Wellness
Want to Learn to Relax?

Try meditation.

Growing interest in the mind-body connection has given the practice of mediation a big boost. Research shows it can reduce stress and lower blood pressure, improve work performance and even slow aging.

It's a simple, very old technique involving a focused thought that helps quiet the hypothalamus, the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system.

Your mental focus may be a color, a word, or just the sound of your own breathing. Likely your mind will wander from that central thought or word, but quietly bring it back into focus. (Rational thinking about an idea is not meditation - and can prevent you from attaining deep relaxation.)

There are hundreds of ways to meditate. However, one of the simplest methods used today is The Benson Method, developed by Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School.

Here's how you can do it:

  • Sit quietly in a comfortable position, eyes closed.

  • Concentrate on relaxing all your muscles, beginning with your feet and working up to your face. Keep them relaxed.

    Breathe slowly and deeply through your nostrils; feel your abdomen gently swell. Take the same length of time to breathe in as you do to breathe out. Continue for about 10-15 minutes.

  • You can open your eyes to check the time, but don't use an alarm.

When you're finished, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed, later with them open. Don't worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Let relaxation happen at its own pace.

Practice this meditation a couple of times a day, but wait two hours after a meal to do so.

Why the breathing is so important

Your body is constantly working to keep body functions and chemistries in balance. However, when you get tense, you begin to breathe with short, shallow gulps. This creates an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your system.

Breathing slowly and deeply helps restore this balance and returns to your breathing. You start feeling more relaxed right away.

Information courtesy Saskatchewan Health.

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