Home Book Julie Shop Schedules

Trouble sleeping? Insomnia is at epidemic proportions and has dreadful
consequences. A few problems associated with inadequate sleep include feeling irritable, exhausted, lowered immunity, poor mental / emotional health, and heart disease.

Relaxing regularly and deeply is the perfect remedy to conquer stress

. The World Health Organization predicts that stress-related disorders and psychological disorders will be the second leading cause of disabilities in the world by 2020.

Guided Relaxation is another tool for your stress relief toolbox. The secret to gaining relaxed energy is to clear away the mental ruckus and emotional debris to make room for clear thinking.

One of the easiest ways of doing this is through relaxing the muscular tension held in the body by tensing and releasing muscle groups throughout your body using a reliable technique known as progressive muscular relaxation. Doing so not only releases physical tension, it also teaches you the felt difference between tension and relaxation.

By knowing this, you can catch physical tension early on and before it causes painful headaches, back problems and digestive trouble. A calming effect for the body, mind, emotions and spirit is awakened as well.

This short relaxation exercise can be done either sitting in a chair or lying down.

It is a good way to rest and relax when time is limited. Your energy will restore.

Begin by closing your eyes . . . and let the air in your lungs release . . . Take in a full, deep breath through your nose, allowing your lungs to fill up completely, letting the air go all the way in, and then sigh it out through an open mouth. Let all tiredness, tension, and negativity be released when exhaling your breath.

Take in another big deep breath . . . and sigh it out. Now, continue breathing slowly and deeply for five complete breaths . . . taking time to breathe all the way in and all the way out through your nose. Take your time . . . breathing in . . . and out . . .

Draw your attention to your thoughts now . . . Notice what’s on your mind right now, what thoughts are going through . . . Let them come and go without dwelling on them . . . There’s no need to cling to thoughts or to try and make them go away . . . Notice how your mind and thoughts gradually slow down . . . undistracted and becoming still so you can begin centering in and being focused . . . Each time your mind begins to wander, gently bring your attention back to your breath and to this very moment.

Now, notice how your emotional self is feeling right now. What kind of mood are you in . . . Try not to judge your mood, just notice and accept what you are naturally experiencing at this moment . . . Remember to let feelings come and go.

Notice that you feel more and more settled each time you exhale … notice a feeling sense of harmony and balance occurring within your body, mind, mood, and spirit. Feel the sense of balance within your body . . . mind . . . and emotions.

Take in another big deep breath . . . and sigh it out. Take your time . . . breathing in . . . and out . . . Now, continue breathing slowly and deeply for five complete breaths . . . taking time to breathe all the way in and all the way out.

Next, you will slowly begin tensing the muscles throughout your whole body at the same time; your arms and legs, your torso and back, your shoulders and face.

By the count of five, your body will feel half the way to being tense all over. By the count of ten, you will feel tension and tightness throughout your entire body. Then you will count backwards from ten to one. As you do, you will slowly release the muscular tension in your body. By the count of five, you will be half the way to feeling totally relaxed. At the count of one, your body will be relaxed completely. Finally, you will take in a nice, big breath and then sigh it out. Let’s do it.

As you sit or lie there, get a solid sense of your body as it presses firmly against the floor or chair . . . with awareness, mentally explore how your body is feeling right now. Scan your legs . . . back . . . arms . . . and head. You are becoming acutely aware of how you are feeling in your physical body right now. Simply become aware . . .

Let's begin. One, hold just a little tension . . . two . . . add some more . . . three . . . four . . . five, you are half way there, six . . . seven . . . eight . . . nine . . . and ten, you are all the way there now. Feel the contractions . . . know it and experience it completely, so that you will be able to recognize muscular tension and tightness later on.

Nine, release a little bit . . . eight . . . let a little bit more go . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . you are half way there . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one. Let all of the muscular tension and tiredness dissolve and be released. Let go totally. Experience fully the feeling of being completely relaxed and calm . . . Let it soak in . . . and learn to recognize the feeling of relaxation

If you still feel some muscular tension, you’ll notice that you can relax even more if you mentally give your body permission to relax further. Pay a mental visit to those areas where you hold your tension… Let those places relax now by mentally giving yourself permission to do so . . . It's beneficial to relax . . .

Take a nice big, deep breath and sigh it out, letting the air rush out through an open mouth. Let the air stay out of your body as long as comfortable and then receive another big, deep breath and sigh it out completely. Notice that you can relax more and more, each time you exhale . . . Let your breath return to normal.

Notice how you feel . . . let yourself safely go … sinking down into the floor or chair…. Let the floor or chair support and hold you, feeling safe and secure. Your body feels as if it’s being supported completely and entirely. Every time you breathe out, you can feel more and more relaxed, calm and serene.

Whenever you are ready, you can begin stretching and moving, feeling refreshed and relaxed.

Mind-Body Techniques

Resources \ Articles \ Information