Starting Now – Focus on Your Breath
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Close your eyes. Take a long, slow breath – fill your lungs all the way down to your diaphragm. Exhale.
Take another slow, deep breath. Notice the air flowing in through your nostrils and down into your lungs, filling them completely. As you exhale, notice the warm, moist air as it flows out of your lungs and through your nostrils.
Take several more slow, deep breaths. As you breathe, scan your body and see if you notice any areas of muscle tension –- in your legs, your shoulders, your back. Notice if you are unwittingly pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth.
Wherever you notice any muscle tension in your body – let it go. Release the tension and relax.
Breathe. Relax. Breathe.
Three minutes of this gentle relaxation practice can make a noticeable difference in how you feel! This is a gift you can give yourself at almost any time throughout your day. (but not while driving!)
Your body wants to relax – and it knows how! All you have to do is allow it.
Breathe.
Relax.
Relaxation CDs are an excellent way to build your practice of stress reduction. They guide you to deeper states of relaxation and help you learn relaxation techniques to apply throughout the day.
Find a time and place where you can relax without worrying about being interrupted. Turn off your cell phone, or leave it in another room. (Note: please do not listen to a relaxation CD while driving!)
Sit or lie comfortably.
Start your CD.
Close your eyes.
Listen.
Breathe.
Relax.
Try some informal research, as you listen to your relaxation CD, to judge its effectiveness. Before listening, notice how your body feels. Scan your body, noticing any sensations of tension, tightness, stiffness, or discomfort.
Then, simply relax and listen to the CD, allowing the spoken words and the music to carry you farther into Deep Relaxation.
Afterwards, do a similar body scan like you did before. Observe any sensations of tension or discomfort.
What do you notice?
Repeated listening is likely to increase your ability to go into Deep Relaxation. Deep Relaxation has an additive effect – the more you relax, the more stress you release.
Learning to deeply relax may be one of the best things you've ever done for yourself!
Sandi Anders, M.Div., R.Y.T. is a yoga and meditation teacher and life coach in Nashville, TN. Visit her professional website for more articles and resources. She has created the two-CD set The Alchemy of Peace & Love combining a gentle and effective relaxation meditation with a powerful guided imagery experience to boost self-esteem and self-acceptance.
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