Andi
12-24-05, 12:14 AM
Learn ‘Deep Relaxation Techniques’ to calm those tensed nerves..
Deep relaxation refers to a distinct physiological state that is the exact opposite of the way your body reacts under stress or during a panic attack. It involves a series of physiological changes including:
Decrease in heart rate
Decrease in respiration rate
Decrease in blood pressure
Decrease in skeletal muscle tension
Decrease in metabolic rate and oxygen consumption
Decrease in analytical thinking
Increase in skin resistance
Increase in alpha wave activity in the brain
Regular practice of deep relaxation for twenty to thirty minutes on a daily basis can produce, over time, a generalization of relaxation to the rest of your life. That is, after several weeks of practicing deep relaxation once per day, you will tend to feel more relaxed all the time. Numerous other benefits of deep relaxation have been documented over the past twenty years:
Reduction of generalized anxiety. Many people have found that regular practice also reduces the frequency and severity of panic attacks.
Preventing stress from becoming cumulative. Unabated stress tends to build up over time. Entering into a state of physiological quiescence once a day gives your body the opportunity to recover from the effects of stress.
Increased energy level and productivity.
Improved concentration and memory. Regular practice of deep relaxation tends to increase your ability to focus and keeps your mind from 'racing'.
Reduction of insomnia and fatigue. Learning to relax leads to sleep that is deeper and sounder.
Prevention and/or reduction of psychosomatic disorders such as hypertension, migraines, headaches, asthma, ulcers, and so on.
Increased self-confidence and reduced self-blame. For many people, stress and excessive self-criticism or feelings of inadequacy go hand in hand. You can perform better, as well as feel better, when you are relaxed.
Increased availability of feelings. Muscle tension is one of the chief impediments to an awareness of your feelings.
How can you achieve a state of deep relaxation? By teaching yourself
A. Abdominal Breathing
Note the level of tension you're feeling. Then place one hand on your abdomen right beneath your rib cage.
2. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose into the 'bottom' of your lungs - in other words, send the air as low down as you can. If you're breathing from your abdomen, your hand should actually rise. Your chest should move only slightly while your abdomen expands. (In abdominal breathing, the diaphragm - the muscle that separates the lung cavity from the abdominal cavity - moves downward. In so doing it causes the muscles surrounding the abdominal cavity to push outward.)
3. When you've taken in a full breath, pause for a moment and then exhale slowly through your nose or mouth, depending on your preference. Be sure to exhale fully. As you exhale, allow your whole body to just let go (you might visualize your arms and legs going loose and limp like a rag doll).
4. Do ten slow, full abdominal breaths. Try to keep your breathing smooth and regular, without gulping in a big breath or letting your breath out all at once. It will help to slow down your breathing if you slowly count to four on the inhale and then slowly count to four on the exhale. Remember to pause briefly at the end of each inhalation.
5. Extend the exercise if you wish by doing two or three 'sets' of abdominal breaths, remembering to count backward from ten to one for each set (each exhalation counts as one number). Five full minutes of abdominal breathing will have a pronounced effect in reducing anxiety or early symptoms of panic.
B. Calming Breath Exercise
The Calming Breath Exercise was adapted from yoga. It is a very efficient technique for achieving a deep state of relaxation quickly.
Breathing from your abdomen, inhale through your nose slowly to a count of five (count slowly "one... two... three... four... five" as you inhale).
2. Pause and hold your breath to a count of five.
3. Exhale slowly, through your nose or mouth, to a count of five (or more if it takes you longer). Be sure to exhale fully.
4. When you've exhaled completely, take two breaths in your normal rhythm, then repeat Steps 1 through 3 in the cycle above.
5. Keep up the exercise for at least three to five minutes. This should involve going through at least ten cycles of in-five, hold-five, out-five. As you continue the exercise, you may notice that you can count higher when you exhale than when you inhale. Allow these variations in your counting to occur if they do, and just continue with the exercise for up to five minutes. Remember to take two normal breaths between each cycle. If you start to feel light-headed while practicing this exercise, stop for thirty seconds and then start again.
6. Throughout the exercise, keep your breathing smooth and regular, without gulping in breaths or breathing out suddenly.
Practice the Abdominal Breathing or Calming Breath Exercise for five minutes every day for at least two weeks. If possible, find a regular time each day to do this so that your breathing exercise becomes a habit. Once you feel you've gained some mastery in the use of either technique, apply it when you feel stressed, anxious, or when you experience the onset of panic symptoms. By extending your practice of either breathing exercise to a month or longer, you will begin to retrain yourself to breathe from your abdomen. The more you can shift the center of your breathing from your chest to your abdomen, the more consistently you will feel relaxed on an ongoing basis.
http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=xtras&subsection=healthcheck&xfile=December2005_extraspecial_standard896&child=extraspecial
Deep relaxation refers to a distinct physiological state that is the exact opposite of the way your body reacts under stress or during a panic attack. It involves a series of physiological changes including:
Decrease in heart rate
Decrease in respiration rate
Decrease in blood pressure
Decrease in skeletal muscle tension
Decrease in metabolic rate and oxygen consumption
Decrease in analytical thinking
Increase in skin resistance
Increase in alpha wave activity in the brain
Regular practice of deep relaxation for twenty to thirty minutes on a daily basis can produce, over time, a generalization of relaxation to the rest of your life. That is, after several weeks of practicing deep relaxation once per day, you will tend to feel more relaxed all the time. Numerous other benefits of deep relaxation have been documented over the past twenty years:
Reduction of generalized anxiety. Many people have found that regular practice also reduces the frequency and severity of panic attacks.
Preventing stress from becoming cumulative. Unabated stress tends to build up over time. Entering into a state of physiological quiescence once a day gives your body the opportunity to recover from the effects of stress.
Increased energy level and productivity.
Improved concentration and memory. Regular practice of deep relaxation tends to increase your ability to focus and keeps your mind from 'racing'.
Reduction of insomnia and fatigue. Learning to relax leads to sleep that is deeper and sounder.
Prevention and/or reduction of psychosomatic disorders such as hypertension, migraines, headaches, asthma, ulcers, and so on.
Increased self-confidence and reduced self-blame. For many people, stress and excessive self-criticism or feelings of inadequacy go hand in hand. You can perform better, as well as feel better, when you are relaxed.
Increased availability of feelings. Muscle tension is one of the chief impediments to an awareness of your feelings.
How can you achieve a state of deep relaxation? By teaching yourself
A. Abdominal Breathing
Note the level of tension you're feeling. Then place one hand on your abdomen right beneath your rib cage.
2. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose into the 'bottom' of your lungs - in other words, send the air as low down as you can. If you're breathing from your abdomen, your hand should actually rise. Your chest should move only slightly while your abdomen expands. (In abdominal breathing, the diaphragm - the muscle that separates the lung cavity from the abdominal cavity - moves downward. In so doing it causes the muscles surrounding the abdominal cavity to push outward.)
3. When you've taken in a full breath, pause for a moment and then exhale slowly through your nose or mouth, depending on your preference. Be sure to exhale fully. As you exhale, allow your whole body to just let go (you might visualize your arms and legs going loose and limp like a rag doll).
4. Do ten slow, full abdominal breaths. Try to keep your breathing smooth and regular, without gulping in a big breath or letting your breath out all at once. It will help to slow down your breathing if you slowly count to four on the inhale and then slowly count to four on the exhale. Remember to pause briefly at the end of each inhalation.
5. Extend the exercise if you wish by doing two or three 'sets' of abdominal breaths, remembering to count backward from ten to one for each set (each exhalation counts as one number). Five full minutes of abdominal breathing will have a pronounced effect in reducing anxiety or early symptoms of panic.
B. Calming Breath Exercise
The Calming Breath Exercise was adapted from yoga. It is a very efficient technique for achieving a deep state of relaxation quickly.
Breathing from your abdomen, inhale through your nose slowly to a count of five (count slowly "one... two... three... four... five" as you inhale).
2. Pause and hold your breath to a count of five.
3. Exhale slowly, through your nose or mouth, to a count of five (or more if it takes you longer). Be sure to exhale fully.
4. When you've exhaled completely, take two breaths in your normal rhythm, then repeat Steps 1 through 3 in the cycle above.
5. Keep up the exercise for at least three to five minutes. This should involve going through at least ten cycles of in-five, hold-five, out-five. As you continue the exercise, you may notice that you can count higher when you exhale than when you inhale. Allow these variations in your counting to occur if they do, and just continue with the exercise for up to five minutes. Remember to take two normal breaths between each cycle. If you start to feel light-headed while practicing this exercise, stop for thirty seconds and then start again.
6. Throughout the exercise, keep your breathing smooth and regular, without gulping in breaths or breathing out suddenly.
Practice the Abdominal Breathing or Calming Breath Exercise for five minutes every day for at least two weeks. If possible, find a regular time each day to do this so that your breathing exercise becomes a habit. Once you feel you've gained some mastery in the use of either technique, apply it when you feel stressed, anxious, or when you experience the onset of panic symptoms. By extending your practice of either breathing exercise to a month or longer, you will begin to retrain yourself to breathe from your abdomen. The more you can shift the center of your breathing from your chest to your abdomen, the more consistently you will feel relaxed on an ongoing basis.
http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=xtras&subsection=healthcheck&xfile=December2005_extraspecial_standard896&child=extraspecial