Relaxation Techniques (6)

You don't have to be an experienced guru to practice meditation and receive all its benefits.

Once we determined in which specific circumstances we develop anxiety, the first step in implementing our effective self-therapy solution is to learn to relax. Believe it or not, you can learn to relax quite easily. First of all, you should look for a comfortable seat, or lie on your back in your bed. It must be a place and a moment where there are as few distractions as possible. Whenever you do this, you should close your eyes and take a deep breath exhaling slowly.

Find a quiet place and take a comfortable position. Once you have achieved this, close your eyes and begin to take deep breaths exhaling slowly. Then you'll begin to repeat your own phrase: "I am completely relaxing" and you'll begin to focus your attention on each of the tension points of your body.

Starting from the scalp, eyelids, jaw, neck, nape, shoulders and so on, you'll go through all your body until you reach your toes. As you focus on each area you'll think: "At this moment I will relax the muscles of my face"; wait for an instant until you experience the relaxation of the muscles of your face, then do the same with each part of your body.

In this way and gradually, you will feel more and more deeply relaxed. Remember, you will concentrate on each muscle group in your body, on different organs, in each area where tension builds up starting from the skin that covers your head. If you have trouble getting it the first time, you can create tension on that specific part and then remove the tension to experience the relaxation.

For instance, you can contract the skin on your scalp, your face muscles, tighten your fist, contract your back, your abdomen and then release the contraction and experience the relaxing sensation. In the same order, you'll start with the skin that covers your head until gradually reach your feet. If you have trouble getting it the first time, practicing contraction of the different areas of the body will help you achieve relaxation. By the third or fourth time you do it, you'll simply mention every part of your body and you'll feel relaxed. You will become a master in the practice of physical relaxation and once you have reached the ideal state of relaxation, you will be prepared to hold a private session of self-therapy.

It will be at this point that we begin to address the problem of anxiety. We will use relaxation for the treatment of anxiety, although later we will mention other ideas of how to use this practice of physical and mental relaxation. We already know the first step, to assume a comfortable position in a place where we have the least possible distractions, close our eyes, take several deep breaths and begin to relax each part of the body from the skin that covers the head to the tip of the toes.

Physical and mental relaxation is a science on its own that has been practiced by Asian cultures since ancient times. Its regular practice has incredible benefits for our health. It achieves a state of peace where all the senses take part, so they use specific postures along with music, incense, etc.