MUSCLE RELAXATION …. Meditation

Do you sit down for meditation and wonder if you're doing it right?

What do people do differently because they have meditated?

Can attention be trained through contemplative practice?

 Are improvements in attention related to psychological function?

What are the behavioral, neural, and physiological correlates of such training?

There are a million forms of meditation in the world, but if you went around the world taking photographs of people meditating many of them would look quite similar.

Why?

Because there are some basic elements of the meditation posture that are employed across the globe in order to calm the mind and align the body.

For those of us who are accustomed to sitting in a chair, you might be a bit intimidated by the notion of sitting on the ground in a cross-legged fashion. This is a good time to give it a try. If you find that it is difficult, you can assume one of the simpler cross-legged postures.

To use the 4-7-8 technique, focus on the following breathing pattern: empty the lungs of air. Breathe in quietly through the nose for 4 seconds. hold the breath for a count of 7 seconds.

Breathing is the key to achieving mindfulness. It’s essentially why you feel significantly more amazing doing yoga than you do during aerobics; you’re controlling your breathing while treating yourself to all the benefits that follow a calm, steady stream of fresh air.

However, not all breathing is created equally. You likely learned this in your yoga classes. You have to teach yourself how to breathe properly in order to maximize the benefits, and there are several breathing techniques you can use, in particular, when meditating.

People with anxiety difficulties are often so tense throughout the day that they don’t even recognize what being relaxed feels like.

Through practice you can learn to distinguish between the feelings of a tensed muscle and a completely relaxed muscle. Then, you can begin to “cue” this relaxed state at the first sign of the muscle tension that accompanies your feelings of anxiety.

By tensing and releasing, you learn not only what relaxation feels like, but also to recognize when you are starting to get tense during the day

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate. 

Thank you …Set aside about 15 minutes to complete this exercise. Find a place where you can complete this exercise without being disturbed.

For the first week or two, practice this exercise twice a day until you get the hang of it.

The better you become at it, the quicker the relaxation response will “kick in” when you really need it!

You do not need to be feeling anxious when you practice this exercise.

In fact, it is better to first practice it when you are calm. That way, it will be easier to do when feeling anxious.

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Tension

The first step is applying muscle tension to a specific part of the body. This step is essentially the same regardless of which muscle group you are targeting.

First, focus on the target muscle group, for example, your left hand. Next, take a slow, deep breath and squeeze the muscles as hard as you can for about 5 seconds.

It is important to really feel the tension in the muscles, which may even cause a bit of discomfort or shaking.

In this instance, you would be making a tight fist with your left hand.

It is easy to accidentally tense other surrounding muscles (for example, the shoulder or arm), so try to ONLY tense the muscles you are targeting. Isolating muscle groups gets easier with practice.

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Relaxing the Tense Muscles

This step involves quickly relaxing the tensed muscles. After about 5 seconds, let all the tightness flow out of the tensed muscles.

Exhale as you do this step. You should feel the muscles become loose and limp, as the tension flows out.

It is important to very deliberately focus on and notice the difference between the tension and relaxation. This is the most important part of the whole exercise.

Remain in this relaxed state for about 15 seconds, and then move on to the next muscle group. Repeat the tension-relaxation steps.

After completing all of the muscle groups, take some time to enjoy the deep state of relaxation.

Quick Tense & Relax! Once you have become familiar with the “tension and relaxation” technique, and have been practicing it,

you can begin to practice a very short version of progressive muscle relaxation. In this approach, you learn how to tense larger groups of muscles, which takes even less time.

These muscle groups are:

1. Lower limbs (feet and legs)

2. Stomach and chest

3. Arms, shoulders, and neck

4. Face

So instead of working with just one specific muscle group at a time (e.g., your stomach), you can focus on the complete group (your stomach AND chest).

You can start by focusing on your breathing during the tension and relaxation.

When doing this shortened version, it can be helpful to say a certain word or phrase to yourself as you slowly exhale (such as “relax”, “let go”, “stay calm”, “peace” “it will pass” etc...).

This word or phrase will become associated with a relaxed state; eventually, saying this word alone can bring on a calm feeling. This can be handy during times when it would be hard to take the time to go through all the steps of progressive muscle relaxation.