The Value of Relaxation
A Powerful Tool for Change
I’m often asked why such a simple procedure like relaxation is central to my work. Well, whilst it is simple to learn, the results are not so simple. The particular techniques I have developed work on several psychological and and physiological pathways.
When it comes to relaxation techniques, there are a range of technique and I’ve used many over my career. I encourage everyone to find a relaxation technique that suits them, and use it daily.
The Mayo Clinic encourages its clients to use relaxation techniques to decrease the effects of stress on their body. They list the benefits of relaxation:
- Slowing heart rate
- Lowering blood pressure
- Slowing your breathing rate
- Improving digestion
- Maintaining normal blood sugar levels
- Reducing activity of stress hormones
- Increasing blood flow to major muscles
- Reducing muscle tension and chronic pain
- Improving concentration and mood
- Improving sleep quality
- Lowering fatigue
- Reducing anger and frustration
- Boosting confidence to solve problems
The Australian Government lists similar effects and defines relaxation as “a state where you feel calm and can manage your stress or anxiety”.
My initial reason for using relaxation is to provide the experience of being calm, relaxed, focused and in control. This is the opposite of the stress you might expect to experience when being without a cigarette.
I developed the RELAX 15© technique, as it was ideally suited to my clinical work. I needed a technique with certain qualities that I could teach my clients to use and then build on it. In some ways, the truth is that if you achieve relaxation, you get the body out of the way and the mind is in control. Once your mind is in control you can initiate change.
When you get the body out of the way,
the mind is in control …
smooth and effortless control.
Also, once you experience this “stress-free” state and learn to access it [as I teach in the STOP QUIT NOW Programs] you learn how to shift your physical, emotional and mental states “at will”. That is both powerful and practical. It becomes even more useful when my clients access that state and combine it with other techniques to make changes in their lives. These techniques include self-hypnosis, meditation, mindfulness and validated behavioural modification techniques.
Shift your physical,
emotional and mental states
“at will”
and make changes in your life.
Another benefit of doing any kind of relaxation on a regular basis is the fact that you take time out, time out for yourself. The Mayo Clinic in the article mentioned above, also point out that relaxation techniques take practice.
Perhaps you’d like to incorporate relaxation into your life. The main challenge will be to schedule time, time to do it. You can find 15 minutes a day. I wrote a post about how This program is NOT for you if you don’t want to put the time in. In the 30 day program, you need around 20-30 minutes a day to achieve a smoke free life.
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