About Relaxation
Relaxation is a way of life – it is not just something you do when you lie down in a relaxation posture, and it is not just a matter of letting everything in the body go floppy.
To be effective in dissolving accumulated tension, relaxation needs to be carried out to a specific level; quietening the conscious mind by progressively relaxing the body in order to allow the person to become aware of their own energy.
Our bodies are designed to cope with the ‘cave-man’ type of stress which uses our ‘fight or flight’ survival mechanism. However, the type of stress we encounter today is different, eg, too many things to do and not enough time to do them, emotional problems, financial difficulties, or a situation at work that you feel you can’t do anything about.
When the mind is continually running, the tissues of the body build up stress. If the person relaxes – not just their body but their thoughts – they will begin to feel this energy inside. Relaxing the body is the first step because when we are under stress everything in the body tenses up, so if you do the opposite and relax the body, it will begin to relax the mind.
The second stage in relaxation then is to train the mind. Most of us have very little control over our minds and when we are worried about something, even though we may know it is not doing us or the situation any good, we can’t stop, and the thoughts keep churning around and around, depleting our energy and making us feel drained. If someone tells us to ‘stop worrying’, we can’t do it – our thoughts have got control of us.
To try to stop our thoughts is not easy, so we adopt a step by step approach whereby we teach you several techniques that involve focusing the mind precisely on what you are doing.
For example, if you focus on your breathing for a short while, surges of energy are released from the body and immediately you feel better. Once you have learned this technique, you can begin to apply it in all areas of your life.
