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It's 2 am and you can't fall asleep. You're worrying
about your job, the idiot who cut you off on 195,
or any of the many stresses plaguing modern man.
Psychologist and former Barrington resident Dr.
Carol Renaud Gaffney's new book on relaxation and
meditation techniques may have the answer to your
problem.
Complete breathing is essential to relaxation, Dr.
Gaffney says. Not the constricted puffed-chest breathing
many people do, but deep abdomen filling inhalation.
Inhale, sucking air into your abdomen, letting your
belly rise. Then let it out and give an extra exhale
to really empty your lungs. Then in again, feeling
your belly rise.
As you concentrate on breathing, you will become
"in the moment," truly experiencing the
act of breathing to the exclusion of all else, Dr.
Gaffney says.
Psychologist Dr. Carol Gaffney, with her bright
blue eyes and turquoise jewelry, puts a distinctly
Western face on the traditionally Eastern art of
meditation.
A 1963 graduate of Barrington High School and now
a resident of Arlington, Texas, Dr. Gaffney was
in town last week to visit her parents, Elizabeth
and Alphonse Renaud of Sowams Road, and to promote
her new book and audiotape, "The Relaxation
and Meditation Companion."
The 28-page booklet explains how to reduce stress
with complete breathing and other techniques such
as "guided imagery," in which a person
creates an imaginary safe place to retreat from
the world. The 60-minute tape features Dr. Gaffney
reading her book.
In today's increasingly technological world, people
need a portable, easy-to-use manual about basic
meditation as a way to relieve stress' Dr. Gaffney
said. People have forgotten how to heal themselves,
she said.
Ironically, it was to modern technology—the
900-number—that Dr. Gaffney first turned to
disseminate information about relaxation and meditation.
Earlier this year, she opened the line which features
information about meditation and new meditation
tips that she changes weekly.
She acknowledged the seamy reputation that plagues
900 numbers.
"People said 'Oh God, what are you doing?',"
she said. "At first, I was a little hesitant
about telling people about what I was doing."
But, a 900-number is an effective way to reach people,
she added.
The booklet and audiotape set was developed out
of research she did for the meditation line.
Dr. Gaffney earned her Ph.D. in psychology from
the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984. She
was introduced to meditation through the work of
Dr Herbert Benson, a cardiologist who studied the
affects of meditation on the body. When a person
relaxes, he found, blood pressure, breathing and
heart rates, metabolism and muscle tension decrease.
Dr. Gaffney decided to try to teach meditation after
practicing it herself and seeing how it calmed her
and helped her find patience with life.
"I'm not naturally a calm person." she
said laughing. "I would say I'm type A."
Now, however, she can let life happen rather than
obsessing over what she can't control.
"Life is as it is," she said. "I'm
more in the flow." - Though there is a strong
spiritual aspect to meditation, Dr. Gaffney was
careful not to tie her book to any particular religious
doctrine. The goal of meditation in Dr. Gaffney's
work is to relax, to counteract the affects of chronic
stress. These techniques work on a purely physiological
level, she said.
"This is not about religion," she said.
"This is about a person being aware of who
he or she is."
Dr. Gaffney, the mother of three boys, is working
on another book about parenting. She maintains a
psychology practice, but would like to move into
giving seminars on stress management at corporations.
"The Relaxation and Meditation Companion,"
book and tape, is available at The Little Professor
Book Center on County Road.
Barrington Times, July 12, 1995 (Barrington, Rhode Island)