What would you say if I told you that there is a “magic puff” that can change your life and improve your overall wellbeing? And no, it is not drugs or anything from outside of your own body. This magic puff not only helps you relax, but provides many other health benefits as well every time you make this colorless, odorless substance go through your body. Yes, it’s true! It is called NO, Nitric Oxide. This magic gas is all around us and inside of us. It is produced naturally inside our body.

According to Doctor Herbert Benson, a Harvard cardiologist who has done extensive research in the area of mind body medicine, we need to meet certain favorable conditions to release NO in our body. These are:

 a) We need to be under stress

 b) We need to have reached the end of our stress threshold (the way to know this is when we exhibit stress symptoms: mood swings, sleeplessness, restlessness, etc.)

c) We attempt to do something to release our stress (examples include going for a walk, doing our favorite hobbies, praying, meditating, etc.). During this phase, NO is released.

Research from the Medical Research Council at the University of Leicester demonstrated that nitric oxide could change the computational ability of the brain. This finding had huge implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and in general helped us better understanding brain function.

As we all know, when we are under stress our bodies respond with the release of various chemicals, from epinephrine to norepinephrine. One can call it a “dance of chemicals”, and it occurs at a very fast, frenzied pace. All of this is done in order to prepare us physically for what is known as the “fight or flight” response.

We feel anxiety, anger, and all the symptoms that are associated with them. We then try achieving relaxation by using different approaches. Suddenly, there is a sudden appearance of NO that moves about our body. It can help many conditions, and clear our mind from the stress that we are under.

How can we relax or meditate to facilitate the release of NO?There are many ways we can unleash NO. One of the most common ways is by using what we believe: prayer. For example, if Christian, one can use words that have significance for the individual such as “Lord have mercy”, “Jesus loves me”, or many other common phrases used in different denominations. Rosaries are also an excellent tool, both in Islam and Christianity.

In Islamic traditions, after the daily prayers are performed many use a rosary and repeat sentences from the Quran. The most common is repeating the words, “God is great” and “In the name of God the Merciful”.

I remember growing up in Iran I was fascinated by the calmness of some individuals who always looked so serene. no matter what was happening around them. They seemed to always stay very calm and collected. There was even a name for these people: “ Norani”, meaning, “looking luminesce”. Years later, I can appreciate their serenity much more and now understand the science behind it. The individuals that were very much “Norani” were the religious types who always maintained their daily prayers and their repetitive use of the same words.

We feel anxiety, anger, and all the symptoms that are associated with them. We then try achieving relaxation by using different approaches. Suddenly, there is a sudden appearance of NO that moves about our body. It can help many conditions, and clear our mind from the stress that we are under.

How can we relax or meditate to facilitate the release of NO?There are many ways we can unleash NO. One of the most common ways is by using what we believe: prayer. For example, if Christian, one can use words that have significance for the individual such as “Lord have mercy”, “Jesus loves me”, or many other common phrases used in different denominations. Rosaries are also an excellent tool, both in Islam and Christianity.

This is not just something exclusive to Christian, Muslim, or Jewish tradition. There are also many other well-known traditions around the world including Hinduism and Buddhism that share many similar concepts of repetition. Additionally, there are other types of spirituality that are not associated with religion.

Although spirituality does seem to be associated with religion, it does not necessarily have to have religious roots. For example, American Indian dances or ancient African traditional dances do not have any religious roots, but they have a lot of spiritual roots. They believe in a higher power of energy, be it nature or otherwise. So there are other ways to unleash our inner peace without going through religious routes. The important part is to whole-heartedly believe the sentences we want to use. 

Many of my clients use the word “peace”, and imagine themselves interconnected with others in the universe, as a peaceful being. Any of these actions can bring us to a completely relaxed state. When the Nitric Oxide that has so many benefits can get released and moves about our body, it contributes to our wellbeing.

But What Exactly Is Nitric Oxide Anyways?

Nitric Oxide is a soluble gas, with a half-life of 6-30 seconds. It is a colorless, odorless gas that acts as a signaling molecule—a chemical messenger that cannot be stored and can rapidly diffuse across cell membranes to act at remote sites (as opposed to conventional neuro transmitters that cannot pass across cell membranes). Nitric Oxide is product of almost all organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plant, and animal cells. Nitric oxide is a chemical compound, NO. Nitric Oxide is synthesized widely in the endothelium. It moves freely in the body and consists of message carrying “puffs”. NO carries messages between the cells, brain, and central nervous system.

Research from the Medical Research Council at the University of Leicester demonstrated that nitric oxide could change the computational ability of the brain. This finding had huge implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and in general helped us better understanding brain function.