Which is the most suitable relaxation technique for you?
The efficiency of the relaxation techniques is recognized all over the world. These techniques allow us to reduce stress and face the every day life with more serenity. There have been many demonstrations of these techniques to enhance auto-healing of body and soul. Doctors and psychotherapists recommend more and more the learning of these techniques to contrast mental disturbs. Nevertheless the exhortation of consciously relaxation can become a very though challenge.
It happens to you too?
Full of hope you appreciate a relaxation method that has been suggested to you, and than you see that it doesn’t work! The suggestions, internal images and movements that permit us to relax are not “felt”. The reason: the tried technique is not the one most adequate for your necessities. Relax is very personnel and if some people need movement in order to relax, other need to submerge themselves in the quiet.
Nowadays we have the possibility to access to a wide variety of relaxation techniques. Onwards we will explain you a small selection, inviting you to explore your own strategy, that will allow you to find the desired relax.
Your need is to have a break and recharge your batteries? Deep breathing assures instant benefits.
Breathing exercises have the advantage that can be learned easily and can be exercised every moment everywhere. These are ideal to calm down your mind and organize your thoughts. Furthermore, they leave a sense of freshness and vitality.
The technique: Under stress our breath becomes shorter and superficial. This is the reason why we feel tired and unloaded for the deficiency of oxygen; instead a regular and deep breath enhances serenity and concentration. As example: try to breath through the nose, deep down until your abdomen, that will expand, than breathing out very slowly, let your abdomen flatten smoothly out.
The effect: the respiration exercises, do not just procure an instant wellbeing but also improve the resistance against stress, if these are practiced three times a day for 5 minutes.
Do you have a great dose of imagination?
Calm down body and mind with autohypnosis.
The autogenous training takes advantage of your imagination in order to relax your body. For those, who are willing to cut themselves out the necessary time to learn, this technique will be a very efficient method.
The technique: consists in repeating mentally various forms addressed to specific body parts, like for example: “My right arm is heavy.” In order to perceive the effects, it occurs a good dose of imagination. The goal is to relax the muscles and influence positively the respiration and the heartbeat.
The effect of the autogenous training has been confirmed by many scientific studies. In addition to reduce the oxidative stress, can be also used to contrast hypertension, migraine and insomnia.
Do you feel tense or it’s hard for you to take a break?
The progressive muscles relaxation can help you to alleviate tensions.
Already in the 30th, the American doctor Edmund Jacobson recognized the tight connection between muscular tension and the activity of the central nerve system. The developed techniques help to get rid of muscular and emotional tensions.
The technique: it´s a two stage process that includes different muscles groups, in the first stage, these muscles are pulled and than in the second stage, progressively relived. The focus is on the contrast between tension and relaxation.
The effect: The progressive muscular relaxation represents an extraordinary help to obtain a better awareness of your body and to manage stress conditions. Furthermore, this helps to reduce sleep problems, hypertension, migraine and articular pains.
Do you concentrate very easily?
Practice meditation, in order to interrupt negative thoughts.
Meditation helps to focus on a target, excluding all the rest, at the same time it’s helpful to calm down recurring or obsessive thoughts- this permits you to increase the concentration capacity.
The technique: the attention can be focused on an image, a sound or simply on the own breath, in order to achieve the mental detachment from internal or external stimulations and immerge in an internal peaceful condition.
The effect: The regular practice of at least 15 minutes a day, helps to concentrate the own focus on the essential, at the same time to manage stressful situations with a mayor serenity. Various studies demonstrate, that beyond having a positive impact on the immune system, meditation can reduce chronic pains, anxiety and depressive states of mind.
Do you need movement?
Thanks to sport, stress hormones will be worked off fast.
Are you convinced that in order to drain tension, there is nothing better than a good run? Perfect- also if you prefer to walk, cycling or working out at the gym, the moderate and not excessive physical movement, releases the mind and raises the mood. If you would like to increase the positive effects, practice sport outside! Exercise in nature, helps to detach from stressing thoughts, problems of the every day life become less relevant.
Effect: With exercise the production of neurotransmitters as seratonin a and dopamine increase, these are true cure methods for the mood and health. At the same time, our organism works off faster adrenalin and cortisol, the stress hormones, that can damage our organs.
If sport and breathing exercises are ideal to decrease tensions, connected to peaks of stress, techniques as the muscular relaxation, autogenic training and meditation unroll a longer and profound action. For those, the apprentice course (that would have to be supervised by an expert) it’s slow and requires patience and perseverance.
Stress remains a normal and natural factor of life; once you learn how to relax you will also have learned to manage it better than before.
Have a nice relax!
Annemarie Sanoner
Yoga teacher and relaxation techniques trainer in the ADLER Dolomiti