"The mind has great influence over the body, and maladies
  often have their origin there." -- Moliere

  What were Dean Ornish, Mehmet Oz, Dan Brown, the Dalai Lama,
  and I all doing in Woodstock, 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 at
  the 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 of 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.

  You 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 discovery 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 and 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 like 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
  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 below
  -- just click on the Add a Comment link.

  To your good health,

  Mark Hyman, MD

  i Kevin J. Tracey, The inflammatory reflex, Nature 420, 853
  - 859 (19 Dec 2002)

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v420/n6917/abs/nature01321.html

  ii Krause DS. Plasticity of marrow-derived stem cells. Gene
  Ther. 2002 Jun;9(11):754-8. Review.
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12032704&query_hl=8&itool=pubmed_DocSum

  iii Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, Gray JR, Greve DN,
  Treadway MT, McGarvey M, Quinn BT, Dusek JA, Benson H, Rauch
  SL, Moore CI, Fischl B. Meditation experience is associated
  with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport. 2005 Nov
  28;16(17):1893-7.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16272874&query_hl=12&itool=pubmed_docsum

  iv Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE,
  Morrow JD, Cawthon RM. Accelerated telomere shortening in
  response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Dec
  7;101(49):17312-5. Epub 2004 Dec 1.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15574496&query_hl=15&itool=pubmed_docsum

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