How to relax ~

Anxiety
#1

Relaxation Through Meditation

My preference would be to call meditation relaxation – conscious relaxation, chosen relaxation. These are words that are more universally understood, more comfortable. Constantly working toward the goal of discovering my own ability to reach a state of serenity, I have learned to meditate.

Meditating is actually easier than you might imagine. Most of us have dabbled in meditation by participating in conscious relaxation. Maybe during an exercise class or to manage pain at the dentist or anxiety before a test. We start by paying attention to our breathing. The practical effort to focus completely on our breathing takes our minds away from the “mind clutter” that constantly tries to invade our mind and eliminate feelings that will lead to a time of calm. With repeated effort the goal of clearing your mind – to think of nothing, does occur and the process of meditation takes on its own energy. The result is, and I guarantee this, peace, serenity, calmness, eventually opening yourself to new insights.

Meditating for Life

Too much stress, stress reduction, chill out, let it go, detach – familiar phrases to all of us. Our world is fast, fun and exciting. It is also challenging, trying, demanding and frightening. These two sides of our lives produce stress, emotional reactions, anxiety, worry and anticipation. Our bodies and minds can tolerate only so much of any of these. After a while, each of us reaches a saturation point and the results become uncomfortable at best; for some it may be unbearable, even unendurable.

No magic pill is available to eliminate these feelings. The reality is, as the wise old man said, the answer is inside all of us. To manage these universal concerns we must go inside ourselves. Among the steps we can take is the learning and practicing of meditation.

What to Expect

With time and faith in the commitment to practice frequently, (daily meditating is ideal), during your meditation time you may “leave the moment.” A feeling of separation exists where the mind is clear, clean and blank. You will still hear sounds around you, but they will not interfere with your meditation.

Sometimes you may weep – you may not even be aware of what is making you weep. It is your own emotions having a voice of their own. Sometimes you may feel a smile across your face – that is contentment showing itself. Sometimes you may fall asleep and awaken truly refreshed.

There is no right or wrong behavior during your meditation. It is your time for you. Everyone deserves this kind of personal attention. This is a self-care activity; loving oneself! Teach it to your children instead of a time-out in their room or corner. Teach it to your friends, family, anyone who will listen. We can share this gift and get back as we give. We are all better because of each person who meditates. The peace and joy felt by those who meditate enters the world for all of us as positive energy. From it the world is a better place. Imagine if we all practiced meditation!

#2

I totally agree with what River wrote above, I just wanted to add as a complete beginner to Meditating, I did find a lot of good albums on iTunes under New Age and every night for me I put on my iPod and listen to the Meditation some are words with detailed instructions with music in the background and some are just music. They really are helping me and I am under some extreme stress to say least and when I listen to them I relax enough and I often fall asleep while listening to them.

If you have an iPod and access to iTunes I would highly recommend you check it out. The list below are some that I have found to be very good:

The Secret Instructions by Kelly Howell – (very spiritual lyric’s with this one)

Deep Relaxation by Jean Marie Hays – (this one is great, with instructions and music)

Healing Power of Ocean Waves & Tibetan Singing Bowls – (this one is just music but very good)

STRESS MANAGEMENT - guided imagery series vol.1 by Marianne Zaugg, DCH, PHD – (this one is my favorite, her voice is very relaxing and the instructions and music are great)

Hope this helps,

Take care,
Randy

#3

I’m new here, this is the first thread I’ve read and I agree. But it is very difficult for me to focus on breathing. I haven’t successfully meditated yet, a few times I did actually relax enough to fall asleep but that’s not my desired result, I need to feel relaxed while I’m awake!

~scaredyCat

#4

Practice one of the relaxation methods in sections 2, 11, 2c, or 2i, daily, and when needed, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris

                    (The following is a variant of Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing therapy, which has been used successfully for those people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, insomnia, and anxiety: it is easily learned, quick to use, yet can be very effective. It is easy to be dismissive of such a seemingly unusual technique, but give it a good tryout, for at least a few weeks, to see if it is effective in your case).

Prior to using either of the methods in the above paragraph, first sit comfortably, and take a deep breath. Then, without moving your head, move your eyes from the left, to the right, and back again, taking around a second to do so (say: “a thousand and one”: this takes approximately a second).

Repeat this procedure (without the words, although you can count, subvocally, if you like) 20 times: "A thousand and one; a thousand and two… " and so on, to a thousand and twenty. Then close your eyes and relax. Become aware of any tension or discomfort you feel.

             Then open your eyes, and take another deep breath, and repeat step one, closing your eyes, and relaxing afterwards, in the same manner. Then, repeat the procedure one last time. Some people may find that this is all they need do.   With experience, you may find that you can practise this in public, with your eyes closed, which greatly widens the window of opportunity for its use, and avoids attracting unwanted attention. I have found that the 2 - 3 minutes spent using the EMDR markedly reduces distractions to the relaxation process, and is repaid many times over.

I also use it prior to my chosen relaxation technique, after lights out, at night. For more about Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing therapy, showing recommendations by those who have used it, including a professional psychotherapist with more than 20 years of experience in that field, see sections 33 - 34, at ezy-build. She was skeptical, at first, and I remained unconvinced, until trying it, and now I use it twice daily, including after lights out, at night.