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Relaxation Technique for Mind and Body

Stress and anxiety can't always be avoided - they're part of life! Relaxation exercisesand techniques can often be helpful in reducing stress to more manageable levels.

There are many different approaches and techniques for aiding relaxation. Here is a basic method that I have found useful.

By focusing the mind, as this particular technique describes, concentration may also be improved.

• Ideally you should be in a place that is quiet and without distractions; and is airy, but warm enough to aid muscular relaxation. Lie on the floor flat on your back, with arms loosely toeach side of your body. (In yoga, this would be called shavasana.) You may need a cushion for your head to feel comfortable enough,but it is not necessary. The back of your head should be on the floor or cushion, so that your head, neck and back are in a straight line.
  
  
• Starting from the head, gradually work down the body from headto toe. Take your time doing this. At first, it may take a fair amount of concentration to achieve a good degree of relaxation. With practice, it should become easier. You can get to know, both in mind and body, what it feels like to be totally relaxed.
  
  
• Starting from the top of your head, try feeling, tensing and then relaxing individual muscles. First go down the back of the head and then the face. Gradually tense and relax the muscles of the face. The mouth should be loosely closed and the tip of the tongue just touching behind the top teeth.
  
  
• After the head is adequately relaxed, carry on tensing and relaxing muscles in the neck and the rest of the body. Gradually work your way downwards to end at the toes.
  
  
• You may well find that having got to your toes that you need to return to other parts that have tensed again, particularly head or face. Have patience! You are training your body and your technique should greatly improve with practice.
  
  
• It may seem like a contradiction to make yourself relax. It may be helpful to think of it as an attention without tension.
  
  
• When you feel you are as relaxed as you can reasonably get, then direct your focus of attention to your breathing. Try to breathe so that you spend the same time breathing in as breathing out. It maybe useful to count at first, to give yourself a sense of this. Breathe in a way that feels comfortable; and is neither too shallow nor too deep.
  
  
• When you feel your breathing is now comfortable and even, begin to focus your attention on your abdomen, just below your navel. Feel your belly expand as you breathe in; and feel it go down as you breathe out. Focus on this movement of your belly as it corresponds to your breathing in and out.
  
  
• If it is hard to attain this focus, you can place the palms of your hands, one over the other on your belly to aid concentration.
  
  
• If your attention wanders, don't worry. Just notice that it's happened and gently bring it back to your breathing.
  
  
• Keep your attention fixed on your breathing, as described above, for the duration of the exercise. Around 10-20 minutes of relaxation in this way can be beneficial.
  
  
• The more practice you get, the easier it should become, so that your mind and body know and remember how to relax. You may find you no longer need to tense individual muscles, in order to thenrelax them. You develop a sense of what it is to be relaxed and calmer.
  
  
• If you are unable to lie down, this relaxation exercise can be performed sitting up. Sit upright with a straight back and rest your hands comfortably on your lap.