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Book Review of The Relaxation Response

The Relaxation Response
reviewed on + 188 more book reviews


Interesting book. I would ONLY get this latest edition, with the revised forward/anniversary edition. The forward included info on what part of the original book was most relevant according to later research and has summaries of other books that were spun off the original book for further information. Once I got past the revised forward, the rest of the book was only SKIM-worthy.

The basic premise is that there is a flight-and-fight response, and this is an opposite relaxation response. The cardiologist was looking for a better way to improve his patient's lives than take the drugs he saw had bad side effects. He was able to prove that basic self-care actions such as meditation or prayer could induce a relaxation response that was beneficial.

The revised edition includes why the doctor has had trouble getting other doctors to adopt these practices and his efforts to get it included in med school curriculum. Has info on attempts to scientifically prove which techniques work, etc.

Once you have that introduction, you can get the most recent info on how to actually do the relaxation techiques from web searches at various hospital and non-profit websites.