Breathing and Relaxation Techniques

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1 Breathing and Relaxation Techniques Relaxation: a Prescription for Health & Wellness Relaxing turns off our body s response to stress with remarkable benefits for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Here are some of the benefits: Slows your heart rate Normalises blood pressure Slows your breathing rate Reduces the need for oxygen/allows oxygen to be used more efficiently Decreases adrenal glands production of stress hormones Increases production of growth and sex hormones Improves immune system health Increases blood flow to major muscles Reduces muscle tension Helps relieve aches and pains such as headaches and back pain Helps you handle negative emotions such as anger and frustration Gives you more energy Improves concentration and creativity Improves ability to handle problems Breathing and relaxation techniques can have huge long-term benefits for your health -- physical, mental, emotionally and energetically. They also make you feel better instantly by relieving anxiety and stress.

2 How to Breath for Relaxation Deep breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) works on a physiological level to help turn off your stress response ( fight or flight mode) and activate your parasympathetic nervous system ( rest and digest mode). This helps you relax -- with profound benefits for your health. This breathing for relaxation technique will allow you to turn off your stress response and relax deeply: 1. Inhaling through your nose, breathe all the way into the lower third of your lungs. Your stomach should expand when you inhale and return to normal when you exhale. (Place your hands flat on your stomach and watch them rise and fall.) Breathing like this is called diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing or belly breathing. It tells the body s stress mechanisms that the danger is over and it s OK to relax.

3 2. Breathe evenly, in a smooth rhythm. This relaxes you and helps you feel grounded. If it helps, you can count your breaths to help you keep the rhythm even. (As in "In , Out ) 3. After you've got the rhythm smooth and even, slow down the exhale in comparison to the inhale, to super-charge the relaxation response. Aim to work up to exhaling about twice as long as you inhale. Long exhalations communicate with your nervous system, underscoring the message that it s OK to relax. Once again, if it helps, you can count to help you keep the proportion about right. (As in, "In , Out , or whatever is comfortable for you. Keeping it comfortable is crucial -- longer isn't better if it makes you uncomfortable. Do this for at least a couple of minutes. Note: If you start to feel dizzy or faint, just return to your normal breathing for a while.

4 How Breathing and Relaxation Techniques Benefit Your Subtle Energies The energy field of a person when relaxed feels very different from when they are tense and anxious. Breath work, by helping us to relax, helps our subtle energies to shift more easily to a state of healthy balance and flow. Another reason belly breathing works on a spiritual level is that it balances and soothes the 3rd chakra, which is located just below the diaphragm. It also helps us ground to our own bodies, connect the upper and lower chakras, and unify the subtle and physical aspects of our being. How Breathing and Relaxation Techniques Benefit Your Physical Body Breathing has many benefits. One of the most profound is relaxation. Relaxation and stress are governed largely by your nervous and endocrine systems. Your body s autonomic nervous system is made up of two related systems: the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. Rest and Digest Mode The parasympathetic nervous system is related to relaxation, creativity, awareness, and normal body processes such as digestion (which is why it s sometimes called the rest and digest mode). When your parasympathetic nervous system is activated, your body is able to carry out the functions it needs to maintain and restore itself. Thus activation of the parasympathetic nervous system is very good for your health.

5 Fight or Flight Mode The sympathetic nervous system, in contrast, is activated when we are in danger or under stress. Our sympathetic nervous system puts us into fight or flight mode, gearing up our minds, bodies and emotions for dealing with a real or imaginary enemy. As our body is readied to respond to a challenge, our heart pounds, blood pressure goes up, breathing gets shallow, the adrenal glands pump out stress hormones, immune function is suppressed, and any body function that is not for fighting or running away is suppressed.

6 Progressive Muscle Relaxation While PMR works most obviously on the physical body, it has benefits for our emotional and spiritual selves as well. Progressive Muscle Relaxation is an extremely effective technique for releasing the tension that is held in our muscles. Often we don't even know that we are holding tension in various parts of our body. Progressive Muscle Relaxation helps you to be aware of when your muscles are tense, and how to release them voluntarily. The physical relaxation induces psychological and spiritual calmness. Your breathing slows down, and your brain stops whirring. PMR is a two-step process. You tense and then release your muscles, working systematically through the muscle groups of the entire body. The whole process usually takes about ten minutes. Getting Ready Find a quiet place where you will be undisturbed. You should have as little background noise as possible, not even music. Wear comfortable clothing; remove your shoes. Never practice after using any intoxicants. Sit in a comfortable chair if possible. You re less likely to fall asleep than if you re lying down.

7 Progressive Muscle Relaxation Tense and Release Procedure Step 1: Tension First, focus on the first group, e.g your right foot. Inhaling deeply, tense the muscles for 8-10 seconds. Step 2: Releasing the Tension After the 8-10 seconds of tension, quickly let the muscle go, exhaling at the same time. Let the muscle relax as completely as possible, becoming heavy and limp. You might want to imagine the tension and effort draining out of the body part, like water out of a faucet, and into the ground. Notice the difference between a state of tension and relaxation in those muscles. Stay relaxed for about 15 seconds, and then repeat the tense and release process with the same muscle group. Then move on to the next group, working your way systematically through the whole body. The Sequence Take yourself through the two-step procedure in the following order. The order doesn t really matter, it s just good to be systematic so you don t skip anything and you don t have to think about it. Feel free to fine-tune the list, so that you spend more attention on areas where you need it.

8 Right foot Right lower leg & foot Entire right leg Left foot Left lower leg & foot Entire left leg Right hand Right forearm and hand Entire right arm Left hand Left forearm & hand Entire left arm Abdomen Chest Lower back Upper back Neck Shoulders Face Afterward After you finish a session, rest with your eyes closed for a few seconds, and then get up slowly. Try to maintain a deep, even rhythm of breathing to prolong your peaceful state. Important If you have a history of serious injuries, muscle spasms, or back problems, you should check with your doctor before doing Progressive Muscle Relaxation. The muscle tensing could worsen these issues.

9 Guided Visualisation Guided imagery is a form of focused relaxation that helps create harmony between the mind and body. It is a way of focusing your imagination to create calm, peaceful images in your mind, thereby providing a mental escape. Guided imagery provides a powerful psychological strategy that enhances a person s coping skills. Imagery involves all the senses, as well as one s whole body and emotions. It is a way of viewing your ideas, feelings, experiences and interpretations. Imagery can stimulate changes in bodily functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory patterns as well as introducing a deep state of relaxation and an ability to manage stress. Procedure: 1. Get into a comfortable position, like one you would use for meditation. If a lying-down position would likely put you to sleep, opt for a cross-legged position, or recline in a comfy chair. 2. Use diaphragmatic deep breathing and close your eyes, focusing on breathing in peace and breathing out stress. 3. Once you get to a relaxed state, begin to envision yourself in the midst of the most relaxing environment you can imagine. For some, this would be floating in the cool, clear waters off of a remote tropical island, where attractive people bring drinks and smooth music plays in the background. For others, this might be sitting by a fire in a secluded snow cabin, deep in the woods, sipping hot cocoa and reading the latest bestseller while wrapped in a plush blanket and fuzzy slippers.

10 4. As you imagine your scene, try to involve all of your senses. What does it look like? How does it feel? What special scents are involved? Do you hear the roar of a fire, the splash of a waterfall, or the sounds of chipper birds? Make your vision so real you can even taste it 5. Stay here for as long as you like. Enjoy your surroundings, and let yourself be far from what stresses you. When you are ready to come back to reality, count back from ten or twenty, and tell yourself that when you get to one, you ll feel serene and alert, and enjoy the rest of your day. When you return you ll feel more calm and refreshed, like returning from a mini-vacation, but you wont have left the room.