I've seen a few anti-aging websites connected with some Twitter profiles. I'm all for anti-aging ideas, techniques and products. One of the best tools is something we can all do easily everyday... just taking some time to relax.
Sitting quietly for five or ten minutes everyday, practising relaxation so that it becomes second nature is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Once it's learned, and you can see my earlier blogs about self-hypnosis which can be achieved through deep relaxation and is very natural and normal, the process becomes almost automatic. Imagine being able to close your eyes and feel the relaxation spreading through your body and mind quickly and easily! Imagine being able to do this when you've encountered a major stressor in your life! It just takes practice.
Ridding yourself of stress quickly and easily will keep you from becoming burned out, controlled by stress, your tension headaches would subside, your tense shoulders would be lose and relaxed. That is to say nothing of the benefits of breathing more deeply on a regular basis which promotes relaxation, helps to clear the body of toxins and restores calm.
Relaxation is one of your best anti-aging tools.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Ways to Relax
I've talked about the importance of relaxation in daily life. But relaxation can mean different things to different people.
When I think of relaxation I think about closing my eyes, breathing deeply, relaxing my muscles and very soon I find myself in an altered state. However, I do have other ways to relax...taking a hike through the woods, watching a favourite movie, chatting with a friend on-line or playing a game on my computer are all ways to relax. I'm sure you could list a few more.
As for how I teach people how to relax, i.e. self-hypnosis and I believe the phrase that "all hypnosis is self-hypnosis," I'm talking about the first way I described above. And I always teach my clients how to do this and you can find this on-line...it's no great secret and I don't mind sharing it here with you.
I could get into great detail about the mechanics of self-hypnosis, what happens to the brain, what happens to the body, what you might feel, ways you can deepen the state even more but for the purposes of this blog I'll give you the basic mechanics and you can practise on your own. If you want more in-depth training feel free to contact me through my website http://www.relaxationadvantage.ca or directly at my phone number, 905-537-3300. I do great workshops on it, they are a lot of fun and taken from 1 to 2 hours, ideal for lunch and learn or a short workshop.
First of all, sit quietly and still. Preferably in a place where you won't be disturbed and nothing will disturb you. The better you get at this, the more easily you can do this and eventually you'll be able to do it even with distractions. It's important to sit still and breathe deeply. When people get tense, they breathe in a shallow manner...it's hard to get tense when you're breathing deeply.
Close your eyes and begin to relax the muscles of the body in a uniform fashion such as from your head to your toes or vice versa...in a progressive fashion one group after another. You'll find that the more you practice this, the quicker you can do all this. And you can do all this in 5 minutes. In fact that's what I recommend for people...to take 5 minutes a day and practice this for 2 or 3 weeks and it will become automatic...more on the automatic part later.
As you are doing all this ...breathing deeply while remaining still and relaxing your muscles say a calming phrase to yourself like "I'm calm and relaxed" or something you make up.
And that's it essentially. Now people say this is too easy and I say yes...it is easy...so why don't you practice it on a regular basis?? People will make up all kinds of excuses about not having time, too busy, no where to relax. Trust me...if your life is that hectic and you aren't doing anything to relax, you'll find yourself sooner or later in a nice relaxing place where you do nothing else...like a hospital room totally burned out or in your bed, sick because you haven't been taking care of yourself.
It is so easy and so quick and as I told you earlier it becomes automatic after a few weeks of practice...in fact, you just take a deep breath, say your phrase and the body will take over and you will feel the relaxation automatically. As one of my workshop participants said, "it ain't rocket science." I like to add, "but you'll have a nice, short trip into inner space."
When I think of relaxation I think about closing my eyes, breathing deeply, relaxing my muscles and very soon I find myself in an altered state. However, I do have other ways to relax...taking a hike through the woods, watching a favourite movie, chatting with a friend on-line or playing a game on my computer are all ways to relax. I'm sure you could list a few more.
As for how I teach people how to relax, i.e. self-hypnosis and I believe the phrase that "all hypnosis is self-hypnosis," I'm talking about the first way I described above. And I always teach my clients how to do this and you can find this on-line...it's no great secret and I don't mind sharing it here with you.
I could get into great detail about the mechanics of self-hypnosis, what happens to the brain, what happens to the body, what you might feel, ways you can deepen the state even more but for the purposes of this blog I'll give you the basic mechanics and you can practise on your own. If you want more in-depth training feel free to contact me through my website http://www.relaxationadvantage.ca or directly at my phone number, 905-537-3300. I do great workshops on it, they are a lot of fun and taken from 1 to 2 hours, ideal for lunch and learn or a short workshop.
First of all, sit quietly and still. Preferably in a place where you won't be disturbed and nothing will disturb you. The better you get at this, the more easily you can do this and eventually you'll be able to do it even with distractions. It's important to sit still and breathe deeply. When people get tense, they breathe in a shallow manner...it's hard to get tense when you're breathing deeply.
Close your eyes and begin to relax the muscles of the body in a uniform fashion such as from your head to your toes or vice versa...in a progressive fashion one group after another. You'll find that the more you practice this, the quicker you can do all this. And you can do all this in 5 minutes. In fact that's what I recommend for people...to take 5 minutes a day and practice this for 2 or 3 weeks and it will become automatic...more on the automatic part later.
As you are doing all this ...breathing deeply while remaining still and relaxing your muscles say a calming phrase to yourself like "I'm calm and relaxed" or something you make up.
And that's it essentially. Now people say this is too easy and I say yes...it is easy...so why don't you practice it on a regular basis?? People will make up all kinds of excuses about not having time, too busy, no where to relax. Trust me...if your life is that hectic and you aren't doing anything to relax, you'll find yourself sooner or later in a nice relaxing place where you do nothing else...like a hospital room totally burned out or in your bed, sick because you haven't been taking care of yourself.
It is so easy and so quick and as I told you earlier it becomes automatic after a few weeks of practice...in fact, you just take a deep breath, say your phrase and the body will take over and you will feel the relaxation automatically. As one of my workshop participants said, "it ain't rocket science." I like to add, "but you'll have a nice, short trip into inner space."
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Relaxation, it could extend your life
Relaxation is so easy...almost everyone knows how to do some form of it. But for some reason most of us don’t practice it on a regular basis. I know I used to have 17 deadlines a day as a broadcast journalist...the aspirin bottle was a good friend I visited a few times a week from the tension headaches...but I didn’t visit the couch or the easy chair often enough after work. After 8 years I was burned out.
The next job I had was out of town and I took the train to and from work. I soon learned how to sleep sitting up and found how very therapeutic it is to have short little naps. I’d have one on the way home and be revived for the rest of the night.
When I became a hypnotherapist I started practising deep relaxation on myself and stopped headaches almost entirely...I certainly don’t get the tension headaches any more. And when I can through the day, I can simply close my eyes, take a few deep breaths and put myself in that relaxed state of mind right away. Once you learn how to do this, it takes seconds to achieve the state...the subconscious takes over the process and you are there.
Considering how 80 to 90 percent of most illnesses are caused or exacerbated by stress, people could really benefit from learning some basic relaxation exercises like the Relaxation Response researched by Doctor Herbert Benson in the 1970’s. Using Progressive Relaxation through regular practice he showed the long-term health benefits of the practice and those benefits are profound. It’s something his Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine (BHI) continues to promote…
“If practiced regularly, it can have lasting effects. Elicitation of the relaxation response is at the heart of the BHI’s research and clinical mind/body programs.”
“Repeated activation of the relaxation response can reverse sustained problems in the body and mend the internal wear and tear brought on by stress.”
- http://www.mbmi.org/basics/whatis_rresponse_TRR.asp
This method is very similar to the methods I use to guide people into hypnosis which is really just deep relaxation. It’s the same state as Meditation, at least from a physiological point of view...moving through the Alpha (brainwave) state to Theta where the body heals and restores itself. It positively affects heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension.
It continues to amaze me how so many people don’t take 5 or 10 minutes for themselves everyday...I do.
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