Relaxation

The dependence on alcohol, prescription drugs and illegal drugs in human society is staggering. So is the stress. The two are linked.

A good example of the relationship of general stress and dependency was clearly seen in a gay-sponsored study of the gay/lesbian community in the late 1970s. It was found that the gay men and lesbian women were twice as prone to be dependent on alcohol for stress reduction than the general U.S. population. The stress on that community was historic and current. The historic stress of living in the closet. The current stress of being out and active for civil rights in the face of rabid homophobia in the general population and media. 

Learning to divorce relaxation from external stimulus is very difficult. We are given food and sucking apparatus from the time we are infants to calm us or placate us when we are stressed. Oral dependency is socially acceptable. The resilience of cigarette sales speaks to this acceptance as much as it does to the addictive nature of the product. Obesity, while still openly mocked in society, is difficult to treat because eating has become socially acceptable in all places at all times. There was a time, not long ago, when eating on a subway car was considered socially unacceptable.

I have found that addressing my own oral dependency in various forms has been a first step in deepening my humanist practice. When I was an adolescent, I was overweight. When I began studying biology and psychology as a premedical student in college, I realized that my weight was unhealthy physiologically and psychologically. I also realized that my frontal lobe held the key to changing my behavior to lose weight. I devised a diet, based on my studies of metabolism. I lost forty pounds in several months. The results in my life were impressive and heartening. Consciousness of metabolism and body weight then became a regular part of my daily practice. I was faced with a new problem. How would I comfort myself when stressed?

My progress with weight reduction was offset by my starting to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol socially. In other words, rather than devising a new way to relax under stress or in social situations, I transferred my dependency from one oral stimulus to two others, both biochemically addictive! I was the roguish life of any party. A cigarette hanging from my lips while I slugged back bourbon. Relaxed? No, I was simply intoxicated.

I discovered detoxified relaxation in my mid-30s. I had given up smoking with great difficulty. I had stopped drinking alcohol. I was occasionally smoking marijuana. Then I discovered chanting Buddhism. I joined a group of Buddhists who chanted sutra in Japanese every morning and evening. I discovered something strange. I no longer enjoyed marijuana's effects on my mind. My mind went into a state while chanting which was far superior to the high I got from smoking weed. My chanting was a form of meditation.

I had attempted to do sitting meditations as far back as college. However, I was unsuccessful at achieving a truly relaxed state because I was still addicted to cigarettes and alcohol. My mind was chemically poisoned. Chanting meditation overcame any residual effects of smoking weed. It was done in a structured social setting, which amplified its affect for me. Eventually, after chanting for several years, I took a meditation class in conjunction with yoga. Bingo! Sitting meditation provided me with a deep, restorative relaxation in fifteen minutes. And I learned I could do this at any time anywhere.

I meditate at least once a day for about 20-25 minutes. It is a pillar of my personal practice for health, peace and joy. It does not require a PhD. It does not cost any money. It does not require special cushions, gongs, incense or other paraphernalia. It does not require a prescription, a drug dealer or a bartender. 

The relaxation I achieve with my meditations is restorative. I usually meditate midday for this reason. I would caution those who are new to meditation that it is best done when the body is most free of alcohol, nicotine, sugar or caffeine. Meditation can be successful for anyone who is willing to try it daily with persistence. Setting a timer in a quiet space for fifteen minutes initially will do. Sit comfortably or lie down. Breathe steadily and naturally. Start by counting breaths or simply attending to the sensations of breathing. That's it. Most important is the commitment to do this every day for one week initially.

The benefits of simple organic relaxation are many. Recent research links positive effects to circulation, sleep and intellectual function, to name a few. Daily meditation and its relaxation, from my own experience, promote insight and helpful reflection prior to action. My humanist practice is supported by relaxation through meditation.