Herbert Benson

Herbert Benson (born 1935) is an American cardiologist and founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute near Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Wesleyan University and Harvard School of Medicine.

Benson is the Director Emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute (BHI), the Mind/Body Medical Institute Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and is the author or co-author of more than 175 scientific publications and 11 books. More than four million copies of his books have been printed in many languages.

Benson is a pioneer in mind/body medicine, one of the first Western physicians to bring spirituality and healing into medicine. In his 35+ year career, he has defined the relaxation response and continues to lead teaching and research into its efficacy in counteracting the harmful effects of stress. The recipient of numerous national and international awards, Dr. Benson lectures widely about mind/body medicine and the BHI's work. His expertise is frequently sought by national and international news media, and he appears in scores of newspapers, magazines, and television programs each year. Dr. Benson's research extends from the laboratory to the clinic to Asian field expeditions. His work serves as a bridge between medicine and religion, East and West, mind and body, and belief and science.

Benson participated in a dialogue that was held at Harvard in March 1991, as part of a conversation between scientists and Buddhists initiated by 14th Dalaï Lama, organized by the Mind and Life Institute. [http://www.monasticdialog.com/a.php?id=526 Book Review: MindScience] .

Bodymind

Benson has pioneered Mind-Body research focusing on stress and the relaxation response in medicine. In his research, the Mind-Body are one system, in which meditation can play a significant role in reducing stress responses. He continues to pioneer medical research into Bodymind questions.

Publications

*"The Relaxation Response", 1975
*"The Mind/Body Effect", 1979
*"Beyond the Relaxation Response", 1984
*"Your Maximum Mind", 1987
*"MindScience - An East–West Dialogue" Daniel Goleman and Robert A. F. Thurman Editors, Wisdom Publications, 1991
*"The Wellness Book", 1992
*"Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief", 1996
*"The Relaxation Response" - Updated and Expanded (25th Anniversary Edition), 2000
*"The Breakout Principle", 2003
*"Mind Over Menopause", 2004
*"Mind Your Heart", 2004
*"Best of Stress Management (contributor)", 2005 [http://mblwellness.com The Nocebo Effect Lecture]
*"The Harvard Medical School Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure", 2006

References

*Benson, Herbert. 1976. [http://www.relaxationresponse.org/steps/ Steps to Elicit the Relaxation Response.] RelaxationResponse.org. From The Relaxation Response. HarperTorch.
*Benson, Herbert. 1998. [http://www.pbs.org/bodyandsoul/218/benson.htm Staying Healthy in a Stressful World.] PBS Body & Soul with Gail Harris. PBS Online: Beacon Productions.
*Carey, Benedict. 2006. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html Long-Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer.] Mar 31. "New York Times"
*Kiesling, Stephen, and T. George Harris. 1989. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_n10_v23/ai_8082765 The prayer war - Herbert Benson's research on health benefits of prayer.] Oct. "Psychology Today."

External links

* [http://www.mbmi.org/about/history.asp The Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine]
* [http://www.soundwitness.org/pop_culture/relaxation.htm "A Christian Critique of the Relaxation Response" - Is Dr. Benson’s technique compatible with Christianity?]
* [http://www.religionlink.org/tip_060213.php Spirituality emerges as point of debate in mind-body movement]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=TJDGTP9Sa5UC&dq=the+relaxation+response&pg=PP1&ots=dP9WMzhyRp&sig=Z5nEHPPlI8rgZorAl4YEUg9iENE&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dthe%2Brelaxation%2Bresponse%26sourceid%3Dnavclient-ff%26ie%3DUTF-8%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL_en__244__244&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail The Relaxation response at Google Books]