{"id":48951,"date":"2022-02-14T07:24:28","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T13:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=48951"},"modified":"2024-04-06T06:30:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T06:30:25","slug":"the-art-of-relaxation","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-art-of-relaxation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Relaxation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Is there an art to relaxation? I need to know because my 2022 new year\u2019s resolution is to stop playing \u201cbeat the clock.\u201d If there is an art that I can learn, I will stand a better chance of meeting my resolution. With this in mind, I took my laptop to a comfy sofa, with my dog next to me. A warm, soft light created just the right ambiance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Google was ready for me. First, I wondered whether I was unique in needing to make a conscious effort to relax. Maybe growing up in a home of six kids and helping our parents manage their corner grocery store while also needing to do well in school had hardwired me to be a \u201cdoing machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

I discovered through Google that 77 percent of the population experiences stress affecting their physical health, as reported by the American Institute of Stress.<\/strong> <\/a>I was in good company, though not necessarily the company I wanted to keep. The sites I visited spelled out the downside of living an over-stressed life\u2014high blood pressure, heart disease, lack of sleep, and substance abuse, for starters. They didn\u2019t delve into how we compensate for those stressful moments. For me, ice cream works great\u2014until I get on the scale, which just depending, might induce more stress.<\/p>\n

So the obvious question is, how do we place ourselves into a more relaxed state? Many have studied this, but the gold standard appears to be created by Dr. Herbert Benson, originally at Harvard and now at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine. Benson offers a 6-step process toward relaxation that begins with us sitting comfortably (which I am doing as I write this piece), closing our eyes (which I can\u2019t do because I need to see what I am writing), and then relaxing all our muscles from toe to head (and yes, we are to start at our feet). The fourth step in the sequence is to breathe through our nose, being \u201cmindful\u201d or, said another way, \u201caware\u201d of each breath as we do. As we breathe out, we are to say the word \u201cone\u201d silently to ourselves and repeat this for ten to twenty minutes.<\/p>\n

Benson\u2019s recipe made me recall taking yoga classes years ago, which had a similar vibe. At the end of each session, we would lie on our mats, close our eyes, open our palms, and listen to calming beats. We would breathe in and out, through our nose, repeatedly, with \u201cempty\u201d minds.<\/p>\n

Except there was always something on my mind. Sometimes I would visualize my to-do list, or I\u2019d suddenly remember needing to call someone back. I would feel a strong urge to exit the studio, except that I couldn\u2019t. There were others like me, and we commiserated about our inability to enjoy the last relaxing minutes of class.<\/p>\n

But I am ready for round two. I am older and more aware, so I think I\u2019ll do better. I won\u2019t be lying down on a mat, but I will be comfortably sitting on my sofa as I prepare to release myself from the stress of everyday obligations. I will need to customize Benson\u2019s technique. I can close my eyes and breathe through my nose, but repeating the word \u201cone\u201d won\u2019t do much for me. I will probably substitute \u201cone\u201d with some classical music, like Felix Mendelssohn\u2019s \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d or Beethoven\u2019s \u201cEmperor Concerto.\u201d Classical music has often calmed me during Covid, so why not continue?<\/p>\n

The one unaddressed question that still remains is whether I could change my attitude and place fewer things in the bucket of \u201ccritically important,\u201d thereby lessening my stress. Google is not helpful here, but fortunately, my bubbie had a saying that makes me laugh and, sort of, works.<\/p>\n

When she deemed something irrelevant, my bubbie would say, \u201cPut that in your big toe.\u201d She was from Eastern Europe, and maybe it was a translation from something she heard as a child. It didn\u2019t seem to belong in our culture. There I\u2019d be, visualizing my toe getting bigger, until I realized her point was really about treating something as unimportant and letting it go.<\/p>\n

Relaxation is about \u201cletting go,\u201d which is the point of breathing out and creating an environment to help us. I think my customized plan might work and give me a chance to respond to readers who have asked me how one beats the clock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Original post<\/a><\/p>\n

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About the Author<\/h4>\n
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\n

Jill Ebstein<\/a><\/h4>\n
Jill Ebstein is the editor of the \u201cAt My Pace\u201d series of books and the founder of Sized Right Marketing, a Newton, Massachusetts, consulting firm. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is there an art to relaxation? 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