Relaxation Exercises Archives - Wholesome Resources

Get-a-Dose of MindBody Bliss

June 21, 2021 by Julie Lusk

What’s your morning routine most days? This is your choice to make. It really will influence the rest of your day.

It’s said a bird doesn’t fly from its morning branch till it sings a song.

Do you drag out of bed, rush through cleaning up, gulp gobs of caffeine, get your kids and pets up, and grab your device to catch up on news, emails & your feeds?

Do you get up, eat something to fortify yourself for the day and spend time looking at something uplifting, pray, meditate, do yoga nidra, sing/chant, or stretch with yoga or tai chi?

Keep in mind that starting your day rushing and stressing will kick in stress hormones (cortisol, etc.) and beta brain waves. Anxiety and fear are sure to follow if high beta brain waves are activated.

Get-a-Dose of MindBody Bliss. Here’s how ..

If you jumpstart your day meditating, your baseline will be a happy dose of mindbody bliss, emotional ease, and mental clarity. Alpha and maybe even theta and delta brain waves will be your foundation. This helps you generate a recipe of positive and helpful neurochemicals/ neurotransmitters and hormones to see you through the day.

Here’s what can happen. Use the acronym – Get-a-Dose – for mindbody bliss. Research suggests the ones listed are only some of what happens. There’s more! Learn more about brain waves and meditation here.

Benefits of Meditation

Hormones Neurochemicals & Neurotransmitters	Purpose	Brain Waves	Purpose
GABA	Anti-anxiety	Gamma	Insight, integration, high level learning, whole brain integration
Endorphins	Pain killers, happiness	Alpha	Calm relaxation, intuitive awareness, integrates brain. Stops fear and anger.
T
Anandamide	Bliss, happiness.	Gamma	Insight, integration, high level learning & memory
Dopamine	Pleasure, motivation, reward	Theta	Flow, imagery, intuition
Oxytocin	Bonding, the ‘hug drug’	Delta	Clears brain toxins, helps memory, learning
Serotonin	Happiness, emotional balance,	Alpha	Calm relaxation, intuitive awareness, integrates brain. Stops fear and anger.
Endocannabinoid Naturally made inside your body	Happiness, anti-inflammation. Improves mood & concentration	Delta	Clears brain toxins, helps memory, learning

Goose getting blissed throughout the day with mindfulness breaks, especially when you get knocked off your game when weird or upsetting stuff happens. Breathing intentionally can regulate your heartrate, nervous system and up your awareness quotient. Here’s some ideas.

Get Yoga Nidra Meditations by Julie Lusk & Bliss Brain by Dawson Church to learn more!

Author: Julie Lusk, MEd, E-RYT 500, has over 35 years of expertise in stress relief, yoga, relaxation training, guided imagery and meditation as an international author, recording artist and workshop leader. Julie is the author of Yoga Nidra Meditations: 24 Scripts for True Relaxation, Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, Yoga Meditations, two volumes of 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing, and Desktop Yoga®. Her audio downloads and CDs include Wholesome Relaxation, Power of Presence, Yoga Nidra Essentials, Blue Moon Rising, and many others. Learn more at JulieLusk.com

Yoga Nidra and Your Brain Wave Fluctuations

January 6, 2019 by Julie Lusk

Yoga Nidra and Your Brain Wave Fluctuations ©

Written by Julie Lusk

Yoga Nidra is an empowering meditation that starts with relaxation. It systematically changes and cycles through brain wave states, lowering beta and increasing alpha, theta and delta for the better.

Yoga nidra literally changes the ‘fluctuations of the mind’ by slowing down brain wave frequencies. Biological sleep only refreshes the bodymind and cannot promote self-realization like yoga nidra can. Feelings of meditative expansiveness are objective biological facts that can be measured in DNA, neurotransmitters, brain waves and more. The physical body changes as the mind changes.

Here’s what can happen during yoga nidra:

During stage one, physical relaxation, stress is reduced causing beta brain waves to lower considerably.
In the second stage, abdominal breathing produces a rise in the “feel good” neurotransmitter serotonin as shown on EEGs. Alpha, theta, and delta brain waves also increase. (Fumoto, et al., 2004).
The third stage of yoga nidra promotes alpha brain waves. During this stage, mental and emotional balance and mindfulness are the focus. Mindfulness stimulates all 9 functions of the frontal cortex of the brain, promoting memory, concentration, and problem-solving while reducing anxiety and depression.
Intuition and creative solutions are associated with theta, the fourth stage of yoga nidra. Anandamide, the “bliss molecule” inhibits the formation of cancer cells. Yoga nidra is happening when the brain is in delta, yet one remains aware.
In summary, yoga nidra produces low beta, increases and balances alpha and theta, and produces delta. The physical body changes as the mind changes. Yoga nidra literally changes the ‘fluctuations of the mind’ by slowing down brain wave frequencies.

Beta – Oscillates at 13-25 Hz

Beta at 13-15 Hz reflects the conscious, thinking mind and the waking state. It’s required for processing information and for linear thinking. Normal levels of beta are good. Low beta, from 13-15 Hz is associated with the body’s housekeeping duties. High beta, from 15-25 Hz, is linked to stress. Anxiety is produced in abnormally large amplitudes of high beta. High beta is also associated with “monkey mind.” It produces high levels of cortisol and adrenaline and many adverse reactions in your body. Fear and anxiety produce high beta. Many beneficial cellular functions are inhibited. Aging is much faster when your brain is bathed in high beta waves. It’s important to know how to keep beta brain waves in check.

Alpha – Oscillates at 8-13 Hz

Alpha is an optimal state of relaxed alertness. During alpha, all brain wave levels of the mind are integrated by connecting the brain’s higher and lower frequencies. Alpha links the thinking mind of beta with the associative mind of gamma with the lower frequency brain waves, which are theta and delta. This allows a flow of consciousness. The alpha state disappears with negative emotions, like fear. A truly integrated person generates large amplitudes of alpha.

Alpha tunes the brain to peak performance as well as facilitates gene expression for better health. Alpha improves the immune system.

Alpha increases levels of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters such as serotonin.

The synapses in the learning and memory circuits of the brain are enhanced at 10 Hz. The alpha frequency of 10 Hz results in significantly increased synthesis of DNA molecule (Takahashi et al., 1986)

Neurons in the brain’s hippocampus fire in the alpha range (4-12 Hz).

Heart coherence is associated with increased alpha brain wave activity. It is a state in which the interval between heartbeats is regular and constant. It produces “an orderly and harmonious synchronization among various systems in the body such as the heart, respiratory system and blood-pressure rhythms,” as reported by HeartMath. It’s produced by positive emotions such as love and compassion. Negative emotions disrupt heart coherence.

Feelings of meditative expansiveness are objective biological facts that can be measured in DNA, neurotransmitters, brain waves and more.

Theta – Oscillates at 4-8 Hz

Theta is characteristic of light sleep and with day and night dreaming. It is the dominant frequency of healers and people in highly creative states. Theta increases in people under hypnosis or in trances. (Kershaw & Wade, 2012).

Theta waves are found during DNA repair. It increases the activity of antioxidants.

Human cartilage cells are regenerated at the 6.4 Hz frequency.

Delta Brain Waves – Oscillates at 0-4 Hz

Delta is characteristic of deep, dreamless sleep. High amplitudes of delta are found in people who are in touch with nonlocal mind, even when they’re wide awake. Meditators, intuitives, and healers have much more delta than normal.

When our brains are producing delta, we are enriching our cells in a frequency that has the potential to produce a whole gamut of beneficial physiological changes at the level of our cells, from growing our telomeres and boosting GH levels to regenerating our neurons and sweeping our brains clear of beta-amyloid plaques. This is what happens during yoga nidra.

Growth hormone secretion is at its highest when delta waves peak in the brain. Growth hormone repairs and regenerates cells. It is associated with the immune system, bone mineralization, muscle mass, fat breakdown and protein synthesis, growth and regeneration of all internal organs and homeostasis.

Ahmed and Wieraszko (2008) took slices of the brain that governs memory and learning. They found that a very low delta band, 0.16 Hz, increases activity in the synaptic connections between neurons in the hippocampus. This suggests that memory and learning may be enhanced by delta activity.

Beta-amyloids are sticky plaques between neurons in the brain, characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (Kang et al., 2009). They found that during sleep, when brains are primarily in theta and delta brain wave states, beta-amyloid production in the brain stops, and toxic material is cleared away. The effect was even greater during the delta brain wave state.

The ends of chromosomes have stretches of DNA called telomeres. Telomeres protect our genetic data, cause cells to divide, and slow aging. Telomeres normally shorten each time a cell divides. The resonant peaks for 10 telomere sequences clustered around a frequency window of 0.19 Hz and 0.37 Hz (delta). Other frequencies did not affect telomerase (Cosic, et al., 2015). Meditation preserves and increases telomere length.

Delta brain waves are seen on EEGs when people are having a sense of connection with the infinite.

Anandamide, the “bliss molecule” inhibits the formation of cancer cells.

Delta frequencies between 0.5 Hz and 3 Hz stimulate the regeneration of nerve cells (Sisken, et al., 2007).

Gamma – Oscillates at 25-100 Hz

Gamma is associated with the integration of information from all the brain’s regions, as well as with coherence as they all synchronize (Gray, 1997). It’s associated with flashes of insight, performing difficult tasks perfectly. Meditation increases gamma.

At the gamma frequency of 40 Hz, beta-amyloid decreased by half. zHz

At 50 Hz, results in the body increasing its production of stem cells, the “blank cells” that differentiate into muscle, bone, skin, or whatever other specialized cells are required (Ardeshirylajimi, & Soleimani, 2015).

At 60 Hz, expression of stress genes (cortisol) is regulated.

A frequency of 75 Hz is epigenetic, triggering the genes that produce anti-inflammatory proteins in the body (De Girolamo et al., 2013).

References: Much of this material is from Mind to Matter by Dawson Church, PhD. Hay House, 2018.

Compiled by Julie Lusk – Feb 2, 2019. JulieLusk.com

Resources: Books, Recordings & More

Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief - Printed Book & Audio download

If you feel stressed out, you’re not alone. Stress is a modern-day epidemic that can take a toll on your mind, body, and spirit. That’s why it’s so important to develop relaxation skills to restore your health, happiness, and inner strength. Yoga Nidra—a powerful and unique state of deep relaxation, mental clarity, and insightful awareness—is the answer. In this book, mind-body health professional Julie Lusk presents a powerful Yoga Nidra program to stop stress in its tracks. Yoga Nidra, based on classical yoga and backed by contemporary science, focuses specifically on alleviating both mental and physical manifestations of stress so you can find your calm spot and live a more balanced, confident, and meaningful life. Packed with empowering relaxation exercises, meditations that soothe, and visualizations that renew, the practical exercises in this book will help you unwind, replenish, and feel revitalized with durable peace and unconditional joy. CLICK on the blue title link above to find out more...

Yoga Nidra Essentials CD

Find your calm spot and brighten your energy for a more enjoyable, meaningful life. Benefit from six levels of relaxation to reclaim optimal health for your body, mind and heart. Laura, a HS teacher says "This focused my mind. I was 100% worry-free. It's easy to experience. Yoga nidra is wonderful." This is from Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, a book and audio set by Julie Lusk. Digital downloads of Yoga Nidra Essentials are also available.

Guided Mindfulness Meditations: Practicing Presence & Finding Peace CD

Julie eases your way into being more mindful with her clean, user-friendly, body-based, joyful approach. The net effect is calmer nerves, a brighter outlook, stronger memory, sharper focus, healthier body awareness and a more balanced perspective. With repeated use, listeners become more fully attentive to what is happening right now, neither resisting nor clinging to each moment, but letting experiences come and go and be just as they are. This program offers a 5-minute track of training tips; a long (18 min) and a short (6 min) mindfulness experience; and ways to be more mindful informally during the day (4 min). (39 minutes total) Published by Health Journeys.

Yoga Nidra: Guided Meditations for Relaxation & Renewal CD

Yoga nidra is a powerful and unique state of relaxation, mental clarity and insightful awareness, done lying down. Julie's clear, step=by-step guidance for experiencing deep relaxation, specialized breathing, guided imagery, and mindful awareness, creates 6 replenishing levels of relaxation and a deeply meditative state. Restless thinking and emotional upsets tend to fade away. Used together or in segments, the net effect is to discover an inner reservoir of heartfelt peace, intuitive understanding and unconditional joy. Studies show one hour of practice is equivalent of about four hours of deeply restorative sleep. Published by Health Journeys.

Yoga Nidra for High-Level Living CD (Shop @ Amazon / iTunes = We are sold out temporarily)

Brighten your energy with self-understanding for mental sharpness, emotional equilibrium and insightful awareness. Mindfulness, setting a sankalpa (resolve), autogenic training and the paradox of opposites will tame stress once and for all. Jeanne, a musician and former nun says, "Exhilarating! This truly raised my spirit. I've never experienced such deep euphoria so easily. I felt so relaxed!" This is from Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, a book and audio set by Julie Lusk. Digital downloads are also available.

Yoga Nidra for Inner Strength and Balance CD (Shop @ Amazon / iTunes = We are sold out temporarily)

Find your calm spot and live a more balanced, confident and meaningful life. Feel totally relaxed with an empowering tour of the bodymind. Guided relaxation and imagery are effectively used for balancing all your energy centers or chakras. Nancy says "This gets me totally calm and in touch with myself. Afterwards, I feel awake, refreshed, centered and ready for my day." This is from Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, a book and audio set by Julie Lusk. Digital downloads of this CD are also available.

Yoga Nidra for Unshakable Peace and Joy CD (Shop @ Amazon / iTunes = We are sold out temporarily)

Experience six amazing levels of relaxation using progressive muscle relaxation and specialized breathing techniques that reliably work. Laura, a HS teacher says "This focused my mind and I was 100% worry-free. It's easy to experience. Yoga nidra is wonderful." This is from Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, a book and audio set by Julie Lusk. Digital downloads of this CD are also available.

Real Relaxation: Yoga Nidra CD (Shop @ Amazon / iTunes = We are sold out temporarily)

by Julie Lusk

This CD takes you into a deeply relaxing and powerful state of being fully aware while being in the state of deep sleep.

Its many benefits include:

Listening for 1 hour equals 4 hours sleep
Improves immunity
Increases heart health
Relieves stress
Brings inner peace and balance

Digital downloads of this CD are also available.

CLICK on the blue title link above to find out more...

Julie Lusk, MEd, E-RYT 500, is a Hatha Yoga Nidra Ambassador. She has more than 35 years of expertise in stress relief, yoga, relaxation training, guided imagery, and meditation as an international author, recording artist, and workshop leader. Julie is the author of Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief, Yoga Meditations, two volumes of 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing, and Desktop Yoga®. Her audio downloads and CDs include Wholesome Relaxation, Power of Presence, Yoga Nidra Essentials, Blue Moon Rising, and many others. Learn more at JulieLusk.com

Alternate Nostril Breathing: Nadi Shodhana

October 20, 2018 by Julie Lusk

Alternate nostril breathing, also called Nadi Shodhana or Nadi Suddhi, creates a sense of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It is done by alternating nostrils while breathing. Doing so balances right and left-brain integration, promotes mental clarity, and whole brain functioning. It can relieve headaches and sinus problems. It calms emotions and fosters feelings of deep inner contentment and balance. Due to its soothing effect, it is ideal preparation for deep relaxation or meditation.

Time: 2 minutes of daily practice. Increase gradually to 10 minutes or longer

The nadis (pronounced NAH-deez) are the non-physical nerve channels within the body. The nadis deliver prana, the life force, throughout the body. While there are thought to be over 72,000 nadis that travel throughout the body, there are three primary ones that run along the spine. Alternate nostril breathing balances these nadis.

The ida (pronounced EE-dah) is energetically to the left of the spine and is activated by the exhalation. It is associated with the receptiveness, intuition, and passivity.
The pingala (pronounced pin-GAH-lah) is activated by the inhalation and is energetically on the right. It is associated with activity, logic, and objectiveness.
The sushumna (pronounced sue-SHOOM-nah) is the central channel. It is activated by the gap between breaths. It is linked with wisdom and the balancing of our active and receptive nature.

The first step to the practice is to learn the proper hand position to aid in the alternation of the breath. Two hand positions (mudras) are offered. Both are effective. Try them both to find out which feels easier for you. Take a few minutes to get used to switching between nostrils with the hand positions before adding the breathing patterns.

The first way, named Vishnu Mudra, is to take your right hand and bend your index and middle fingers toward the palm. Your thumb, ring, and pinky fingers are upright. Next, get used to gently closing your right nostril first with your thumb, and then release the thumb and close your left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand. Switch back and forth until it feels smooth.

Nasagra Mudra is another hand position that can be used. Begin by making the peace sign with your right hand. Next, bring your pointer and middle fingers together and then release your thumb. Place the pads of your index and middle fingers in the center of your forehead or between your eyebrows and then use your thumb and the knuckle of your ring finger to alternately close and release your nostrils.

The rhythm of the inhalation to the exhalation is usually uneven at first. With practice, it will smooth out so they become equal in length. When this is easy for you, begin slowing the exhalation down so that it becomes longer than the inhalation until eventually the exhalation is about twice as long as your inhalation. More breathing ratios are below. Maintain alertness of your breath instead of breathing mechanically.

Process

While either hand position can be used, the Vishnu Mudra is used to describe the pattern for the sake of clarity. The pattern alternates nostrils after each inhalation like this: Exhale – inhale / change nostril / exhale – inhale / change nostril, etc.

Here’s how to practice one round of alternate nostril breathing:

Come into a comfortable seated position with your spine erect.
Form your fingers of your right hand into Vishnu Mudra by curling your index and middle fingers into your palm, straighten the ring and little fingers, and place your thumb against your right nostril.
1. Gently exhale and then inhale through your left nostril.
2. Close the left nostril with the ring finger.
3. Release the thumb. Gently exhale and then inhale through the right nostril.
4. Close that nostril with the thumb and continue with step 1.
In other words, repetition is done by alternating nostrils after each inhalation.
Begin practicing for two minutes and gradually, very gradually, increase to ten minutes. Avoid strain or force.

Breathing Ratio Variations for alternate nostril breathing: Take your time with these ratios. Never rush. Do not force or strain. Do not use breath retention if you have hypertension or other cardiac conditions.

The examples given are to the count of 4. This can be adjusted to 3, 4, 5 or 6 depending upon your comfort level. Count by silently saying Om 1, Om 2, Om 3, Om 4, etc.

Ratio of 1:1 – Develop breath control so that the inhalation and the exhalation are exactly the same length of time. Inhale for the count of 4. Exhale for 4. . Do not proceed until perfected.
Ratio of 1:2 – Double the length of the exhalation. Inhale for the count of 4. Exhale for 8. Do not proceed until perfected.
Ratio of 1:2:2 – Addition of breath retention. Inhale to the count of 4. Hold the breath for 8. Exhale for 8. Do not proceed until perfected.
Ratio of 1:4:2 – Inhale to the count of 4. Hold 16. Exhale 8. Do not proceed until perfected.
Ratio of 1:4:2:3 – Inhale 4. Hold 16. Exhale 8. Hold the exhalation 12. Do not proceed until perfected.

Note: Alternate Nostril Breathing was adapted and reprinted with permission from Julie Lusk’s books

Yoga Meditations: Timeless Mind-Body Practices for Awakening, published by Whole Person Associates, Duluth, MN
Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief, published by New Harbinger Publications, Oakland, CA

Hakini Mudra for Brain-Body Balance, Problem-Solving & Focus

September 7, 2018 by Julie Lusk

The Hakini Mudra for brain-body balance, problem-solving and focus is one of my favorite hand mudras. It’s very effective and easy to do.

Mudras are yoga positions, gestures, and seals for your hands and fingers that facilitate health, healing, psychological balance and spiritual transformation. Some mudras use the whole body and breath. They are effective, easy to learn, practical and powerful, and anyone can do them. Learn more about mudras here.

Hakini Mudra Benefits:

Directs the breath, awareness, and energy to the entire body to balance the bodymind physically and energetically
Complete and full breathing is facilitated effortlessly
Reduces stress
The first six energy centers (chakras) are stimulated and harmonized
Both hemispheres of the brain are integrated and invigorated
Boosts memory, concentration, and assists problem solving

How to do Hakini Mudra:

Gently touch the fingertips and thumb of one hand to the corresponding fingertips and thumb on the other
Hold your palms apart as if you were holding a ball
Place your hands in front of your solar plexus (mid-section)
If your fingernails are too long to touch the fingertips together, interlace all the fingers, separate your palms, and touch the tips of the thumbs together

References: Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief – Printed Book & Audio download, Julie Lusk. New Harbinger Associates, pg. 165-166.

The hakini mudra illustration is from Mudras for Healing and Transformation and courtesy of Joseph and Lilian Le Page of Integrative Yoga Therapy. Their permission was given to use it in Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief and associated materials.

Loving Kindness Face Lift

October 6, 2017 by Julie Lusk

Many thanks to Dan Leven for sharing this Loving Kindness Face Lift. He was inspired by Sharon Salzberg’s book, Real Love.

As he puts it, “It begins with “may my face be happy, may my face be peaceful.” And then you continue moving through each body part wishing them well in this way… “may my neck be happy, may my neck be peaceful … may my shoulders be happy, may my shoulders be peaceful,” and so on. You open your heart’s kindness to your whole body (including to your own heart).”

It’s a great way to start and end the day. I love it. I really go to town with spreading happiness and peace throughout my entire body. I enjoy coming up with new places to shower with loving kindness with each practice such as for my brain, blood, eyes and ears – even my hair. Before long, it’s going out to family, friends, pets, strangers and to all kinds of situations. This meditation is especially handy when my attention is restless since it lets me jump all around. It can be any length too – long or short. It sure feels uplifting.

Dan goes on to explain the science underpinning it. He says, “the vagus nerve is a core part of our parasympathetic nervous system that has two branches. One branch is associated with surviving in a perceived life or death situation where our whole body slows down, feigning death (a primitive survival mechanism). The other branch is about helping us relax and soften into the loving support of others and is associated with the release of oxytocin (the cuddle or bonding molecule). Both branches are about our relationship to “others”: dangerous “others” or safe and loving “others.”

Here’s the kicker he reports, “the vagus nerve has many fibers that connect to our facial muscles where we reveal our emotions through a plenitude of expressions. Scientists have logged 21 different emotional expressions that register within the face and there are 8 universal emotional facial expressions that you don’t need a translator to interpret. So our face can register the vagal response from shock and terror, like a deer in the headlights of a moving car (survival vagus nerve), to happiness and peace, like a contented Buddha face (loving vagus nerve)! However, we can also create the response as we bring happiness and peace to our faces!”

So the KEY point, according to Dan, “is that as you invite or train your facial muscles to discover happiness and peace you are strengthening the relaxation response that’s linked to feeling supportive or loving connection with others -to feeling safe in the world.”

Come on – Give it a shot!

PS. May you be happy and peaceful!