If you've had breast cancer surgery, you may have heard of being hypnotized beforehand to alleviate the need for more-than-needed anesthesia. Sounds weird, but a clinical trial of 200 cancer patients showed that hypnosis was more effective than counseling in this area.

Is this further proof that there is a strong link between mind and body? That link has always existed, contrary to main western medical practitioners (like pure scientists) who require proven evidence. The mind and body work in concert in almost every way. At least, they do in my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

In the study, 100 women underwent hypnosis for 15 minutes one hour before breast cancer surgery while a second group had counseling sessions for the same 15 minutes. Complications like more pain and more anesthesia were less prevalent in the hypnosis group.

You can receive many benefits when you practice relaxation techniques. Some of these include lowering your blood pressure, reducing muscle tension, enhancing the immune system, better balance, improved memory and increased energy. It can also potentially improve concentration and cause you to be more efficient in daily activities.

1. Yoga -- is defined by Wikpedia -- its ultimate goal is the attainment of an eternal state of perfect consciousness. I find it to be a great relaxation technique to try. It really seemed to clear my mind by the breathing and concentrated movements. It brings yourself into a state of relaxation by blocking everything out and concentrating on what your body is doing.
2. Tai-Chi -- This type of relaxation technique is something that I have never tried. MayoClinc.com describes --Tai chi as a noncompetitive, self-paced system of gentle physical exercise. To do tai chi, you perform a defined series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner. Each movement or posture flows into the next without pausing.
3. Music -- We know how music can induce many emotions to surface. Emotions from the past for instance, can't some songs just bring you back to how you felt in that past moment? It makes sense to me that forms of music can calm and relax.
4. Exercise -- This relaxation technique can mean anything from cardio, weight training and low impact exercises. It really depends on the individual, some will get lots of stress relief when a training consists of higher impact workouts. Don't forget walking -- its one thing we can all try to do more of.
5. Meditation -- I'm no expert on meditation but I have listened to a few relaxation technique tapes after my breast cancer diagnoses. It seemed to help me relax. I never stuck with it though for some reason. I look at meditation as something that can be found in your own special way. I thought you had to just sit still and listen to music and try not to think -- not a very simple task as I'm sure we all know. I find a nice bath with a book and glass of wine as my form of mediation. You can find yours too.
6. Hypnosis --Again this type of relax technique is one that I have never experienced. It is said to be able to put a person into a deep relaxation stage very quickly and can relieve stress.
7. Massage -- This technique I'm happy to say that I indulge. Especially foot massages, it relaxes my whole body. Its a way to give yourself a much needed gift.

Remember before doing any exercises or relaxation techniques please talk to your doctor to make sure its safe -- especially if you have any medical conditions.

In Letting it all out might increase chances of cancer survivorship, we shared that finding techniques to minimize stress is an effective way to better health. Our focus in that post was journaling and talk therapy as a means to expressing thoughts and feelings, rather than stuffing your emotions and keeping it all inside. According to the experts featured in that post, "It's about the link between the mind and the body and how your mind state can affect the disease state in the body."

In addition to journaling and talk therapy, cancer centers are offering cancer patients and caregivers self hypnosis techniques to help reduce stress as a part of an overall cancer treatment program. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's social work supervisor Aida Molano, who has taught hypnosis and self-hypnosis classes at the center for the last 16 years, is offering a 30-minute self-hypnosis CD online as a free download.

According to Molano, hypnosis can help patients and caregivers offset sleeping difficulties, fear of medical procedures, problems concentrating, pain and fatigue using hypnosis techniques. If interested, by clicking on this link, you can download the free 30-minute self-hypnosis CD.

The Herald has published an interesting feature about the practice of hypnotherapy as a complementary therapy in cancer treatment. Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow is offering their cancer patients hypnotherapy, massage and reiki as a means of alleviating stress, anxiety and pain. Pat Kavanagh is being treated for leukemia, and is going through chemotherapy before a bone-marrow transplant.

Kavanagh is quoted as saying, "With chemo, your body is changed, literally, by the chemicals. You look different, you have no sense of smell or taste. You feel like your body is not your own anymore. You have to give it over to doctors to treat. You feel as though you are no longer yourself. It's an awful feeling. Having hypnotherapy as a complementary treatment to my medical care has given me back a sense of being comfortable within my own body. At the end of the sessions I always feel more confident and at peace in my body. I don't know if the therapy affects your recovery time, but it must have some impact on your underlying chemistry."

Until recently, complementary therapies, like hypnotherapy, massage and reiki, were regarded as having no therapeutic value. But as the science and medicine are beginning to discover, successful treatment involves the whole person, and creating a relaxed state can facilitate the healing process. If you are interested in alternative and complementary therapies, the feature is a good read.