Creating the experience of relaxation is vital to offset the harmful effects of recurring stress on the body. Through the regular practice of relaxation techniques, one can begin to reverse this cumulative, damaging process, and engage the body's amazing possibility for self-healing.
Progressive muscle relaxation, also known as a guided body scan is a very valuable stress relief technique. A guided body scan -- which seeks to locate and release muscular tensions -- encourages deep relaxation, as most of us carry unnecessary tension in some of our muscles. The location of recurring muscle tension can vary from person to person.
In progressive muscle relaxation, you move your awareness into different parts of your body and release any felt sensations of tension or soreness. With consistent practice, you can become more conscious of your tension and discover ways to release it. Letting go of physical tension promotes soothing and a peaceful, tranquil mind.
You can augment the relaxation by tensing each muscle group at the outset, holding it for a moment, and then releasing it into deeper relaxation. Increasing the tension helps you become more awake to how the muscle feels when it is tense, as well as making it possible to relax more deeply.
Try a "mini-body scan" now as you are reading this.
Start with deep, relaxed breathing. Then when you are ready, allow your attention to travel in sequence through your body, starting at your head and leisurely moving down until you end with your toes. Within each part of your body, pause a moment and survey for tightness, tension, or chronic pain. Begin to let yourself release any soreness or tension that you notice.
In addition, you can imagine sending the warm energy of your inhalation into the discomfort or soreness, and then, with the exhalation, release and melt the tension.
Physical relaxation -- the release of muscular tension -- in the body promotes the Relaxation Response. Your heart rate, breathing and metabolism slow and your blood pressure becomes lower. Your mind becomes tranquil and relaxed, free of anxiety -- and is no longer sending out the signals that release the stress hormones to flood throughout your body.
As you are learning this method, or if you desire a more structured practice it is often advantageous to study with a teacher or to use a guided meditation CD. This will help you to remain focused on your breath and to notice those areas of your body which might otherwise remain unnoticed in the body scan.
We unintentionally elicit the Stress Response in our bodies through sustaining recurring muscle tension; through anxiety, worry, and catastrophic thinking; through lack of exercise and proper sleep; through a frantic, fast-paced stressful way of life. The Stress Response can be the underlying cause of a compromised immune system, greater susceptibility to disease, and to more rapid aging.
The antidote to the Stress Response is the Relaxation Response, which reverses the harmful effects that result from the body being chronically "revved-up", as if to fight or flee from peril.
Take a little time, today, to engage in progressive muscle relaxation. Twenty minutes of Relaxation Response once or twice per day can reverse the effects of recurring stress. Provide this give to yourself -- you'll be glad you did.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
