Relaxation

Taking time for relaxation is not a luxury, it is a requirement.  We all need time to rest our body, collect our thoughts, and to experience peace and quiet.

Technically speaking, relaxation is a well-known technique that is used to facilitate healing by clearing your mind and allowing your body and mind to devote energy on restorative functions.  By slowing down your mind with relaxation, you will have a better perspective on stressors in your life, and new thoughts and positive visualizations can be more readily received by your subconscious mind.

Types of Relaxation

While the term relaxation often means different things to different people, there are three primary types of relaxation: physical, mental, and spiritual.

Physical Relaxation

Physical relaxation techniques include progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and controlled breathing.  Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique that helps to relax muscles that have become tense as a result of some type of stress.  PMR is often used to help ailments such as  tension headaches, as well as, jaw, neck, and back pain.  Use the following directions to help you practice PMR:

• Assume a comfortable position in a quiet place. You can either lay down or sit in a comfortable chair.
• With your eyes closed, start to breathe deeply and exhale slowly.
• Next, begin to tense a certain muscle group for about 10 seconds, and then relax them.
• Continue the tensing and relaxing of your various muscle groups in your head (forehead, eyes, mouth), neck, jaw, shoulders, back, stomach, arms (upper arm, forearm), hands, legs (thighs, calves, ankles) and feet.
• After tensing and relaxing each muscle group, you should experience a soothing feeling upon the relaxation of each muscle group.

Controlled breathing is another quick and easy technique that can be used to relax your physical body. Controlled breathing can be used to help reduce anxiety and mental stress.  The nice thing about controlled breathing is that it can be done just about anywhere (work, home, golf course) in the matter of just a few minutes.  To practice controlled breathing:

• Find a quiet place with minimal distractions – if possible.
• With your eyes closed, breath in deeply through your nose (you may want to count to 5 as you inhale).
• Either recite a positive affirmation (I am calm or I am at peace) or quickly use a visualization to help you relax ( you might visualize yourself at the beach or you can visualize the stress and tension leaving your body).
• Breathe out/exhale through your mouth, again counting to 5.  It helps many people to make a hissing sound as they exhale, similar to a pressure cooker letting off steam.

 Mental Relaxation

Once you are physically relaxed, you are ready to practice mental relaxation, which is a state of mental silence where your mind is void of thoughts for short periods of time.


Just as our bodies become physically tired, our minds can also become overloaded and tired from stress and worry, whether real or imagined.  Undue stress and worry can use up more energy than that of physical exertion associated with work of some kind.  Extended periods of stress and worry often result in mental fatigue, which in turn affects your physical body.  Thus, it is important to take time each day to calm and relax your mind.

There are a number of commonly practiced methods that you can use to relax and rest your mind. These include:

- Focus attention on a setting that you consider quiet and relaxing. Focus on the details (sights, sounds, smells) of the surroundings. Focus on how calm and relaxed you feel in this surrounding.

- Recite and focus on a positive statement or affirmation.  For example, "I feel calm" or "My body is relaxed and peaceful".

- Counting - count backwards slowly from 1000 to zero.

- Meditation techniques such as Zen, Yoga, Transcendental or the Relaxation Response. These ancient techniques have been proven to lower blood pressure and produce positive changes in the electrical activity of the brain.

Dr. Herbert Benson, M.D. details the history, benefits and techniques of the Relaxation Response in his book, "the Relaxation Response".  According to Dr. Benson, "The physiologic changes of the Relaxation Response are associated with what has been called an altered state of consciousness". The four basic elements of the Relaxation Response include:

(1) Sit quietly in a comfortable position.

(2) Close your eyes.

(3) Relax all of your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face.  Continue to keep them relaxed.

(4) Breathe through your nose. Become aware of  your breathing.  As you breathe out, say a word or phrase that you have designated as your mantra silently to yourself.  For example, "Breathe in.....out, relax".  Breathe easily and naturally.

Continue this ritual for 10 to 20 minutes.  When you are finished, sit quietly for several minutes.

Spiritual Relaxation

While physical and mental relaxation techniques provide you with the basic mechanics of relaxation, true relaxation is achieved by turning to your higher being.  Stress and worry are a constant in today's world.  Turning to your higher being can provide you with inner peace of mind and happiness.

Benefits of Relaxation

Practicing relaxation on a regular basis can provide numerous benefits.  First and foremost it can provide you with a technique to help control stress in your life, whether it is positive or negative stress.  We all know that living in a high stress environment is bad for our health – both mental and physical.  Finding a way to  handle stresses in our life is extremely beneficial to our overall physical health and mental well-being.


Research indicates that increased levels of stress are a contributing factor to the global surge in obesity.  There is a laundry list of stress related illnesses: headaches, anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal problems, and muscle and joint pain, to name just a few.


It is important that you learn how to control stress, instead of letting it control you. Research has shown that individuals who practice relaxation on a regular basis have the ability to not only handle stress better, but can also“come down” from stress quicker than those individuals who do not practice relaxation.

Another benefit of relaxation is that it can help increase one’s ability to focus/concentrate for longer periods of time.  If you think about it, in order to practice relaxation successfully, you must train yourself to focus your attention and tune out external distractions.  This technique can be successfully parlayed to other areas of your life.

 

Practicing Relaxation

If you are not in the habit of practicing relaxation on a regular basis, you may find it hard to do at first.  For some people relaxation comes quite easily, but others need help from soothing music or maybe a tape that helps them solicit various visualizations.  You will need to carve out some time each day that you can devote to yourself.  The more that you practice the art of relaxation, the easier it will become.  It will be in these quiet moments that you begin to experience more clarity about your body, your mind, and your desires.  What do you need?  What can you learn?  Trust that the experiences that you have will become more joyful and clear as a result of being in a more rested state.

According to E.L. Rossi, author of “The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing”, our bodies experience regular cycles of peak functioning, called the “ultradian cycle”, that occur approximately every 2 hours, followed by periods of lowered functioning that typically last about 20 minutes.  We tend to perform better when we are “on” during peak functioning, so we should arrange to relax during the periods of lowered functioning.  As such, the best time to practice relaxation is in the morning when you wake up.  It is also suggested that you try to practice relaxation at bedtime in order to experience a more restorative sleep, as well as throughout the day during your “valley” periods of lowered functioning, or as needed.

Sources;
Rossi, E.L. (1993) The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing.

Center for Conscious Living, ‘Relaxation and Health’, www.centerforconsciousliving.com