Relaxation Exercises

Stop for a moment, tune out your surroundings, and turn your attention inward, focusing on your body. Are your neck or shoulder muscles tense? Does your chest or stomach feel tight? Or did you feel fine until you started reading this article?

Try these relaxation exercises:

Deep breathing: Most adults tend to breathe shallowly from the upper chest. This exercise teaches you to breathe deeply from yoru diaphragm.

1. Lie down on the floor with your knees bent and your back resting flat and straight.

2. With your hands on your abdomen, inhale through your nose into your abdomen, slowly and deeply.

3. Then exhale completely. Your abdomen and hands will rise and fall as you breathe.

Progressive relaxation: With this technique, you deeply relax your muscles by systematically tightening and relaxing the major muscle groups.

1. Sit or lie down comfortably.

2. Starting with your toes and feet, or your forehead and face, tense those muscles for 5 seconds, then relac for 20-30 seconds.

3. Gradually work up or down your body, tightening and relaxing all muscle groups. With each session, you will notice deeper relaxation levels.

Meditation: During meditation, you passively focus your mind on a single thing: a word or phrase (also called a mantra), an object, or your own breathing. The following describes a word meditation.

1. Sit in a comfortable position.

2. Choose a word you like and repeat it clearly in your mind, over and over.

3. Your thoughts will start to wander. When you notice this, just return gently to repeating your word.

4. If, as you continue to meditate, the repetition becomes mechanical, simply refocus your awareness on the word.

You will probably see some results right away. But with steady practice - working up to 20-30 minutes once or twice daily - you can realize true, deep relaxation within just a few months.