Therapeutic Relaxation
Therapeutic Relaxation is conscious, intentional, and mindful. It is practiced until it becomes instinctual and naturally occurring, once again. The ability to let go of stress or worries is like falling asleep – it’s something that naturally happens, without, indeed despite, our thoughts and actions.
But, what often happens to a lot of us is, somewhere along the path of our lives, we lose touch with that natural ability to relax for different reasons. And, while therapy can definitely help process those reasons, intentional, therapeutic relaxation is something that we can learn, or re-learn, and open-up that processing, while at the same time, decreasing stress and worry.
Benefits of Relaxation
1. Clearing and creating space in the mind Relaxation clears the mind of negative thoughts, and feelings, promotes creativity, and enhances problem-solving abilities, as alpha brain waves are increased. Alpha brain waves are associated with feelings of calm and well-being.
2. Protection against ongoing or future stress With experience, one can learn to recognize stress and tension when it starts to build-up, and can correct it before it becomes a headache, backache, neck pain, muscle pain or tension, or worse.
3. Chronic Pain Relaxation helps to release endorphins, the body’s own natural pain killers. Progressive relaxation combined with certain visualization techniques helps to lessen pain, especially secondary pain.
4. A General Calming Response Can be used at anytime, regardless of place, time or surroundings. Once familiar and practiced, the relaxation response can be elicited in a very few minutes, whenever you need it.
Relaxation training requires a passive, “let it go” attitude. An effort to relax is usually a failure to relax. Relaxation is part of each of us. All we are doing is allowing it to occur by retraining the body and mind to recognize the difference between tension and relaxation.
Relaxation Methods (a few)
1. Progressive Muscle Relaxation Edmund Jacobsen, a Chicago physician, published the book, Progressive Relaxation, in 1929. In this book he described his deep muscle relaxation technique, which he stated required no imagination, willpower, or suggestion. His technique is based on the premise that the body responds to anxiety-provoking thoughts and events by tensing the muscles. This muscle tension then increases anxiety. Deep muscle relaxation reduces muscle tension, thereby reducing the anxiety experienced. The habit of responding to anxiety-provoking thoughts and events by habitual practice of progressive muscle relaxation will greatly lessen the possibility of increased anxiety, which can lead to anxiety or panic attacks. (The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook, 5th Edition)
a. Start by making sure you have a place that is relatively calm, quiet and peaceful, and a time of day with no or few interruptions. Dress comfortably and have a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
b. The procedure is very simple……start by taking a few deep breaths……not those usual rather shallow breaths most of us take throughout the day, but the kind you take when you’re on the doctor’s examination table, and he/she tells you to take a really deep breath. Close your eyes, if you haven’t already.
c. You may already feel a bit more relaxed. You can focus your attention on either the crown of your head, or the tips of your toes, and work your way down or up, whatever makes the most sense to you. Either way, what you will be doing is focusing on a muscle group, tensing it for 5 seconds, and then releasing it, and taking a deep breath between each group.
d. For example, let’s say you decided to start from the crown/forehead and work down. You would tighten, squench-up, your forehead for 5 seconds, then release, take a deep breath, and feel the tension easing away from the forehead and around the eyes. Now move your attention down into your jaw, and open your mouth wide to tighten all those muscles in your jaw for 5 seconds. Take a deep breath and feel the tension easing from your face. Move your attention down into your neck and shoulders, and pull your shoulders up tight toward your head, and hold them for 5 seconds. Then release them, and take a deep breath. You’ll notice an easing of tension in your shoulders and neck. (This is an especially troublesome spot for many, so you may want to repeat the procedure in this area). Continue using this procedure, working your way down through the arms, hands, body-(chest, back, abdomen), hips, legs, ankles and feet. When you reach a part of the body that doesn’t have a controllable musculature (i.e., the skull, chest, upper and lower back), you can use the next form of relaxation, Release-Only.
2. Release-only Relaxation This kind of relaxation requires that you follow the same procedure as you did with the Progressive Relaxation, with one notable difference – with this relaxation you will be using your mind and thoughts to relax different parts of your body, by focusing on them and relaxing them. There is no muscular tightening and releasing, only releasing. So, again, you may start with your toes or head, working up or down, and while focusing on a particular part of the body, take a deep breath, and relax that part, letting those muscles or that area relax and any tension held there to flow out from it.
As stated before, you can combine both the Progressive Relaxation and Release-Only Relaxation to cover all parts of the body-muscular and non-muscular, for the most effective, complete relaxation experience.
3. Visualization This method can be used on it’s own, and is often used when there is a need or desire to have a “safe or peaceful place” visualization experience. This method is even more effective though, when used in combination with, and following, either or both the Progressive Relaxation and the Release-Only Relaxation.
In the context of learning relaxation methods, it can be described as using your imagination to visualize images that are calming and relaxing. Often this starts by creating your own unique “Calm and Peaceful Place”. This is a place that you can bring-up in your mind, and “be in”, whenever you need to feel more calm or relaxed. It can be a memory of someplace you’ve been (sitting on the beach or by a stream in the woods), or, you can create your own peaceful place using images from your imagination. And that's the beauty of it, you can make it whatever you want it to be, and change it whenever you want to change it.
Start by somehow arriving at the place...... for example, imagine yourself walking down a path or trail to get there. Then, use all of your imaginary senses to make it as real as possible......be aware of what you see, smell, hear, feel and possibly taste. Allow yourself to relax there and enjoy it. Be aware of letting go of tension, stress, anxiety, and worries, and allow yourself this time to feel at peace. It's a small "vacation" for your mind and body, that you can take any time you have some quiet time.
And, whenever you're ready to rejoin the "real" world, simply take a few deep breaths, and head back down the "path" the way you came...... feeling the warm ground under your feet as you go, carrying that sense of peace and calm within you.
Resources
Darren Marks is a British hypnotherapist who has several good Apps available to help develop relaxation skills. This is his website for more information: http://www.hypnotherapy-london.info
I highly recommend Shakti Gawain's book "Creative Visualization" to help develop the ability to deeply relax, as well as the ability to visualize or "sensorialize" changes that you want to make in yourself and your life.
Therapeutic Relaxation is conscious, intentional, and mindful. It is practiced until it becomes instinctual and naturally occurring, once again. The ability to let go of stress or worries is like falling asleep – it’s something that naturally happens, without, indeed despite, our thoughts and actions.
But, what often happens to a lot of us is, somewhere along the path of our lives, we lose touch with that natural ability to relax for different reasons. And, while therapy can definitely help process those reasons, intentional, therapeutic relaxation is something that we can learn, or re-learn, and open-up that processing, while at the same time, decreasing stress and worry.
Benefits of Relaxation
1. Clearing and creating space in the mind Relaxation clears the mind of negative thoughts, and feelings, promotes creativity, and enhances problem-solving abilities, as alpha brain waves are increased. Alpha brain waves are associated with feelings of calm and well-being.
2. Protection against ongoing or future stress With experience, one can learn to recognize stress and tension when it starts to build-up, and can correct it before it becomes a headache, backache, neck pain, muscle pain or tension, or worse.
3. Chronic Pain Relaxation helps to release endorphins, the body’s own natural pain killers. Progressive relaxation combined with certain visualization techniques helps to lessen pain, especially secondary pain.
4. A General Calming Response Can be used at anytime, regardless of place, time or surroundings. Once familiar and practiced, the relaxation response can be elicited in a very few minutes, whenever you need it.
Relaxation training requires a passive, “let it go” attitude. An effort to relax is usually a failure to relax. Relaxation is part of each of us. All we are doing is allowing it to occur by retraining the body and mind to recognize the difference between tension and relaxation.
Relaxation Methods (a few)
1. Progressive Muscle Relaxation Edmund Jacobsen, a Chicago physician, published the book, Progressive Relaxation, in 1929. In this book he described his deep muscle relaxation technique, which he stated required no imagination, willpower, or suggestion. His technique is based on the premise that the body responds to anxiety-provoking thoughts and events by tensing the muscles. This muscle tension then increases anxiety. Deep muscle relaxation reduces muscle tension, thereby reducing the anxiety experienced. The habit of responding to anxiety-provoking thoughts and events by habitual practice of progressive muscle relaxation will greatly lessen the possibility of increased anxiety, which can lead to anxiety or panic attacks. (The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook, 5th Edition)
a. Start by making sure you have a place that is relatively calm, quiet and peaceful, and a time of day with no or few interruptions. Dress comfortably and have a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
b. The procedure is very simple……start by taking a few deep breaths……not those usual rather shallow breaths most of us take throughout the day, but the kind you take when you’re on the doctor’s examination table, and he/she tells you to take a really deep breath. Close your eyes, if you haven’t already.
c. You may already feel a bit more relaxed. You can focus your attention on either the crown of your head, or the tips of your toes, and work your way down or up, whatever makes the most sense to you. Either way, what you will be doing is focusing on a muscle group, tensing it for 5 seconds, and then releasing it, and taking a deep breath between each group.
d. For example, let’s say you decided to start from the crown/forehead and work down. You would tighten, squench-up, your forehead for 5 seconds, then release, take a deep breath, and feel the tension easing away from the forehead and around the eyes. Now move your attention down into your jaw, and open your mouth wide to tighten all those muscles in your jaw for 5 seconds. Take a deep breath and feel the tension easing from your face. Move your attention down into your neck and shoulders, and pull your shoulders up tight toward your head, and hold them for 5 seconds. Then release them, and take a deep breath. You’ll notice an easing of tension in your shoulders and neck. (This is an especially troublesome spot for many, so you may want to repeat the procedure in this area). Continue using this procedure, working your way down through the arms, hands, body-(chest, back, abdomen), hips, legs, ankles and feet. When you reach a part of the body that doesn’t have a controllable musculature (i.e., the skull, chest, upper and lower back), you can use the next form of relaxation, Release-Only.
2. Release-only Relaxation This kind of relaxation requires that you follow the same procedure as you did with the Progressive Relaxation, with one notable difference – with this relaxation you will be using your mind and thoughts to relax different parts of your body, by focusing on them and relaxing them. There is no muscular tightening and releasing, only releasing. So, again, you may start with your toes or head, working up or down, and while focusing on a particular part of the body, take a deep breath, and relax that part, letting those muscles or that area relax and any tension held there to flow out from it.
As stated before, you can combine both the Progressive Relaxation and Release-Only Relaxation to cover all parts of the body-muscular and non-muscular, for the most effective, complete relaxation experience.
3. Visualization This method can be used on it’s own, and is often used when there is a need or desire to have a “safe or peaceful place” visualization experience. This method is even more effective though, when used in combination with, and following, either or both the Progressive Relaxation and the Release-Only Relaxation.
In the context of learning relaxation methods, it can be described as using your imagination to visualize images that are calming and relaxing. Often this starts by creating your own unique “Calm and Peaceful Place”. This is a place that you can bring-up in your mind, and “be in”, whenever you need to feel more calm or relaxed. It can be a memory of someplace you’ve been (sitting on the beach or by a stream in the woods), or, you can create your own peaceful place using images from your imagination. And that's the beauty of it, you can make it whatever you want it to be, and change it whenever you want to change it.
Start by somehow arriving at the place...... for example, imagine yourself walking down a path or trail to get there. Then, use all of your imaginary senses to make it as real as possible......be aware of what you see, smell, hear, feel and possibly taste. Allow yourself to relax there and enjoy it. Be aware of letting go of tension, stress, anxiety, and worries, and allow yourself this time to feel at peace. It's a small "vacation" for your mind and body, that you can take any time you have some quiet time.
And, whenever you're ready to rejoin the "real" world, simply take a few deep breaths, and head back down the "path" the way you came...... feeling the warm ground under your feet as you go, carrying that sense of peace and calm within you.
Resources
Darren Marks is a British hypnotherapist who has several good Apps available to help develop relaxation skills. This is his website for more information: http://www.hypnotherapy-london.info
I highly recommend Shakti Gawain's book "Creative Visualization" to help develop the ability to deeply relax, as well as the ability to visualize or "sensorialize" changes that you want to make in yourself and your life.