Many of us feel the pressures and stresses of work in our everyday lives that, oftentimes, we are actually allowing sickness and disease happen. The following is a very simple way to relax – a technique that has been in use since the 1970’s (and has been proven to lower blood pressure). The idea is simple: just as the body responds to certain cues and situations with a stress response, it can also respond a relaxation response. With 20 minutes a day, you can learn to use the relaxation response to reduce stress and to improve blood pressure.
Time Required: 20 minutes a day
Here’s How:
1. Sit
Find a comfortable place to sit. Sit with you back straight and feet on the floor. Be comfortable, but alert.
2. Close your eyes
Just relax. Close your eyes. Let everything fall away.
3. Breathe in
Breathe in through your nose. Feel the breath fill your stomach.
4. Breathe out
Exhale through your nose. Feel your body collapse. Breathe out fully.
5. Repeat
Continue breathing. After each time your breath in and out, say (or think) the word “One”. Continue for 20 minutes.
6. Practice daily
Repeat this every day. Have a set time to do it. Don’t worry about setting an alarm, just have a clock nearby that you can see. If you start drifting in thought, gently return to your breathing.
7. Mini-relaxations
During your day, stop a few times and do a “mini relaxation”. Just breathe in and out for about a minute. This will relax you and begin to teach your body how to respond to stress in a calm way.
What You Need:
- Place to sit
- 20 uninterrupted minutes
