RX for Stress: The Relaxation Response, Part II

This is the second article of a 3-part series in which I describe a range of practices that you can use to produce the Relaxation Response in your body. The Relaxation Response serves to counteract the cumulative injurious effects of recurring stress on the body. Through these proven methods which promote relaxation, we can begin to engage the body's amazing potential for self-healing.

In Relaxation Response Part I, we examined the techniques of Diaphragmatic Breathing and the Progressive Muscle Relaxation or the Guided Body Scan.

In Relaxation Response Part II, we will look at relaxation through Centering Meditation, Mindfulness, and Visualization.

Go to Relaxation Response Part III to discover information about MIndful Movement techniques.

Centering Meditation is a tested approach wich encourages the condition of deep rest and relaxation, In this practice we concentrate our awareness on a single word or phrase to improve the sense of relaxation at the same time as we are breathing deeply, slowly and evenly. The words you choose can have profound personal significance, be neutral or just consist of welcome sounds.

One approach with this sort of structured meditation can be to silently speak one word or phrase to yourself as you breathe in and a different one as you breathe out. Following are some examples you might try now:

• With the inhale, mentally say to yourself: Be
• With the exhale, mentally say to yourself: Calm
• As you breathe in, saying: Let
• As you breathe out, saying: Go
• Breathing in: Deep
• Breathing out: Slow

Another way to make use of centering meditation is to repeat the word or phrase each time you breathe out. Here are a few examples of words or phrases you might choose to repeat to yourself in this manner:

• Rest
• Relax
• Calm
• One
• Wind
• Now

You can also practice centering meditation by counting breaths. To accomplish this, just count on each exhalation, You can count up to ten and when you reach ten, and start back over again at one. If you lose track of the count, start over again at one.

If thoughts, feelings or distractions appear, simply let them pass on by and kindly re-establish your awareness in the repetitive word, phrase, or counting.

The practice of Mindfulness, or mindfulness meditation, is a tested technique which encourages the bodily state of the Relaxation Response.

Mindfulness is finding what the essayist, Henry David Thoreau, referred to as the "bloom of the present moment." This practice affords an encounter of the Relaxation Response as you discover how to be in the present moment with awareness that is moment-to-moment and without judgment. It lets you become centered and wholly engaged in your life as it unfolds.

You can practice mindfulness formally or informally. In the formal practice of Mindfulness, you start off with a focus of your attention on the physical sensations that accompany breathing. That is followed by an expanding of focus as you open yourself to sounds, sensations, thoughts, experiences or feelings. As you grow in awareness of what is inside you and around you, you can learn to consider and embrace what is present without judgment, without trying to modify it or move away from it.

The best approach to mindfulness practice is with awareness of the breath. As you breathe, you witness the thoughts or feelings that surface without reacting to them. Then, making use of the regularity of your breathing, just name and acknowledge what you observe, and go on with a focus on the breath. In this way, the breath becomes a continuing grounding to the current moment, and any interrupting thought or feeling diminishes from awareness.

This practice has been compared to sitting on the bank of a brook, focusing attention on the breath. As a leaf or a twig drifts by, it comes into conscious awareness. The leaf is witnessed, noted, and then it drifts on down the brook out of view. The observer goes back to the breath as focal point.

It may be of use to attune your focus by vocalizing internally what you are experiencing. This helps you to remain anchored in the present moment.

You might say things to youself like:

• Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.
• Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out.

• Breathing in, I am sad (or happy, worried, afraid, etc.)
• Breathing out, I still feel sad, etc.

With this approach, there is no investigation into or reflecting about what has prompted the feeling. You just name your experience and let it go with your breath.

An approach to Mindfulness that is less formal involves bringing your total awareness to some task in which you are engaged, or to any moment that is taking place in the course of your day. Whether you are having a meal, walking, driving, or getting dressed, you can proceed with the task or pleasure at hand, being totally engrossed in it while retaining the awareness of your breathing. You can connect with your senses fully and savor sensations that you take notice of.

• Breathing in, I know that I am taking a shower.
• Breathing out, I hear the sounds of flowing water.

• Breathing in, I feel the sensation of the warm water on my body.
• Breathing out, I see the swirling patterns of steam.

With this informal approach you are inviting mindful awareness to what is happening in the present moment, and you release the stress-inducing habit of multi-tasking. Right away you may let yourself be fully engaged in what is at hand. Only then can you be fully alive and fully present!

Remember that twenty minutes of being in the Relaxation Response per day can undo the effects of recurring stress.

Try some Mindfulness today!

Visualization and Guided Imagery meditation is an effective, innovative and engaging approach to calm yourself and shift into a place of deep rest and relaxation. It is a powerful tool for changing your life. Through visualization you intentionally make use of your imagination to alter your behavior, help your mind and body to heal, and change the way you feel.

In her book, Staying Well With Guided Imagery, Belleruth Naparstek says that Guided Imagery is "a kind of directed, deliberate daydreaming, a safe and effective method of utilizing your sensory imagination." Guided Imagery helps you relax so that your mind and body may relax and recuperate from the plunder of chronic stress.Guided Imagery works because your body doesn't fully differentiate between evocative, sensory images and real events. Thus, when one is resting in a state of deep relaxation, the images we choose to focus on are persuasive and factual to the body.

An excellent way to begin the practice of visualization is to make use of an audio CD, either one that is professionally produced or a chosen meditation script that you have recorded in your own voice. In addition, you can practice on your own by bringing to mind an image that you find relaxing -- a soothing image of a favorite place or a blissful experience. Breathe slowly and deeply as you employ all of your imaginal senses to create and delight in your chosen image.

Visualization and Guided Imagery are valuable techniques to help you allow your body to relax and experience the Relaxation Response.

Make a little time today to visualize a safe, tranquil and comforting scene in which you have everything you need. You are completely relaxed and contented as you drink in the beauty of the setting that you have fashioned. Breathe with awareness as you experience, in your imagination, perfect pleasure and satisfaction. If you want something, you have only to bring it to your imagination and voila! you have added it to the scene you are creating. Let yourself stay in this imagined scene for a short while. When you are ready, come back to the so-called "real world." Pay attention to any sensations in your body.

Sandi Anders, M.Div., R.Y.T. (http://www.Imagery4Relaxation.com) has been helping people relax and access their inner creativity for many years. A stress management specialist, yoga and meditation teacher, musician and life coach, she uses her soothing voice to teach audiences how to let go of stress and tension and learn to listen to the wisdom of the body. Sandi blends poetic language with her broad knowledge of meditation traditions to teach relaxation skills anyone can learn.

Sandi is based in Nashville, TN and leads workshops and retreats around the country. Her popular new CD The Alchemy of Peace and Love offers two hours of guided relaxation and meditation, using her unique voice, evocative words and original music to guide the listener into a deeply relaxed state.

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