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How to Relax: Enhancing Your Mental and Physical Health Through the Art of Inner Self-Regulation
Ratings:
128 pages1 hour
Summary
How to Relax is a concise yet comprehensive presentation of the fundmental priniciples and basic techniques of effective relaxation training. It is for anyone who wishes to learn to more effectively manage stress or stress related physical, emotional, or behavioral problems. The format is short enough that anyone can read the entire book and get started learning the skill of relaxation right away. There is no unnecessary history, theory, or fluff to slow the learning process. Dr. Davis's style of writing is readable, clear, and friendly. As one moves through the book it is clear that Dr. Davis's intent is to help the reader learn to master the skill of relaxation as quickly and effectively as possible. If you have been contemplating the value of learning effective relaxation skills and are ready to jump in with both feet and get right to work, this is the book for you.
Publisher: iUniverseReleased: May 10, 2001ISBN: 9781469706498Format: book
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How to Relax - Patrick Davis PhD
Ph.D.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the
permission in writing from the publisher.
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ISBN: 0-595-17441-8
ISBN: 978-1-4697-0649-8 (ebook)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
One - Prelude
A Carrot
Why You Should Learn To Relax
The Nutshell
Two - Fundamentals
The Stress Response
The Relaxation Response
Practice
Training Wheels
The Setting
Comfort
Focused Awareness
Dealing With Distraction
Three - Techniques
Techniques
Breathing
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Stretching
Autogenic Relaxation
Mental Imagery
Contemplation
Meditation
Prayer
Self-Hypnosis
Four - Fine Tuning
Quieting
Recall Relaxation
Cue Controlled Relaxation
Deepening
Summing Up
Five - Scripts
Reading
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script
Stretching Script
Autogenic Relaxation Script
Self-Hypnosis Script
Mental Imagery Script
Six - Forms
Forms
Trigger Identification Form
Trigger Identification Form
Relaxation Practice Recording Form
Relaxation Practice Recording Form
Relaxation Practice Recording Form
Relaxation Practice Recording Form
Relaxation Practice Recording Form
Cue Sheet
Problem List
Problem List
About the author
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
George Rice first introduced me to the idea of relaxation training many years ago when I was an undergraduate at Montana State University. Fred Heide brought an academic and clinical interest in relaxation training back into my life during my years as a graduate student at the California School of Professional Psychology. Over the past few years, as I have been learning more about the practice and uses of relaxation, the clients in my private practice of psychotherapy have taught me much about the successful application of relaxation to real life problems.
My understanding and practice of relaxation has been influenced tremendously by the work of Herbert Benson, M.D., Jonathan Smith, Ph.D., and Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.
I particularly wish to thank Gina Hartung, Tom Kinney, Melanie Lattin, Mona Morstein, and Bob Unterseher for their generous assistance with the seemingly endless task of reviewing and editing the manuscript once the initial writing phase of the project was completed.
INTRODUCTION
I have written this book to assist people who want to learn to be more relaxed so that they may enjoy a greater level of physical and emotional well being. As a practicing clinical psychologist, I frequently provide my clients with instruction in relaxation to help them learn to more effectively manage a wide range of emotional, behavioral, interpersonal, and physical problems. Over the years I have purchased, read, and recommended a wide variety of the books and audio-cassette tapes on the topic of relaxation; however, I have never been able to find a resource for my clients which has truly met their needs in an optimal manner. While many books on the topic of relaxation are available, a number of problems with these materials repeatedly seem to crop up. Some books are too long and detailed to hold the interest of many readers and so are set aside before any significant learning occurs. Others focus exclusively on one problem area and as such are not general enough to meet the needs of a wide range of readers. Some include one or more chapters on relaxation but then cover an overly broad canvas with the result that they overwhelm the reader with too much information. Some are not sensitive to the religious or spiritual concerns of readers and so are discarded because they are viewed as challenging or threatening to the reader’s religious beliefs. It has been my intent to overcome these problems with this book.
The book is brief and to the point so that readers will be able to read the entire text in one or two sittings. It is general enough to meet the needs of anyone who wishes to learn to relax for any reason while at the same time being comprehensive in its coverage of the topic. The entire focus of the book is on how to learn to relax one’s mind and body deeply and rapidly. As a result, readers will not be distracted from this focus or discouraged by having to wade through unnecessary material unrelated to this one important topic. Finally, I have made an effort to be sensitive to the differing religious or spiritual perspectives of the wide audience the book is written for. The sections on mental imagery and meditation are written in a clearly secular manner although the reader certainly may incorporate aspects of his or her religious or spiritual orientation into these relaxation approaches. I have included a section on prayer as an approach to relaxation in an effort to make the book and the practice of relaxation more accessible to the large numbers of readers who wish to pursue wellness in a manner that clearly embraces their religious beliefs.
In addition to attempting to overcome these problems, this book also describes relatively recent advances in our understanding of how one moves through the process of first learning to practice relaxation for twenty or thirty minutes on a daily basis to developing the ability to relax rapidly even in very stressful situations.
As a practicing psychotherapist, I have repeatedly worked with clients who have developed the ability to relax reasonably deeply with the assistance of audio-cassette relaxation tapes or biofeedback. Many of those same clients, however, never successfully move beyond these learning tools to develop the ability to relax rapidly in stressful situations without having to retreat to their bedroom to listen to a tape or to their therapist’s office for a booster biofeedback session. I have attempted to overcome this barrier to effective application of relaxation by emphasizing the importance of, and by describing a method for, working toward independence from relaxation tapes.
It is my sincere belief that anyone who is troubled by excessive stress, behavioral or interpersonal problems, or stress related physical ailments will derive significant benefit from learning the skill of relaxation. It is my genuine desire that this book finds its way into the hands of those individuals who not only understand that they would benefit from learning the skill of relaxation, but who also believe that through their own efforts at self-regulation they can come to enjoy enhanced physical and emotional well being.
One
Prelude
A CARROT
Begin by taking a slow, smooth, deep breath. Try to breath from your abdomen and not from your chest. Take a few more of these deep breaths. As you exhale, repeat the word relax
silently to yourself. With each outward breath, as you silently repeat the word relax,
imagine all of the muscles in your body loosening up. Now, count backward from ten to one while
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