A Few More Things to Say About Relaxation

When I wrote my last post, I have to admit, I was not practicing what I preach in any way. I wrote it standing up in the kitchen cooking bacon (organic, of course) for my daughter. I apologize for not giving you my full attention. I hated re-reading the post and finding typos. But I have to take the opportunities to write when and where I find them.

In my distraction, I left out a few essential points.

Chronic stress is so harmful to our minds in bodies in so many ways, one of which is it causes us to retain weight, which makes it particularly relevant for our discussion here. Something as simple as taking deep breaths can have a huge benefit. In our class they told the story of a patient who came in with cardiac problems, and they showed us the EKG printouts from before and after the patient practiced two minutes of deep breathing. Before, the heart rate was dangerously high, and after, it was within normal limits. Such a simple intervention.

I also forgot to point out how relaxation techniques give us opportunities to BE IN OUR BODIES. Many of us live our lives feeling very disconnected from our bodies. We may judge, abuse and criticize our bodies, but rarely do we fully occupy them. When doing any kind of relaxation exercise, try to intentionally experience being in each part of your body. Start by just feeling your scalp. How is your scalp doing? What does it feel like? Give it your full attention. Then work your way down.

I tried this during my commute recently and found the process a little disappointing because so many parts of my body were uncomfortable on my long car ride. Hmm, here is my nose, it feels a little stuffy. Here is my jaw which is clenched. Here is my parched throat. This is not so fun. I was reminded of that scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark when Karen Allen's character challenges Indy: "Damnit, Jones, where DOESN'T it hurt?!" I also thought of my mom who has so many physical problems that an exercise like this might seem like pure torture to her. But, as I worked my way down, I was pleased to discover that my elbows and knees were not uncomfortable in any way. They felt perfectly fine. As I spent some time with them, they started feeling zippy. They almost tingled with their happy absence of discomfort. That cheered me up.

So try being in each part of your body, but you don't have to stop there. Try breathing into a specific part of your body. Try imagining a warm light bathing each part of your body in relaxing, healing energy. Experiment a little.

If you need a little guidance with this kind of thing, check out www.kimeronhardin.com. (Sorry, I failed in my attempt to make this a link.) Click on "pain and stress issues" and take a look at his CD: Drifting Downstream.