It is common for people to write into a diary their work tasks, social engagements, even sporting/fitness pursuits. These activity schedules provide people with a template of how their day will unfold. Oddly, people seldom add a specified time to sit and relax in their daily list of tasks. It is taken for granted that our brains and bodies are generally able to manage and regulate our stress hormone levels. However, for this system to work efficiently, it needs to be trained.

We know that a muscle that is unused will become weaker, we know that unpracticed skills will diminish over time and unused information will be forgotten. In contrast, we also know that regular workouts at the gym will help us to lift heavier objects, that learning new information builds on our previous understandings of issues and that skills that are routinely practised improve.

Relaxation is a skill. It can be practised, worked on and improved over time. On a physiological level, regular relaxation training and practicing stress relief exercises will increase your body and brains efficiency in becoming relaxed. Due to the way the human body is designed, when the relaxation systems are activated the stress related glands in the brain and torso withdraw.

Routine relaxation practice and stress relief exercises will help you achieve a stable balance between these two fundamental physiological structures and help you remain calm more often, reducing your tendency for psychological and physical illness.

Daily Progressive Muscle Relaxation / Stress Relief Exercise 1

This can be memorized, or you can record yourself reading these instructions and play it back with your own voice giving you directions.

If you find yourself distracted during the exercise, simply repeat the three deep breaths in step 3, and you will be able to continue the exercise easily.

NOTE: As this muscle relaxation and stress relief exercise requires your complete attention, make sure you practice your relaxation while doing no other activities (especially driving).

Also, please note that this type of exercise is not the best relaxation practice for people suffering with chronic pain or fibromyalgia. Other relaxation exercises for specific issues such as pain, self esteem, anger management etc… will be covered in future health tips.

(Complete over 15 minutes)

1. Let yourself sit in a comfortable position. You can lie down, however this can increase the likelihood that you will fall asleep.

2. Before you close your eyes, let yourself feel the weight of your body on the chair/bed/ground, and draw your attention to your breathing.

3. Let your eyes close, and complete three slow, deep breaths. Count these breaths, and when you inhale, say to yourself “in” and when you exhale say to yourself “out”. Now let your breathing just flow naturally.

4. Move your focus to your toes in both your left and right sides. Tense your toes and on your next exhale release the tension.

5. Move your focus to your feet, again, tensing and then releasing.

6. Do the same with your left and right calf muscles, thighs, hips and buttocks

7. Now you have made it to the centre of your body, let yourself become aware of the difference between your lower body and your upper body.

8. Focus on your abdomen, tensing as you inhale and releasing the muscles and all stress as you exhale.

9. Continue tensing and releasing as you move your attention across your chest, shoulders, upper arm, forearm, hands and fingers. By this stage only your head will be remaining.

10. Let your attention drift to your neck muscles, notice your jaw slacken slightly, lips become less tightly held together.

11. Tense and relax the muscles around your eyes, spread the muscles around your forehead and then the top of your head.

12. Spend a minute observing all the sensations in your body and thoughts in your head. Feel able to watch these thoughts and sensations without needing to engage. Some people do this naturally once in this relaxed state, while others imagine each thought/sensation as a diffuse cloud just passing through.

13. Give yourself a moment to experience the relaxation experience in its entirety. Remind yourself that you are getting better at this skill and that it is having an impact on your life, your day, and even your physiology

14. As you begin to return to normal daily functioning, open your eyes, stretch your arms and legs, take a couple of breaths and feel all the normal energy returning to your body.

15. Feel fully awake, appropriately for your situation, and have a great day.

Do you have moments during your day where you feel your thoughts or emotions are overwhelming? Commonly, these thoughts are related to people’s self-esteem, their ability to overcome an upcoming obstacle or anger/frustration at a person or a situation. Overall these thoughts can be summarised as future oriented negative automatic thoughts. Feelings that accompany these thoughts can include feeling overwhelmed, anxious, stressed, angry etc….

Often these feelings and thoughts are accompanied with body sensations such as tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, butterflies or nausea in the stomach. Sometimes people notice the thoughts first, sometimes the emotions and sometimes the physical symptoms of anxiety rise into awareness first.

When you realize that you are feeling the onset of a bout of acute stress or anxiety there are simple steps you can do to alleviate the physical symptoms, cope with the anxiety, and stop the thought dominoes from automatically falling.

Remember! Stress is a positive experience that human physiology has evolved to utilise over thousands of years. It enables the body to release hormones which help us thrive, however sometimes these physiological mechanisms fire at inappropriate moments. We need to be able to recognise when this is happening and enact new behaviours to return our bodies to the appropriate state for the situation.

Coping with Anxiety:

1. Acknowledge the Stress

Let yourself experience the stress for a moment, knowing and even reminding yourself that it is going to change after you complete these steps. Remind yourself, internally or even out loud (depending on your setting) that you are not sure how you will feel by the end of the steps, but you KNOW that you will feel different.

2. Breathing

Bring your awareness to your breath. Take three DEEP breaths, counting each one as you go. first breath in, and calmly, out. second breath in, and calmly, out. third breath in, and again, calmly, breath out. Good. Now let your breathing follow its natural rhythm as you begin the next step.

3. Centering into your Environment

As the rhythm of your breathing relaxes into a more regular rhythm, let all five of your senses begin to notice your surroundings. As you focus attention on the room, or setting around you give each stimulus you see/hear/smell/touch/taste a label. E.g “the floor is beneath me, I’m standing on it, it has a carpet and it is white”, “i can hear the sound of people talking, one of them is male and the other is female”.

4. Body sensation Scan

By this point you will most likely already be feeling some changes in your thoughts, emotions and body sensations and even in the way you are thinking about each of these elements. Let your attention drift now to your body. Whether you are sitting down, standing up, lying down, simply move your attention from your toes all the way up to your head. Greet each body sensation, whether painful or pleasurable with a welcoming curiosity and keep moving your attention up your body. Notice your stomach feels different now. Notice how your natural breathing rhythm has changed. Remind yourself that these changes have occurred in such a short amount of time and without you doing much at all.

5. Reorienting to the Situation

It is now important to reorient to the room/environment around you so you can continue with your day, and feel capable, in control, comfortable and effective. Return your attention to the room around you, your breathing will naturally continue its healthy rhythm. As you feel your senses returning to their normal state, remind yourself of the immortal words of the Master psychologist Emile Coue “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better”.

Practice makes perfect.

Good luck!

Remy

If you would like to learn more about this topic, or have a specific issue you would like Remy to cover, please email me anytime.

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Here you will find information about Remy Lindner as well as FREE helpful hints and psychological tools he has created to help you achieve the life you want.

Remy Lindner is a registered psychologist in Melbourne, Australia and has a private practice in South Melbourne. Remy works with all clients, suffering with any concern and from any background. However Remy also specialises particularly in Anxiety issues, pain management, communication difficulties and life direction/transitions.

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