The experience of relaxation is essential to counteract the harmful effects of chronic stress on the body. Through the regular practice of relaxation techniques, one can begin to reverse this cumulative, damaging process, and engage the body's incredible potential for self-healing.
Herbert Benson, M.D., Harvard Professor and stress reduction specialist, first coined the phrase "Relaxation Response" in the early 1970s to describe the physiological and mental changes that occur when one consciously relaxes. In The Wellness Book he writes that the relaxation response is "a physiological state characterized by a slower heart rate, metabolism, rate of breathing, lower blood pressure, and slower brain wave patterns."
Here are some of the beneficial changes that occur when your body is in the Relaxation Response:
1. Heartbeat and respiration are slowed.
2. Oxygen consumption is markedly reduced.
3. The expiration of carbon dioxide drops.
4. Blood pressure becomes stable.
5. Blood lactate levels (which some researchers believe are associated with panic attacks) decline steeply. |
There are many tested techniques which encourage this state of profound rest and release. This article focuses on rhythmic, deep, diaphragmatic breathing.
This most important stress reduction tool is "right under your nose" and as close as your breath! When you focus on slow, deep breathing, the inhalation fills your lungs and causes your lower belly to expand as the diaphragm drops downward into the softness of your relaxed belly.
Relax your body and release any signs of tension. Allow your tongue and jaws to relax. Drop your shoulders away from your neck. Notice your breathing just as it is. Then take a deep, full breath, allowing the breath to move all the way down into the lower belly. It is helpful to imagine that there is a small balloon in the belly. As you breathe in, let that balloon gently inflate. As you breathe out, feel how the balloon gently deflates.
Take in several of these slow, gentle, deep breaths. Then begin to notice that there is a slight pause that naturally occurs at the end of each exhalation. Allow yourself to wait here without rushing to take the next in-breath. Let the next inhalation surface when your body is ready to welcome it.
Enjoy the soothing tranquility of the pause. Float peacefully in the silence between exhalation and inhalation, letting the breath happen by itself.
If you are just learning diaphragmatic breathing, it can be helpful to begin by lying on your back with your knees bent. In this position, you can more easily feel how the belly rises with inhalation and falls with exhalation. You can also place your hands on your abdomen and let yourself breathe into their warmth, feeling how the hands rise with in-breath and fall with out- breath.
Another great way to find deep belly breath is to lie on your belly. In this position, the only way you can breathe is diaphragmatically!
Finally, it can sometimes be helpful to let yourself sigh out loud with the exhale. Sounding is a useful way to let go of stress and tension.
Deep diaphragmatic breathing has a profound effect on the body. Just three minutes of soft-belly breathing can shift your body out of Stress Response mode into the Relaxation Response!
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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