"This is the book that started it all, demystifying meditation and ushering it into the mainstream. Dr. Benson offers a simple technique for quieting the mind--and we need it now more than ever." -- Amy Bernstein, editor of the Harvard Business Review
When Dr. Herbert Benson introduced this simple, effective, mind/body approach to relieve stress in The Relaxation Response twenty-five years ago, the book became an instant national bestseller. Since that time, millions of people have learned the secret of the relaxation response--without high-priced lectures, drugs, or prescription medicine. The tremendous success of this approach has turned The Relaxation Response into the classic reference recommended by most health care professionals and authorities to treat the harmful effects of stress.
This revitalizing, therapeutic approach, discovered by Dr. Benson and his colleagues in the laboratories of Harvard Medical School and its teaching hospitals, is now routinely recommended to treat patients suffering from heart conditions, high blood pressure, chronic pain, insomnia, and many other physical ailments. Requiring only minutes to learn, and just ten to twenty minutes of practice twice a day, the Relaxation Response has proven to be one of the most effective ways to relieve the tensions of modern-day living for a richer, healthier, more productive life.
About the Author
Herbert Benson, M.D., was the Director Emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (BHI), and Mind Body Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. A graduate of Wesleyan University and the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Benson authored and co-authored more than 190 scientific publications and 12 books. More than five million copies of his books have been printed in many languages.
Dr. Benson was a pioneer in mind body medicine, one of the first Western physicians to bring spirituality and healing into medicine. In his 40] year career, he defined the relaxation response and led teaching and research into its efficacy in counteracting the harmful effects of stress. The recipient of numerous national and international awards, Dr. Benson lectured widely about mind body medicine and the BHI's work. Dr. Benson's research extended from the laboratory to the clinic to Asian field expeditions. His work served as a bridge between medicine and religion, East and West, mind and body, and belief and science.
