The Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, located at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston trains new doctors to incorporate mind-body techniques into their practice. Dr. Herbert Benson, a founder of the institute pioneered research on the relaxation response as an antidote to the stress response. He was also one of the first researchers to show that meditation changes metabolism, heart rate, and brain activity as a result of the relaxation response.
Physicians at the institute treat patients for just about everything, including diabetes, infertility and heart disease. Therapeutic yoga is offered as a supplemental approach for many conditions – both physical and mental. Darshan Mehta, the institute’s medical director says that the institute is dedicated to educating medical students in integrative medicine as well as maintaining its commitments to research and patient care. Says Mehta, “Boston is famous for training leaders in medicine. We need to expose the next generation of doctors to the benefits of mind-body medicine. My hope is that after studying at the Benson-Henry Institute they’ll be able to at least recognize value in it and perhaps add it to their practices in some way.” Yoga Journal September 2013