How to find relaxation from stress and anxiety

When we are anxious and stressed our muscles tighten around the rib cage causing us to take shallow breaths.....we forget to breathe. Ever feel like you just stopped breathing for about ten minutes and now your catching your breath again?

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• To learn the techniques to regaining relaxation.

1. DEEP BREATHING with your diaphragm in a relaxed fashion and allow your abdomen to rise and fall .... not just the chest.
   1. Air through the nose and out through your mouth.
   Count 1,2,3,4...hold 1, 2...exhale. Repeat. Focus on your breathing.
   You are taking in energy and expelling fatigue.
2. THE SIGH Breathe and give a shoulder shrug which releases tension in the shoulders.
3. TENSING AND RELAXING The body does things almost automatically. The body tenses the grip of the cup of coffee upon pickup as it will tense up during an onset of stress. The 'tensing' of a muscle group and then 'letting go limp' allows the nerve centers in the muscles to re-adjust the tension back to it's resting state. Example below:
4. Sit with arms comfortable on lap.
   Squeeze right fist and forearm at 95% power until your muscles quiver.
   Then let them go limp.
5. PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION
   Make sure you wont be interrupted by loud noises, etc.
   Close eyes
   Begin deep breathing
   Imagine your ankles and feet getting heavy and relaxed with every cycle of breathing.
   Then your calves and shins, knees, thighs, and hamstring muscles, are getting relaxed and taking in energy and letting go of fatigue.
   Your back and abdomen, neck, shoulder muscles, arms, hands, are now relaxed as are you.
6. TO RELIEVE ANY TENSE
   Gain comfort again
   Starting with feet and ankles, stretch your toes to touch the ceiling. Keep your heels and balls of feet on the floor. Hold at 95% power for 5 seconds then let your feet go limp.
   Tense calves, shins, knees, thighs, and hamstring muscles and hold for the same amount of time then let go limp.
   Hips and buttocks, abdomen and back, shoulders and neck, arms and fists, and then the facial muscles by squeezing inward.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have physical problems and believe that tensing a muscle group will aggravate an injury, you may want to modify that step.