BenchFit Relax-Release: Part I

How do you relax? And what does it mean to relax? And do you need to add relaxation to your mad schedule? Here are some tips for you on relaxation, and it’s importance:

Healthy relaxation is an antidote for stress, and spending time away from work and “the clock” is one of the main joys of vacations.(Many individuals watch TV for apparent relaxation, but the volume of negative, and emotionally charged programs,does not often promote true relaxation ).Our current San Diego stress involves FIRE DANGER, and now even as the fires are more contained, and will be eventually controlled, most San Diegans are on alert and cannot concentrate well, sleep well, or perform work! Relaxation techniques can help re-set the immune and nervous systems so they do not remain in the fight or flight mode when it is not necessary.
Relaxation involves activating the calming, quieting functions of the nervous system, such as slowing the pulse, lowering the blood pressure, and calming the mind. And an important part of relaxation is that it allows you the sense of “being in the moment” with no pressure to think towards the future, or re-hash the past. Medically, the immune system is at it’s optimum when we truly enjoy some time for “peace and tranquility”, or total relaxation. The key to relaxation involves breath awareness and control. Once the breath, or more specifically the rate and depth of breathing, is brought to awareness, we also can focus on a positive mental image to calm the heart and mind.

You don’t need a swimming pool, sunset, or the perfect grass and barefoot feet to relax.Simply capture your breath, inhale and exhale slowly, and focus on a nice mental image. The ability to engage positive emotions and respiratory control will help you no matter where you are and what you are doing. And when you are feeling overloaded, engage the relax-release technique with breathing and visualization . Living on the edge with stress and frenzied schedules has health consequences: individuals are more likely to experience health problems, from recurring colds, to heart attacks, and strokes, if they feel chronically stressed.

Here are specific techniques, explained to move you towards finding peace and tranquility,and total relaxation:

BREATHING:

Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth as if you are saying the letter “n” , and hold your tongue softly in that position, with your jaw relaxed, and lips lightly closed. Inhale through your nose ,slowly. Exhale slowly, and pause. That is the basic physical technique. And as you exhale, relax and release all your muscles, and even pause a few seconds before inhaling again.

You may use one of the following techniques to deepen your relaxation.

1. Visualize colors, such as green, on the inhalation(the air is cooler on your nostrils when you inhale), and purple, as you exhale(the air is warmed by your lungs).In order to slow the breathing rate, you may take twice as long to exhale-relax-release, as inhale…and you may recite to yourself(without speaking)colors such as green(inhale), purple, blue(as you exhale)…pause, repeat. Practice cycling colors, and breathing, for a few minutes every day

2. Imagine your “peace and tranquility” spot, floating on that raft, or whatever engages your sense of calm and comfort.It is unique and important for you.(Look for a picture of my peace and tranquility spot on the next relax-release post!).
3. Perform 20 breaths, with the sense of relax-release, on every exhale, and allow the relaxation to flow in gentle waves down your body. Engage a sense of the deep relaxation at the conclusion of the session, and shift to that deep -calm -relaxed state several times during the day.

4. Traditional relaxation techniques involve tensing and relaxing muscles groups as you work down your body from head to toe, and also listening to peaceful music or nature sounds.Lying in a comfortable position with arms and legs turned out (as in savasana yoga pose) at the conclusion of the tensing and relaxing of the muscles, allows you to focus on your breathing and finding your quiet, still point.

5. Business coaches and psychologists teach individuals to capture an awareness of their thoughts and any worries; it is desirable to choose a specific place, such as a chair in your office, to be the “worry spot”, and to only focus on the problems when you are in that location.This frees the mind and heart from constant attempts to problem solve , and helps one to engage an awareness in the present moment.So when you find you are stressing out, pick a worry spot, and then engage a relax-release technique to calm your being.

6. Finally, engage in a feeling of gratitude, appreciation ,or joy by focusing on something or someone you feel good about. It is impossible to feel stressed at the same time as you feel positive emotions. It turns out there are nerve bundles, or a so called “brain” in the heart which interacts with, and influences the rest of our body. Focus on the feeling of gratitude as you breathe deeply and calmly.
If you’d like to learn more about stress, its medical consequences, stress management and relaxation techniques : books available on Amazon:
Cardiologist Dr Mimi Guarneri has a lovely book describing the heart-mind-stress connection, The Heart Speaks.

Doc Childre and Howard Martin delve into the physiology of stress, and techniques for re-focusing (freeze frame, coherance) in The Heart Math Solution.

Did you learn anything new here? I’m new to blogging , please rate the overall value of this and let me know 1: a dud 2. ok 3. good 4. helpful, interesting 5. Excellent

With appreciation,

Maureen@BenchFit.com