Relaxation - how to go about itNovember 2006
Relaxation - how to go about it Helen Franks explains
Breathing techniquesChest and abdominal breathing 1. Ideally, lie down on your back on the floor, with a small pillow or folded towel under your head, and another under your knees. Or you can sit in a comfortable position. Make sure that you are warm enough (this is important if you are on the floor). 2. Take slow, deep, rhythmic breaths through the nose. You will feel your diaphragm and abdomen expand as you breathe in very deeply. Allow the lungs to fill completely. 3. Then give a slow, even exhalation which empties the lungs completely. 4. Repeat this slow breathing for 5 repetitions whenever you feel tense, building up to 10 repetitions. 5. As you get more expert at this, you can hold the in-breathe to a count of 3, and then hold the out-breathe similarly. If you are prone to panic attacks or hyperventilating, this is a useful technique.
1. Use your thumb to cover your right nostril.
Repeat the following 6 times each: 1. My hands and arms are heavy and warm. Other aids to relaxation
Hypnotherapy This involves hypnosis, which is a form of deep relaxation, the theory being that your mind is open to suggestion when under hypnosis. If you don’t think you can succumb, then it’s not for you. Make sure you use one of the following contacts: National Council for Hypnotherapy, www.hypnotherapists.org.uk or the General Hypnotherapy Register, www.general-hypnotherapy-register.com.
When an expert performs a massage, you can feel it relieving
tension and helping you to relax. Massage is thought to
stimulate blood flow and lower blood pressure. Find a massage
expert through The General Council for Massage
www.gcmt.org.uk . Meditation This involves practice. You can do it in a group or on your own, sitting or lying down quietly. Meditation can lower stress levels and blood pressure. You need to make time every day to practice: at least 10 minutes, better still 20 minutes. The technique involves breathing slowly and concentrating on something to the exclusion of all other thoughts. Repeating a mantra, like the word ‘one’ is an example. Or you can make up your own mantra. Another method is to count on the in-breath ‘one’, then ‘two, three, four, etc…’ until, hopefully, you get into a trance. Meditation if not for everyone, but if you want to try a group, there is the Acem International School of Meditation www.acem.com.
Read ‘Self Help For Your Nerves’ (Harper
Collins, 2000) by Dr Claire Weekes.
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