Foreword
Meditation for Daily Stress is the beginning of a revolution in the world of meditation, with profound implications for the world of medicine. To meditate for any amount of time is valuable, but Michel Pascal has created a new way to be mindful, one that requires only a minute of your time. He proves that this is all the time you need to receive the benefits of meditation and makes it incredibly easy to adopt these practices throughout the day and throughout the week.
Michel's meditation techniques activate regions of the brain involved in intention and attention that can inhibit activity in the amygdala, the older, more primitive region of the limbic system that can trigger our fight or flight, or acute stress, response. As you begin meditation, your breath becomes relaxed—slow and full. This positive change in your breathing is incredibly important for regulating the sympathetic nervous system and the relaxation response. Healthy breathing allows our tissues and organs to receive more oxygen-rich blood, necessary for the healthy functioning of all of our cells, tissues, and organs.
The chemical response to stress is cortisol, released from our adrenal gland. It increases blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension. Importantly, cortisol decreases our immune function and suppresses the activity of important immunoglobulins, cytokines, and natural killer cells. Cortisol is beneficial when we need to increase blood flow to our muscles in threatening situations, such as an attack by a mugger, but when activated in nonthreatening situations, such as through repetitive stressful thoughts, increased cortisol can be severely detrimental to our health. Stress negatively contributes to nearly all illness and disease, and Michel's short, accessible meditation practices, with their positive visualizations, can act as a preventative measure against poor health.
The best part of the relaxation response elicited by a brief meditation session is inherently rewarding—it feels good! This means the meditation is activating what is called the dopaminergic reward pathway, the brain pathways involved in experiencing pleasure. These pathways and the function of dopamine and other neurotransmitters within them are involved in the pleasurable feelings that accompany love, food, sex, and some drugs. Meditation allows us to naturally increase the functioning of these pathways without resorting to unhealthy behaviors, such as drug abuse or high sugar and fat intake.
The practice of meditation can also shine a spotlight on any hidden and destructive thoughts we may have. When we learn to better control our thoughts through daily meditation, we are able to transcend aspects of our ego that cause suffering. With just a short meditation session you will notice more and be more engaged in your life experience. Meditation also allows us to tap into higher states of consciousness, characterized by an expanded sense of awareness and unity, a non-dual state of loving–kindness. Even brief meditation sessions, like the practices recommended in this book, can profoundly reduce stress, improve immune function, increase positive emotions, and allow for personal and spiritual transformation.
—Natalie L. Trent, PhD, Harvard University
