Deep relaxation
techniques
Facultatea de Psihologie și Științe ale Educației
Specializarea: psihopedagogie specială
Anul I
Grupa a II-a
Gurău Diana-Ștefania
Relaxation
In psychology, relaxation is the
emotional state of a living being, of low tension,
in which there is an absence of arousal that could
come from sources such as anger, anxiety, or
fear.
Relaxation exercises are useful to reduce
stress and improve mental health and sleep. They
come in many forms, such as breathing, body
relaxation, mindfulness and meditation.
Techniques
There is no single relaxation technique that is best for
everyone. The right relaxation technique is the one that resonates with
you, fits your lifestyle, and is able to focus your mind and interrupt
your everyday thoughts to elicit the relaxation response.
There are many techniques which have been used over
centuries which can induce the relaxation response.
But all these techniques have two simple steps in common:
1. Focusing one's mind on a repetitive phrase, word, breath or action;
2. Adopting a passive attitude toward the thoughts that go through
one's head.
In the beginning, you may find it hard to dismiss thoughts
and worries from your mind. You may struggle to stay awake and
focus on your body, or you may even fall asleep. Don’t worry about
getting it right every time. Just relax and slowly teach your mind to
concentrate.
To help you to clear your mind, try to focus on a single
point, while keeping your eyes closed. It could be the centre of your
forehead, or the area between your eyebrows.
Eventually, you may become so relaxed that you're able to
clear your mind of thoughts, images and emotions.
Morning breathing
Try this exercise when you first get up in the morning to
relieve muscle stiffness and clear clogged breathing passages. Then
use it throughout the day to relieve back tension.
1) From a standing position, bend forward from the waist with your
knees slightly bent, letting your arms dangle close to the floor.
2) As you inhale slowly and deeply, return to a standing position by
rolling up slowing, lifting your head last.
3) Hold your breath for just a few seconds in this standing position.
4) Exhale slowly as you return to the original position, bending
forward from the waist.
5) Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.
The corpse posture
The corpse posture is an exercise in mind over matter. The
only props you need are your body and mind.
Here is how you do the corpse pose:
1) Lie flat on your back, with your arms stretched out and relaxed by
your sides, palms up (or whatever feels most comfortable).
Place a small pillow under your head if you need one and
another large pillow under your knees for added comfort.
2) Close your eyes.
3) Take a couple of deep breaths, lengthening exhalation.
4) Contract the muscles in your feet for a couple of seconds and then
consciously relax them.
Do the same with the muscles in your calves, upper legs, buttocks,
abdomen, chest, back, hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, neck, and
face.
5) Periodically scan all your muscles from your feet to your face to check
that they are relaxed.
You can often detect subtle tension around the eyes and the scalp
muscles. Also relax your mouth and tongue.
6) Focus on the growing bodily sensation of no tension and let your breath
be free.
7) At the end of the session, before opening your eyes, form the intention to
keep the relaxed feeling for as long as possible.
8) Open your eyes, stretch lazily, and get up slowly.
9) Practice 10 to 30 minutes; the longer the duration the better.
Progressive Muscular
Relaxation
Progressive muscular relaxation is useful for
relaxing your body when your muscles are tense.
Here are a few examples of ways to engage in
progressive muscular relaxation. Hold each position for
five seconds, and then relax.
O Raise your eyebrows as high as you can.
O Close your eyes as tightly as possible and keep them shut
for five seconds.
O Open your mouth as wide as possible, as if you're yawning.
O Hold your arms in front of you and clench your fists as
tightly as possible.
O Pull your shoulder muscles up toward your ears.
O Bend your arms and tense your biceps as tightly as
possible.
O As you sit, pull your legs together and push your thighs
together, tightening the thigh muscles as you push inward.
O Tighten your abdominal muscles.
O Curl your toes downwards as much as possible.
