Shavasana (Corpse Pose) helps in controlling hypertension mainly because it: (a) strengthens the leg muscles (

Concept understanding — Relaxation Response

The Relaxation Response is a term coined by the Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson in the 1970s. To understand it, start with something you already know: the fight-or-flight response.

When you are stressed — say, you have a deadline, a tough exam, or a sudden argument — your body goes into high alert. Your heart races, your breathing quickens, your muscles tense, and stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline surge. This is an ancient survival mechanism, brilliant for escaping a tiger, but terrible for sitting through a three-hour paper or dealing with chronic work pressure. The problem is that modern life keeps this switch stuck in the "on" position.

The Relaxation Response is the exact opposite. It is the body's built-in, physiological countermeasure to fight-or-flight. It is a state of deep rest that changes your physical and emotional response to stress. Benson discovered that you can deliberately trigger this state through simple mental techniques, and that doing so has profound health benefits.

Important

The Relaxation Response is not just "feeling relaxed" or "taking a nap." It is a specific, measurable physical state: your metabolism slows, your heart rate and breathing decrease, your blood pressure drops, and your brainwave patterns shift. It is the body's way of telling the stress system, "You can stand down now."

Why does this matter for a commerce or humanities student? Because stress is not just an emotional nuisance — it directly impairs your ability to think clearly, make decisions, and retain information. Chronic stress shrinks the part of your brain responsible for memory and learning (the hippocampus) and keeps your prefrontal cortex — the seat of rational judgment — from working properly. The Relaxation Response is a tool to reverse that damage.

Here is what it does in practical terms:

Lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart disease. This is the most well-documented physical benefit. …

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Shavasana controls hypertension by deeply relaxing the body and calming the nervous system, which lowers blood pressure and heart rate.

Hypertension — persistently elevated blood pressure — is driven in large part by chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system, the "fight or flight" branch that raises heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and increases cardiac output. Any intervention that shifts the balance toward the parasympathetic nervous system (the "rest and digest" branch) will lower blood pressure. Shavasana is precisely such an intervention.

In Shavasana, you lie supine with limbs slightly apart, eyes closed, and consciously release muscular tension from every part of the body while maintaining slow, diaphragmatic breathing. This posture and the mental focus it demands trigger the relaxation response: parasympathetic tone rises, sympathetic tone falls, and the body enters a state of deep rest. Heart rate slows, peripheral blood vessels dilate, and blood pressure drops. The pose is entirely passive — no muscle is working against resistance — so there is no strengthening of legs, abdomen, or any other muscle group. Nor does it increase heart rate; the physiological signature of Shavasana is a decrease in heart rate and metabolic demand.

Now consider each option:

(a) strengthens the leg muscles — Shavasana is a supine resting pose with no muscular contraction. The legs lie relaxed on the floor; no strength work occurs. …

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Q.Shavasana (Corpse Pose) helps in controlling hypertension mainly because it:

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