Relaxation is the part of living that most often takes a back seat to all other areas of life. We don’t “plan” for it and it’s usually relegated to one of those things that we wish for but don’t engage in. Yet, the National Institute of Health (2016) indicates that relaxation impacts one’s health in a variety of ways. One of the most well-known benefits of relaxation is stress relief. We now know that stress is a major negative factor in a majority of individuals’ mental and physical health and can be correlated with a host of physical and mental illnesses (Schneiderman, Ironson, & Siegel, 2005). Stress, in small doses, is normal and part of evolutionary biology. Chronis stress, which is what most individuals experience today, is not biologically normal and if left unattended, raises the risk of poor mental and physical health. For instance, stress is correlated with the onset of depression and other major anxiety disorders. Stress can also be a precursor for risk of PTSD and Acute Stress Syndrome (Hammon, 2005; McNally, 2003). Stress impacts the brain in a number of abnormal ways, including how the brain processes vital neurotransmitters for emotional and cognitive functioning, as well as hormone production to regulate our immune and digestive systems (Black, 2002). Studies also show that stress is a contributing factor to many diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, digestive system disease, diabetes, and others (Mariotti 2015). Stress is not something we can take lightly if we want to live healthily and experience the fullness of living.
Relaxation is also helpful for a plethora of other dysfunctions, like lowering blood pressure, improving digestion, maintaining blood sugar levels, increasing blood flow to major organs, improving concentration and mood, improving sleep quality, reducing chronic pain, reducing anger, improving cognitive focus and clarity, and improving levels of fatigue. Unfortunately, like other areas of our lives (nutrition, exercise, sleep), we ignore taking active measures to relax and continue to absorb the risks associated with living a stressful life. Ironically, taking the time for regular relaxation can provide some of the most pleasant and memorable experiences in our lives, something most people are working so hard to achieve with a stressful lifestyle. We must begin to think of relaxation as a necessary activity in daily living instead of something that is only available on vacation or when we finally get time out of our increasingly busy lives.
There are many ways to incorporate relaxation into our day, and most of them take very little effort on our part. Most people find that if you can find the discipline to change your habits to include moments of relaxation, the days begin to get a little less stressful and more enjoyable.
Relaxation with Inner Work
When we think about deep relaxation, what comes to many people’s mind is the serene faced yogi sitting in an uncomfortable looking cross-legged pose with a snow-capped mountain in the background. But, to obtain a true state of relaxation with inner work really only requires that we find a method to slow the sympathetic nervous system and calm the amygdala using whatever means we choose. Probably the easiest and fastest method to do this is with breathing techniques. Although there are many breathing techniques, some of them quite ancient in origin, the most powerful and standard technique is diaphragmatic or belly breathing. To do this, first, place your hand on the lower stomach area and with attention to your breathing, breath from the diaphragm (not the chest) so that when you inhale your stomach will push out. Then exhale, feeling your stomach relax with the outbreath. Try not to force this, so start out with more shallow breathes while you are getting into the rhythm of belly breathing and gradually begin to deepen and expand the breath.
You can do this breathing anytime and the calming results are usually immediate after 4 or 5 nice deep belly breaths. If you practice breathing regularly, you may find that your overall sense of calmness begins to expand, and you feel more focused and clearer in your mind. Diaphragmatic breathing has been studied extensively and is a powerful relaxation method that has numerous additional benefits for brain and body.
Relaxation with inner work may also include just spending time in the present moment, sometimes with an activity or sometimes just “being” in that moment and recognizing that, which is also known as mindfulness. Present moment awareness is also an ancient practice that originates even before the Buddha’s time. Buddha advises, “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” There are many methods to go about getting in touch with the present moment. Simply spending some time resting to take in the scenery, or doing a little self-reflection, journaling, or doing an action “mindfully” or with focused attention on the action within that moment, is considered a present moment activity. Probably the most noteworthy present moment activity is meditation. There are various ways to meditate but the most common way is called Vipassana and is basically using belly breathing and intentional focus on the breathing to stay in the present moment. Of course, the mind will wander, and this is normal during meditation, but the practice is to keep coming back to the breathing and developing stronger control over the ability to stay focused on being present, with the breath.
There are many other methods of relaxation using inner work to consider. The important thing to remember is that any time spent on relaxation is benefiting your mental and physical health in many ways. Relaxation inner work to consider is:
- Breathing (try different types besides diaphragmatic, like pranayama or 4-7-8 breathing)
- Meditation (try different types like walking meditation or mantra meditation)
- Guided Visualization
- Reflecting
- Prayer
- Journaling/Writing
Relaxation with touch
Touch, through any type of bodywork therapy, is a powerful method of relaxation that has inherent benefits for those suffering from trauma and many types of body disfunctions, like eating disorders, negative body-image, and low self-esteem. Bodywork therapies promote the strengthening of emotional stability, help build resilience and expand one’s inner awareness to help explore the meaning of body sensations. Many people hold tension in their bodies (even those that do not feel they have any type of mental health challenges), and this becomes a learned behavior that, over time, can cause chronic mental and physical issues, like depression, headache, fatigue, loss of focus, anxiety, and much more. Bodywork retrains our automatic responses to stress to help heal years of chronic stress that the body has been harboring, usually unconsciously. Remember from Part 1 in this series of articles on Nutrition, that anything that can help to reduce inflammation in the brain or body reduces risk of mental and physical health problems, and bodywork is a powerful tool to reorganize the nervous system to reduce inflammation. Please consider exploring and adding any of these bodywork therapies into your daily life:
- Massage Therapy
- Yoga, tai chi, and qigong
- Reiki
- Chiropractic Care
- Acupuncture/Acupressure
- Rolfing
- Thai Yoga Massage
- Myofascial Release
- Craniosacral Therapy
- Reflexology
References
Black, P. H. (2002). Stress and the inflammatory response: a review of neurogenic inflammation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 16(6), 622–653.
Hammen C. (2005). Stress and depression. Annual review of clinical psychology, 1, 293–319
Mariotti A. (2015). The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain-body communication. Future science OA, 1(3), FSO23. https://doi.org/10.4155/fso.15.21
McNally R. J. (2003). Psychological mechanisms in acute response to trauma. Biological psychiatry, 53(9), 779–788. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01663-3
National Institute of Health. (2016). Relaxation techniques for health. Retrieved from https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/relaxation-techniques-for-health
Schneiderman, N., Ironson, G., & Siegel, S. D. (2005). Stress and health: psychological, behavioral, and biological determinants. Annual review of clinical psychology, 1, 607–628. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144141
