belly, you simply allow your belly to rise with the in breath and fall with the out breath,
while you focus on the image of a soft, relaxed belly. According to Gordon, when your belly
is soft, all of the other muscles in your body begin to relax as well. Thus, “soft belly can help
quiet the mental and physical agitation, the persistent fight-or-flight response, and the
chronic stress, [as well as the] exhaustion, hopelessness, and self-condemnation, when we
are depressed.”^34
- In addition to TM, Gordon, whose book is a compendium of contemporary integrative
medical approaches to mental health and substance use conditions, refers readers to
numerous retreat opportunities, his own Center for Mind-Body Medicine, http://www.cmbm.org ,
and the following traditional meditation resources:
The Independent Meditation Center Guide, http://www.gosit.org
Vipassana Meditation, http://www.dhamma.org
Shambhala, http://www.shambhala.org
Tai Chi, http://www.americantaichi.net
Qigong, http://www.nqa.org and http://www.qigonginstitute.org, and
Osho/Rajneesh, http://www.osho.com
- THE RELAXATION RESPONSE: Benson, of the Harvard Medical School, calls this important
technique for self-calming “the relaxation response,” after his 1975 book of that title, and
explains it on his website:
