Elicitation of the relaxation response is not merely the passage of time by the passive and the unambitious; on the contrary, it is for those who actively want to face the challenges posed by an achieving and ambitious life.

‘Fight or flight’ mode of living is a significant implication of the perception of our finitude in our everyday life. This mode has a tendency to rob us of our ability to think. We behave reactively with little or no consideration. Unconsidered reactive behaviour makes us unable to face the challenge.

Confronted with the inability of facing the challenge ahead of us, we feel unhappy, worried, anxious, depressed, and angry. Overcome with such negative emotions makes disables our ability think and strategize to face the challenge. Feeling of helplessness overtakes us. Helplessness in facing the challenge worsens the initial senses of finitude setting in place a vicious circle of negative emotions making us progressively lesser able to deal with the challenge.

With a regular practice of eliciting relaxation response, we become resilient the onset of the ‘fight or flight’ mode. We then are more likely to think and behave with due consideration strategizing to face the challenge head on.

With regular elicitation of the relaxation response calms the activity of the emotion related limbic brain giving the slow acting thinking neocortex part of the brain a chance to do its part. As a result you live your lives with appropriate consideration. As a result;

• Everyone gets physically healthier and prevents/cures disease;
• Everyone gets mentally healthier, happier and prevents/cures mental disorder;
• Students become more disciplined and better student  learners;
• Sportsmen become better at their sports;
• Everyone stays calm and centered;
• Everyone becomes more creative;
• Everyone performs better under pressure;
• Workplace becomes harmonious, coherent, happier, healthier with increased team spirit, reduced absenteeism and higher profitability;
• Family life becomes harmonious, coherent, happier and healthier;
• Community life becomes more engaged, better behaved, prosperous with reduced poverty, better physical and mental health, reduced incidence of crime, higher involvement and higher sense of belonging to the community;
• and so on.

Let us look at the characteristics of ordinary breathing:

1. Slow breathing is volitional. It can only happen with our volition and attention when we want to do it and as long as we want to do it. Figure 1 graphically depicts its volitional nature.
   

   Figure 1 graphically depicts the nature of slow breathing. We can make it happen with our attention. It does happen autonomically. We need to attend to every inhalation and every exhalation for it to happen.

2. Slow breathing is run by our conscious mind mediating the normal flow of nature.

3. Rate of slow breathing varies with the application of our effort and attention.

4. Slow breathing is also deep breathing. Slower the breathing rate, higher the volume of air per breath.

5. In slow breathing, we consciously determine the homeostatic set points for inhalation and exhalation.

6. The homeostatic set points for inhalation and exhalation are determined by a combination of our conscious effort, our attention, the current neural circuitry of our brain and the instantaneous state of our emotions.

7. Our state of emotions keeps changing from moment to moment affecting the rate of our breathing.

8. Our neural circuitry changes from time to time with changes in our hormonal chemistry. This also changes the rate at which we can breathe.

9. Slow and deep breathing is quality breathing and it leads to quality lives.

10. Slow and deep breathing focuses our mind helping us in our contemplative practices by deepening our meditation.

11. Slow and deep breathing is an option we should exercise regularly in the interest of our health and wellness.

Let us look at the characteristics of ordinary breathing:

1. Ordinary breathing is autonomic. It goes on 24/7 without our being aware of it. It goes on in waking state, in dream sleep and also in deep sleep when we not conscious at all. Figure 1 graphically depicts its autonomic nature.
   

   Figure 1 graphically depicts the autonomous nature of ordinary breathing. It consists of exhalation following inhalation and inhalation following exhalation without us being aware of it at all.

2. Ordinary breathing is driven by our unconscious mind in accordance with the normal course of nature.

3. Rate of ordinary breathing varies from individual to individual between 12 breaths/minute to 20 breaths/minute with an average of around 15 breaths/minute. The video below shows the speed of breathing at 15 breaths per minute. Please note that downward movement of the ball is meant to show the exhalation part of a breatrh and the upward movement the inhalation part of it.:

4. Ordinary breathing is also shallow breathing with around 1/2 litre of air per breath at the rate of 15 breaths/minute. Higher the breathing rate, lower the volume of air per breath and lower the breathing rate, higher the volume of air per breath.

5. In ordinary breathing, lungs begin inhalation or exhalation depending upon the homeostatic set points of the individual.

6. The homeostatic set points for inhalation and exhalation are determined by a combination of the current neural circuitary of our brain and the instantaneous state of our emotions.

7. Our state of emotions keeps changing from moment to moment affecting the rate of our ordinary breathing.

8. Our neural circuitry changes from time to time with changes in our hormonal chemistry. This also changes the rate at which we breathe ordinarily.

9. Ordinary breathing maintains our survival leading to ordinary lives.

10. Ordinary breathing does not help focus. On the other hand, it is distractive.

11. Ordinary breathing may be called our default breathing mode. We default to it on being unaware of breath: a state in which we largely exist.

The SHEN Centre for Health and Wellness is dedicated to the integration of the knowledge about health and wellness from ancient wisdom and modern science. It strips ancient wisdom from its cultural connection and interprets it in the light of science for inclusive intelligibility in the modern milieu. Ancient wisdom presents a rich variety of strategies for health and wellness both of the body and the mind.

In ancient wisdom, mind and body are an integral whole. We refer to it as mind-body or body-mind whatever is appropriate. This mind-body complex has its mechanistic physical faculty, a faculty of perception, a faculty of action, faculties of feeling and knowing, a faculty of rationality and an intuitive or spiritual dimension of supra-rationality. All these faculties are connected intimately with one another.

The body is pervaded through and through in every cell with faculties of perception and action, which are pervaded by faculties of feeling and knowing, which in turn by that of rationality which finally by the spiritual dimension. That which pervades is relatively subtler than the one which is pervaded by it. Although generally the subtler is freer and it controls the gross, the gross too has a degree of freedom from the control of the subtle.

Let us illustrate this principle with an example: although rationality generally controls feelings, but feelings do not always lend themselves to the control of rationality.

The grosser a faculty is, the lesser is its degree of freedom. Vice versa, the subtler a dimension is, the higher is its degree of freedom and control of the gross. Thus, our supra-rational intuitive dimension, being the subtlest, has the highest degree of freedom and control over all of our being. This control though is not total. Its grosser faculty of rationality may not lend itself to this control.

What is this supra-rational dimension of intuition? It is the ultimate reality or the essence of existence of the universe including that of ours. What do we rationally know about it? The only thing about it rationally accessible is that it is one whatever it might be; everything else about it is not rationally accessible.

The only rational understanding of our subtlest dimension is that all beings in the universe are one in their essence or ultimate reality. All our rationality or thinking then is going to be faulty if we misunderstand this rational truth. Misunderstanding leads to further misunderstandings and feelings out of touch with reality. These misunderstandings and related feelings keep us unhealthy and unwell.

Moving towards the correct understanding moves us closer to health and wellness, while reaching the rational understanding of the ultimate truth is the final release from ill health and lack of wellness.

 Modern science has adopted the dualistic model of mind and body enunciated by René Descartes according to which material body and immaterial mind (or soul) are primarily separate and unconnected entities with the only connection between them being at the pineal gland.

The dualistic Cartesian model suggests that the material body follows the laws of nature and functions like a machine while the mind is rational and it does not follow the laws of nature. It further suggests that the pineal connection between the mind and the body puts mind in control of the body, except that the body can influence the mind as well when people act out of passion.

The adoption of the Cartesian model in health care leads to the following practical implications:

1. Maintain the body like a machine to prevent breakdowns,
2. Fix the body as a machine when it something breaks down with external pharmaceuticals or surgical interventions,
3. Maintain and fix the mind with rational thought, and
4. Feed the mind rational thoughts for it to remain in control of the body.

Recent researches at Harvard Medical School has helped move our understanding of health and wellness closer to that of ancient wisdom.  The goal of the SHEN Centre for Health and Wellness is to highlight the latest discoveries of modern health science concerning the role in health and wellness of eliciting relaxation response with the help of meditative practices, the processes acclaimed by ancient wisdom as the road to correct understanding.

For reasons of practicality, the centre primarily focuses on a physiological practice considered preparatory to meditation. This strategy falls in the group of deliberate breathing. It may be described as the practice of deep diaphragmatic breathing. The reasons for the selection of this practice as the primary focus of this centre are:

1. It is primarily body centered whereas meditation is mind centered,
2. Its ease of teaching, learning, and practice,
3. Its effectiveness in health and wellness,
4. Its usefulness in calming the mind,
5. Its ability to connect us with our thinking mind,
6. Its usefulness in cultivating emotional intelligence, 
7. Its usefulness in opening the door of contemplative practices for spiritual growth, and
8. Its usefulness during contemplative practices for developing right understanding.