Relaxation Techniques

The relaxation techniques described here are not a passive, limp, or ineffectual state, but are characterized by a dynamic, ever-adapting balance between a calm, clear, relaxed quality of presence and an alert readiness.

This state of dynamic relaxation is finely tuned and responsive to the ever-changing circumstances and conditions of daily life.

With practice, you will learn to immediately feel when you are holding more tension than you need to perform at your best.

The following ten easy relaxation techniques will guide you through the basic stages of relaxation.

By learning to release that extra tension, your brain and muscles will be vitalized with oxygen and nutrients, you will be able to think more clearly and make better decisions, and your ability to act will be enhanced.

Relaxation is also the foundation for your practice of concentration and meditation.

You probably know from experience how difficult it is to harness and focus the power of your mind when your body is filled with tension and your mind clouded by fatigue and anxiety. This technique to relieve anxiety can be particularly helpful for you because the major cause of stress for most people arises from self-generated anxiety and worries.

These easy techniques are particularly effective for bringing harmony to your mind body. Once you begin to understand and practice the relaxation techniques described here, the tensions and stress of your life can be met as opportunities to apply and refine your growing skills in relaxation. This requires the conscious cultivation of:

1. Self-awareness: the ability to know what you are experiencing, sensing, feeling, thinking, etc., at any moment


2. Care and kindness: the authentic and heartfelt concern that deliberately chooses the paths that lead to greater harmony in your mental, physical, and personal relationships with the world


3. A joyful appreciation of the process: an attitude of gratitude and open-ness to learning and growing from life's unceasing challenges, a joyful dedication to living life as a game to be mastered in the arenas of your own mindbody, and in your work and relationships


4. Commitment and courage: the willingness to do whatever it takes to continue to realize and nurture your own extraordinary potentials and help others do the same

 

This is a dynamic process, leaving us at times immobilized by distress, at times simply coping with our tensions and anxieties, and at times energized, calm, and confident, having all the information and ability we need to master the stressful demands that life's changing conditions inevitably bring.

Relaxing your body will help you relieve stress by releasing tension that builds up throughout the day. But the greatest strategy we have to offer for whenever you're feeling particularly frazzled, scattered, and out of balance is simply to return to the breath.

Having learned to manage stress and to live more and more in the state of flow, we catch the upward spiral of continuous personal development. Breakthroughs to extraordinary levels of health, insight, and performance become more the norm than the exception.

Though stress and tension will always be a part of your life, when you know how to use relaxation techniques, there is no need to get tense about being tense, or feel anxious about feeling anxious. Stress will energize rather than destroy you. These stress relief techniques will help you recognize the various levels of tension that you experience throughout the day and will help you learn how to relax deeply.

Change and challenge will provide every opportunity for growth, creative expression, and extraordinary levels of health, performance, and insight. As you experience this growth, guided imagery techniques will help you focus the power of your mind even further.

As you learn to reduce the noise in your system, physical vitality, mental clarity, calm, centered strength, and emotional well-being that are fundamental to the human spirit will naturally and effortlessly arise.

Remember...
Relaxation is not something that you do.
It is a natural response that you allow to happen.
Relaxation is what is left when you stop creating tension.

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