cure or a complete control of asthma. Quite a few have gone home from the course without any symptoms.
Yoga Nidra in relation to relaxation based on suggestion
In connection with an extensive research project at the university clinic in Cologne, Germany, in the beginning of the eighties, the brain waves of a group of teachers from the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School were measured during Yoga Nidra. A researcher who was more familiar with other and more suggestive forms of relaxation, where one imagines that one is relaxed, took part in this research.
During Yoga Nidra one is not even asked to relax. The word relaxation does not appear in the instructions at all. You experience your body, its various parts, your breath, various states such as heaviness and lightness, warmth and cold... and various mental pictures and symbols. And it is this very systematic and fixed procedure that triggers the relaxation.
The researchers in Cologne found that Yoga Nidra had a more thorough effect than the relaxations based on suggestions or hypnosis. During Yoga Nidra the Alpha waves covered the whole brain, whereas they occurred only here and there during the other relaxations. Furthermore the level of Alpha waves was constant throughout the entire Yoga Nidra, while they came and went during the other relaxations. The balance between the EEG in the two brain halves was better in Yoga Nidra, which means that the two brain halves communicated better.
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