Mind-Body Relaxation
It's hard to relax by thinking you should relax. The more you think you should relax, the more tense you become. It’s like chasing your tail. The key to relaxation is to avoid that trap by relaxing your body first.
Relax your body and your mind will follow. Do not try to relax your mind. Your mind and body relax as a unit because they are in constant communication. Since it’s hard to relax your mind, relax your body first, and your mind will follow. Try this one-minute experiment.
Sit in a chair with both your feet resting comfortably on the ground. Imagine your legs and feet becoming heavy. Mentally scan the soles of your feet, and feel each point where your soles touch the ground.
It’s important that you feel your skin touching the ground. Don’t try to visualize it – feel it. Do this for a few breaths before moving on.
Next, imagine your whole body becoming heavy and loose. Mentally scan the points where your skin touches the chair. Feel your seat and hips touching the ground. Do this for a few more breaths before reading further.
If you did this simple exercise, you’re already breathing more slowly and feeling more relaxed. What’s amazing is how quickly you can relax once you know how.
A relaxed body feels grounded, balanced, loose, and centered. Those four qualities describe how it feels to be relaxed. They are true whether you are lying down, sitting, or standing. During a relaxation session, you practice producing those qualities so that you can reproduce them later when you want to relax. That’s how relaxation works. You practice feeling relaxed so that you can relax later.
The above exercise showed you how to become grounded, by scanning your body, and feeling your skin on the ground. You become centered by turning your focus into your body and away from your tension.
Basic Relaxation Tips
There are three basic relaxation postures. You can relax lying down, sitting on the floor, or sitting in a chair. No one posture is superior to the others. The key is to find a comfortable position where you feel grounded, balanced, loose, and centered.
A typical relaxation session is 20 to 40 minutes. Start with 10 minutes a day, and add 10 minutes a week. You can divide sessions into two. If 20 to 40 minutes sounds like a long time, consider how much time you waste feeling anxious or angry on a daily basis.
The Benefits of Mind-Body Relaxation
Mind-body relaxation is not just a way to relax, it is a way to improve your life. You relax by letting go of negative thinking that make you tense. Relaxation is about letting go. You let go of tension, the past, and negative thinking that contribute to your unhappiness. Letting go is what elevates mind-body relaxation from a relaxation technique to a coping skill.
If you reduce your stress, you will feel happier, and that feeling will spill over to the rest of your life.
Learn More
In the book "I Want to Change My Life" you'll learn:
- A mind-body relaxation technique that combines traditional meditation with modern psychology
- The three main areas of tension in your body
Simple breathing techniques to let go of your tension quickly - How to relax the muscles in your face and why that is important
- How to stay focused during relaxation
- How to become aware of your underlying tension
- How and why mind-body relaxation works
- How to put it all together in a one-month relaxation program
- How tension causes distorted beliefs
- The similarities between mind-body relaxation and cognitive therapy
- How mind-body relaxation helps you recognize your distorted beliefs
- How mind-body relaxation improves self-esteem and helps caretakers take better care of themselves
- How mind-body relaxation applies to anger management
Learn mind-body relaxation and stress management techniques and how to meditate, in addition to guided meditation and a stress reduction plan. Learn about stress management, relaxation, and meditation techniques. Learn the consequences and effects of chronic stress and tension. Discover how meditation and mindful relaxation can relieve stress effects and stress symptoms. Learn mindful meditation and mindful relaxation techniques. Learn about managing stress and relieving stress and tension. For a more information refer to the book, I Want to Change My Life by Dr. Steven M. Melemis.