The relaxation response According to Dr. Herbert Benson, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the relaxation response is a physical state of deep rest that changes the physical and emotional response to stress ... and the opposite of the fight or flight response.” Physical symptoms that occur are a reduced heart rate, reduced blood pressure, reduced oxygen usage, lower metabolic rate and slower respirations.
Relaxation: through breathing The focus of meditation is the experience of a peaceful sense of being, which includes awareness of physical sensation, emotions and thoughts. Some goals of meditation include relief of stress related symptoms, relief of anxiety, freedom from the limitations and suffering caused by compulsive worrying, self-criticism or other negative thought patterns which can contribute to unhealthy behaviors including stress eating. • The best time to meditate is in the morning before breakfast because the mind is less active after sleep. Do not practice two hours after any meal, since the digestive processes seem to interfere with the response. • Choose a relatively quiet place where you will not be disturbed. • Meditate in any position in which you can be comfortable with your back straight. • There is no correct way to breathe. Just notice that you are breathing and be aware of the changes that take place as you become more or less relaxed. • Use of a focus word: Repeat a word or words in your mind. • Try to practice for 15-20 minutes daily or for a minimum of 5 minutes to focus on your breathing and self-awareness.
Relaxation: from the belly Deep abdominal breathing or belly breathing, helps establish a state of physiological calm and can neutralize the negative effects of stress. Here’s a step-by-step lesson: 1. Lie on your back and place a book on your belly. Relax your stomach muscles and inhale deeply into your abdomen so that the book rises. When you exhale the book should fall. You will still be bringing air into your upper chest, but now you will also bringing air down into the lower portion of your lung and expanding your entire chest cavity. 2. Sit up and place your right hand on your abdomen and your left hand on your chest. Breathe deeply so that your right “abdominal” hand rises and falls with your breath, while your left “chest” hand stays relatively still. Breath in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth, enjoy the sensation of abdominal breathing. 3. Place a clock with a second hand in view. Breath in slowly, filling your abdomen, for five seconds. Then breath out slowly to the same count of five. 4. Perform deep abdominal breathing throughout the day, for example, when you awaken, before you go to sleep, and in any stressful situation.
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