Rosary Rx. (catholic tastes).

"Rattling off the rosary at speed," the British Catholic magazine The Tablet reports, "means missing out on health benefits." It cites a recent Italian study by University of Pavia researcher Luciano Bernardi, who concluded that "saying the rosary induces regular rhythmic breathing, which has a beneficial calming effect, which in turn improves concentration." Bernardi was "astonished to discover that each cycle of the rosary was completed in a single slow respiration lasting almost exactly 10 seconds."

He found a similar pattern of slow rhythmic breathing among people reciting yoga mantras. There may even be a historical link. The rosary was introduced to Europe by crusaders, who adapted this form of prayer from the Arabs, who in turn took it from Tibetan monks and the yoga masters of India.

"In times when stopwatches and metronomes had still to be invented, a rhythmic formula was the easiest way to keep a reasonably accurate timing in the range of several seconds per breath, and thus a good way to learn slow respiration to a given rate," says Bernardi. (The Tablet, Jan. 5, 2002)