I mean, seriously, what could be better than letting your body melt into a quiet, peaceful pool of utter calm?
Well, yes, that is better, but we're not discussing bedroom matters this morning.
Today I want to give you a natural technique you can use to attain really nice states of deep relaxation.
Ready?
Here we go with a technique shared by the late Declan Twohig...
Sitting comfortably, with eyes open or closed, list (to yourself) three things which you can see, then three things which you can hear, then three things which you can feel.Yes, the technique sounds a little complicated, but give it a try anyway. It only takes a few minutes and it will put you into a state of deep relaxation.
For example, "I see the color of the wall, I see the person opposite me, I see the color of her hair, I hear the sounds outside the room, I hear people moving about, I hear my own breathing, I feel the cushion underneath me, I feel the air on my skin, I feel my hands on my lap."
Then narrow it down to a list of two things in each sensory mode, and then one thing in each mode.
Tell yourself, "As I count from ten down to one, I can go into a deep, comfortable state of relaxation."
Then count breaths backwards from ten to one and enjoy the relaxation that you are drifting into.
This works most powerfully when the verbal listing within your head is timed in a rhythm with your breathing.
Chet Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com
P.S. If you want a recording that'll drop you into deep relaxation without you having to do anything other than to put on your headphones, click here to learn about my popular Cat's Purr CD. I promote it as a natural sleep aid, but it's also one of the best deep relaxation CDs on the market.
Hi Chet:
ReplyDeleteI teach another simple, yet not common, deep relaxation technique.
It might be easier to remember because it is all about memory. And senses.
And the order in which you call up each sensory memory is not important.
First, set aside a few seconds or moments for this when and where you will feel safe with your eyes closed and will not be disturbed; or will not allow yourself to be disturbed or concerned even if there are noises and activity around you.
Second, adjust your physical position to increase comfort. That is, move around a bit and find your most comfortable position to rest in.
Third, observe your breathing and allow it to become easy and slow over the rise and fall of a dozen or more breaths.
Fourth, close your eyes and continue to notice your breathing, full, slow and easy.
Fifth, allow yourself to recall a time and place when and where you felt completely enraptured with a sense of peace and beauty and joy. One of those special times when you felt in love with life and nature and felt not a care in the world.
We could stop the instructions here, and within seconds you would find yourself drifting into a peaceful state of greater well-being and relaxation.
And you would miss the profound power of taking this exercise further:
Six, with each breath, allow your sensory recall of that time and place to grow more vivid, more meaningful to you, allow your face to slowly relax into a content smile.
Seven, allow yourself to observe, in recall, each and every sensory element about that time and place. That is, recall the visual brightness or dimness, the colors about you, what your eyes were focusing on or taking in, the tactile sense -- the temperature on your skin, the stillness or breeze, the sounds, the scents, etc. Is there a taste associated with the memory?
Once you have found every sensory aspect in memory, allow them to grow in pleasant intensity, and review them again. And then again. Notice which of the factors evoke the most pleasant responses as you re-live them.
Eight, now allow yourself to recall anything and everything you can about the atmosphere, the environment, the mood, the emotional sense of comfort and security and love. Can you recall the very thoughts that were passing through your mind at that moment?
Nine, allow yourself to continue to breathe and appreciate the joyful senses and awarenesses and move from one to another with each breath. For as long as you wish. Let the experience refresh you. And then gently let the memory fade.
Besides intensifying the experience, the steps beyond Step Five, with practice, will allow you to very quickly move into this peaceful, relaxed, secure, appreciative and joyful state almost instantly any time you choose.
You will do that by, as you repeatedly practice this pleasant-memory exercise, noticing which of the aspects and elements of memory, of sense, of awareness come to you first, come to you strongest, and which produce the most pleasing effect.
And once you have that awareness, simply close your eyes, observe your breathing, and rotate through the building the memory of those most profound aspects.
I have several of these memories and use different ones at different times. One that I have used for years and years is a memory of the changing colors in the haze in the sky at sunset while standing on the end of the Ventura pier, salty mist in the air, roaring waves crashing against the pylons and mildly jarring the wooden pier.
It was a place I went most evenings for the 18 months I lived in the Ventura Keys at the beginning of the 1980s. I rode my bike to the pier and walked it out to the end and watched the red boiling sun drop into the sea, or into the purplish, darkening cloudbank hanging above the water.
Years after moving from Ventura, all I had to do was recall the sounds, smells, and shifting colors in the mist and would instantly fall into a joyful, peaceful trance, appreciating the incredible beauty of nature.
This exercise will be different for everyone who works with it.
For instance, for some, it may not be an outdoors scene at all.
I learned another relaxation -- a re-frame -- that works for me when I'm on the road in my motorhome and someone else is driving and it is my turn to nap.
This one I learned from a medical doctor friend who shared how well it worked for him.
And now it works well for me, too.
I offer it just to present the power of a constructive re-frame:
I tune into the sound of the tires on the pavement and engine and imagine I am napping in a purring motorboat on a beautiful holiday morning, taking me from the shore across slightly choppy waters on a two-hour ride out to the Channel Islands for a peaceful weekend escape.
Fun to share.
Best,
kwc
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k e n . w i n s t o n . c a i n e
Mind Body Spirit Journal
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