Hello, good evening and welcome
Posted by tfootitt on September 1, 2006
Hi, I am a 3rd year student with the Nottingham school of Shiatsu-Do (www.shiatsu-do.co.uk). I have just passed my second year and have now entered my probationary (final) year. This year is about consolidating the knowledge and learning to date. Starting to build a business and developing specialisms,examples include Sports Injury, Pregnancy and childbirth. I thought that this would be a great way to map the process and encourage others to share information, feedback and comment on Shiatsu.
Meridee said
I thought some of you might be interested in this article. Even though it is rather long it explains some of the benefits of shiatsu, especially in the last paragraph.
Mark Hyman writes:
What were Dean Ornish, Mehmet Oz, Dan Brown, the Dalai Lama, and I all doing in Woodstoc! k, New York, last week?
We — along with an assortment of Tibetan monks and doctors, Buddhist scholars, meditation researchers, and prize-winning biomedical scientists in the field of aging, the immune system, stem cells, genetics, brain aging, stress physiology, and more from MIT, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Duke, and UCSF — were all part of a special conference atthe Menla Center.The subject of this conference: Longevity and Tibetan medicine.
If that seems intriguing, it was!
The goal of the conference might sound complex — but it was quite simple.
We were there to investigate the relationship between the science of longevity and wellness and the ancient Indo-Tibetan practices of meditation and training the mind.
The point wasn’t to learn how to treat disease, but to learn what we know about regeneration of the body, protection from illness, and optimization o! f our function and wellbeing.
The convergence of “post-modern biology” — the new science of “systems” thinking and medicine — and the ancient wisdom and practices of Tibetan medicine and Buddhism was startling.
So what did we talk about?
Well, for one thing, we explored the relationship between the nervous system and health and aging, and the connection between the immune system and health.
As you get older, your immune system produces more inflammatory molecules, and your nervous system turns on the stress response, promoting system breakdown and aging.
That’s not just talk. It’s backed by scientific studies. For example, Kevin Tracey, the director of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, discovered how the brain controls the immune system through a direct nerve-based connection. He describes this as the inflammatory reflex (i). Simply put, it is the way the immune system responds to the mind.
Let ! me explain. Your immune system is controlled by a nerve call the vagus nerve. But this isn’t just any nerve. It is the most important nerve coming from the brain and travels to all the major organs. And you can activate this nerve — through relaxation, meditation, and other ancient practices.
What’s the benefit of that?
Well, by activating the vagus nerve, you can control your immune cells, reduce inflammation, and even prevent disease and aging! It’s true. By creating positive brain states — as meditation masters have done for centuries — you can switch on the vagus nerve and control inflammation. You can actually control your gene function by this method. Activate the vagus nerve, and you can switch on the genes that help control inflammation.
And, as you know from my books Ultraprevention and UltraMetabolism, inflammation is one of the central factors of disease and aging. But that’s! not all we learned at the conference. Even more fascinating was the d iscovery that our bodies can regenerate at any age. Diane Krause, MD, PhD, from Yale University discovered that our own innate adult stem cells (cells that can turn into any cell in the body from our bone marrow) could be transformed into liver, bowel, lung, and skin cells. (ii)
This is a phenomenal breakthrough.
Here’s why.
It means that we have the power to create new cells and renew our own organs and tissues at any age. And how are these stem cells controlled? You guessed it: the vagus nerve. So relaxation — a state of calm, peace, and stillness can activate the vagus nerve. And the vagus nerve, in turn, activates your stem cells to regenerate and renew your tissues and organs. Scientists have even shown how meditation makes the brain
bigger and better. They’ve mapped out the brain function of “professional meditators” by bringing Tibetan lamas trained in concentration and mental ! control into the laboratory.
The result? They found higher levels of gamma brain waves and thicker brain cortexes (the areas associated with higher brain function) in meditators. (iii)
Relaxation can have other powerful effects on our biology. In biology, being a complex system that can adapt to its environment and that is resilient and flexible is critical to health. The same is true for us. The more complex and resilient we are, the healthier we are. Take, for example, our heartbeat. Its complexity is called heart rate variability (HRV) or beat-to-beat variability. The more complex your HRV, the healthier you are. The least complex heart rate is the worst — a flat line.
So what does this have to do with relaxation? The HRV is also controlled by the vagus nerve. As you can see, turning on the relaxation response and activating that vagus nerve is critical to health.
Let me review what we learned at the conference. By learning to create positive brain states through deep relaxation or meditation, you can:
* Reduce inflammation
* Help regenerate your organs and cells by activating stem cells
* Increase your heart rate variability
* Thicken your brain (which normally shrinks with aging).
* Boost immune function
* Modulate your nervous system
* Reduce depression and stress
* Enhance performance
* Improve your quality of life
Not bad for just learning to chill out!
Think you’re too stressed out to relax?
Not so fast. We learned that it’s not always outside stressors that are the most important, but our responses to those stressors.
In fact, the Dalai Lama told a story of a Tibetan monk he met who had been in a Chinese gulag, where he was tortured, placed in solitary confinement, and prohibited from practicing ! his traditions for more than 20 years. The Dalai Lama asked him what his greatest stress was The monk replied that it was his fear that he would lose compassion for his Chinese jailers!
I have met a number of these old monks, who spent the better part of their lives imprisoned and tortured. What is remarkable is that they didn’t suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome — that they emerged intact, peaceful, happy, smiling, and giving back to the world. Perhaps stress is more about the stories we tell ourselves about our lives.
On the other hand, the damaging effects of stress are clear.
As we learned at the conference, one of the leading theories of aging is that the protective ends of our DNA (called telomeres) shorten as we age.
Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, who discovered telomeres, explained that, ultimately, they become so short that the end of our DNA unravels a! nd we can no longer replicate our cells, so they die.
Remarkably, mental stress produces a more rapid shortening of the telomeres — and leads to faster aging.
What’s even more remarkable?
In a study of caregivers of sick patients, the health of the caregivers’ telomeres was determined by their attitude!
It sounds impossible, but it’s true.
The caregivers who felt the care to be a burden had shorter telomeres, while those who saw their work as an opportunity to be compassionate had no shortening. (iv)
In closing, the Dalai Lama said that the seat of compassion is actually biological and — necessary for survival.
Perhaps the development of compassion and wisdom in coping with unfavorable life conditions is the true key to longevity.
It just may be that working to understand our true nature through the cultivation of our minds and hearts with positive practices li! ke meditation or similar techniques is critical to health and longevity.
The ways we can change our bodies through changing our minds is not longer a theory.
There is a new scientific language to understand how the qualities of the mind control the body through effects on the vagus nerve, immune cells, stem cells, telomeres, DNA, and more.
Remember, your body has all the resources and infinitely
adaptable systems to self-regulate, repair, regenerate, and
thrive.
You simply have to learn how to work with your body, rather
than against it. Then you can have a healthy, thriving life and live out your full lifespan, which can be as high as 120+ years!
So here are a few tips to activate your vagus nerve and prevent aging:
1) Learn to meditate.
Find a teacher or check ! out tapes or CDs like those at http://www.mindfulnesstapes.com .
2) Stretch it out. Try a yoga class in your area. Yoga can be a great way to
release tension and deeply relax.
3) Get some energy. Learn qi gong, a relaxing ancient system of energy treatment
and balancing.
4) Get rubbed the right way. Massage has been proven to boost immunity and relaxes the body deeply.
5) Make love. The only way you can do it is if you are not stressed!
6) Get back to nature. Climb a mountain and watch a sunrise, which will calm your
nervous system.
7) Express yourself. Write in your journal about your inner experience — this has been shown to boost immunity and reduce inflammation.
Now I’d like to hear from you…
Have you noticed how stress affects you?
Have you noticed people looking older after significant life stressors?
Have you noticed how people who seem to have a happy disposition or compassionate attitude toward life don’t seem to age as quickly as people who are angry and miserable?
Do you have any other suggestions for how to reduce stress or better yet, how to better your manage your own response to stressful events?
Please let me know your thoughts by posting a comment on my blog at: http://www.ultrametabolism.com/blog
Personal comment from William: Please note that the Endorphin Effect strategies are a very effective approach for achieving all of the above, not only working on the vagus nerve, but all through the body. Also I recommend that people look at the HeartMath model and also the Focusing strategies developed by Eugene Gendlin.
tfootitt said
Hi Tony,
Its great to hear from you and see other Shiatsu students writing blogs.
I really like the articles that you’ve put on there and would encourage others to visit your site and blog.
The second year, to be honest, was quite hard going in places for my group. It brought up a lot of personal issues for people that had to be dealt with; but then it’s all about personal development and continuing to grow which we all have done. The third year, in contrast, feels great and very upbeat compared to the second. I’ve spoken to practitioners who also found the second year to be difficult in places and confirmed that it is a time where people tend to re-evaluate their situation, assess what they want in their lives, and what they are no longer prepared to have in it.
I guess we all started on the Shiatsu path for a reason, and at some point we are all going to encounter rocky patches.
I have to take my hat off to you for the honesty of your blog. I have to keep a journal also but am a bit wary about putting everything out on the internet.
All the best with your second year and keep blogging!
Trace
Tony Brown said
I have just entered my second year with the Brighton branch of the Shiatsu College. It is good to see other Shiatsu bloggers out there and I think it is a great idea that it is possible to share learning experiences in this way.
How did you find the second year? For me it is going to be an interesting journey opening up to the experience of Ki in another person. Part of the reason I started my blog was to help me journal that process since I tend to be a private person.
Good luck with your final year.