Back in the middle '60's of the last century, Transcendental Meditation (just one of the various procedures for relaxation) was fast becoming vogue and the Beetles traveled to India to study with its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yoga. Students from major universities were experimenting with alternative methods of consciousness-raising. Scientific interest therein was yet informal but, ubiquitous among physiologists and psychologists, a mounting curiosity
The scientists' dilemma was that this simple and easy procedure---such as meditation, or any other forms of relaxation---had no confirmation in hard data. And, yet, it all seemed highly plausible---but in truth merely a hopeful conjecture without substance and no hard proof.
The claims of concern were : (1.) were there measurably profound and beneficial changes to the physiological status of the practitioner. (2.) whether the psyche could initiate control over a physiologic process.
(At the time, this was believed, even embraced, by life scientists, but without scientific confirmation, to be possible. At this point in time the zeitgeist of science, community, and non-traditional---even radical---points of view, prevailed in many spheres.)
Nevertheless, science and natural curiosity overcame the hesitance hard science typically gives to radical hypotheses. What was thought to be true---even by physiologists---had never been subjected to the (dreaded) scientific method. An untested hypothesis would not stand long in science even though logically correct, empirical curiosity would have to prove the truth.
It wasn't long before the phenomenon caught the attention of practicing scientists who had access to signicant laboratories. Most notable among these was Robert Keith Wallace, a graduate student , who published an article in 1970 in Science entitled: "Physiological Effects of Transcendental Meditation." This was soon followed, in 1972, with his larger, summary article on the topic in Scientific American.
The scientific foundation for Wallace's reports had been established with the pioneering work of Dr. Hans Selye of the University of Montreal and by his publications, first in 1946 and subsequently elaborated in 1952, 1976 and 1979, on the concepts; "General Adaptation Syndrome" and "The Stress of Life."
Before Selye, the relevant concepts of stress had been elucidated, both by data and in theory, by Dr. Walter B. Cannon's (1914) work on the "Fight or Flight" syndrome. This research history, all of which centers around the theme of stress and its effect upon the body, illustrates how scientists stand on the shoulders of previous generations.
Effects of Stress
Our bodies are designed to deal with stress, and that's all they're designed for. Stress is the stuff of life.
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