Relaxation Techniques

Being able to relax the mind and the body is very important for people who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. If you can master the art of relaxation then you have (almost) won the battle.

There are a few points to remember when it comes to relaxation.

  • You do actually choose whether to relax or not.
  • It is a skill to be learned
  • Relaxing the mind is better than relaxing the body

People with anxiety often project responsibility for their discomfort onto other things or people. In fact we do, inside our own bodies, choose how to feel in terms of stress, negative thinking and physical tension. Half of the battle when learning to relax is to recognise this power you have over your body. It is your body and nobody else’s. The first step, and most important one, in learning to re-evaluate your relationship with your body is to practice Mindfulness Meditation. This form of meditation allows you to understand how your breathing works, how to accept your breathing and not be scared of it, and how it is actually under your control although your unconscious mind does a much better job of managing it all day every day than you would want to!

Like all the best things in life, Mindfulness Meditation is free (well, you will need to buy a book, a CD course, or join a local course – all very cheap. If you are really strapped then you could probably work it out for free by looking at web sites. Mindfulness is not rocket science).

Also, however, like the best things in life it is not something you can obtain in a flash. It is a skill to be learned and this requires commitment and practice. It does pay dividends, unlike too man of the miracle cures out there.

I would also stress that mental relaxation is the key. In fact, I think relaxation of the mind and body go together. I have often read that if you relax your body your mind will follow. I do not believe this to be true. I think that you will be able to relax your body much more easily with a relaxed mind, in fact it might well happen naturally.

Progressive relaxation can be a good way of relaxing the body. You can learn to do progressive relaxation in about 2 minutes, it’s easy. It does of course require commitment!

Basically, all you have to do is to tense and release the muscles in each part of your body, starting with your toes and ending with the muscles on your head that control your wiggling ears! You should tense each muscle or muscle group for 15 seconds and then release them gently and leave them relaxed for a further 30 seconds. Each muscle group should be tensed and relaxed twice before moving on.

There is a version of this called a “Body Scan” meditation which is practised as part of mindfulness meditation. It is a passive form of meditation and is done by simply observing each part of the body (not just the muscles) in turn. Instead of sticking rigidly to 15 or 30 seconds you should take some time in exploring the sensations you can feel in that part of the body, giving it all your concentration and escorting your mind back to it gently but firmly whenever it drifts off.

When it comes to learning relaxation techniques the key words have to be acceptance, practice and commitment.

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