Can you tap into the relaxation response?

You say you didn’t even know you had a relaxation response?  Well, you do.  God thought of everything – and did you also know stress is your friend?  (not chronic stress that is caused when you avoid stress) The link takes you to a great TED talk by Kelly McGonigal on how to make stress your friend. She discussed studies and research to prove God knew what He was doing creating the stress response, we need to learn how to LISTEN to it and stop believing it is harmful to our health. Don’t believe me? Listen to her TED talk.

The relaxation response was coined by Herbert Bensen, MD at Harvard Medical school.  He’s written a book on it, “The Relaxation Response” and urges people to practice the relaxation response 10-20 minutes a day.  Curious?  Want to get started? Read on!

The definition from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH or NCCIH) “Relaxation techniques are practices to help bring about the body's “relaxation response,” which is characterized by slower breathing, lower blood pressure, and a reduced heart rate. The relaxation response is the opposite of the stress response.”

Here are some quick tips on getting started with this practice:

1.      Choose a quiet environment and assume a comfortable position. Sitting quietly is suggested.

·         Turn off your phone or place a pillow over it to mute the sound.

·         Do not use an alarm clock to track the time (you don’t want to jolt yourself back into activity).

·         Practice before eating, but after exercising.

·         If old emotions/memories surface during practice, simply acknowledge them and bring your focus of attention back to your breath or repetitive mental word or phrase.

·         Eliciting the relaxation response takes practice. With time, you will find it easier and easier to let go.

2.      Close your eyes

3.      Moving from your feet and progressing to your face, deeply relax each muscle as you exhale and move up the body.

4.      Breath deeply but easily, don’t alter your breathing for this exercise.  Breath naturally through your nose.

5.      Choose a focus word or phrase, which can be secular (one, love, peace, calm, relax, I am calm, I am relaxed) or religious (Shalom, Om, the Lord is my shepherd).

6.      As you discover yourself thinking about other things, gently bring your awareness back to your word or phrase. Assume a passive attitude without worrying how well you’re doing. It is natural for thoughts to come and go, so when this happens, gently return to the repetition of your word or phrase.

7.      Continue meditating in this way for 10-20 minutes. Near the end of your meditation, remain sitting quietly for several minutes with your eyes closed allowing other thoughts to return. Remain seated for another minute with eyes open before immediately rising.

8.      Practice this technique once or twice daily, for example in the early morning (after exercise or a shower, but before eating or starting your day) and/or early evening (before dinner). I know this sounds like a big commitment but try it on a weekend or a day off when you have more time to feel the benefits.  Then you can bring it into your days, finding time to elicit the relaxation response.

There are different types of relaxation techniques as posted by the NCCIH:

• Progressive Relaxation: Also called progressive muscle relaxation, this technique involves tensing different muscles in your body and then releasing the tension.

• Autogenic Training: Through a series of mental exercises involving relaxation and ideas you suggest to yourself (autosuggestion), your mind focuses on your body’s experience of relaxation.

• Guided Imagery or “Visualization”: In guided imagery, you picture objects, scenes, or events that are associated with relaxation or calmness and attempt to produce a similar feeling in your body.

• Biofeedback-Assisted Relaxation: Through feedback that is usually provided by an electronic device, you learn how to recognize and manage how your body responds. The electronic device lets you see how your heart rate, blood pressure, or muscle tension changes in response to feeling stressed or relaxed.

• Self-Hypnosis: In self-hypnosis programs, people learn to produce the relaxation response when prompted by a phrase or nonverbal cue (called a “suggestion”) of their own.

• Breathing Exercises: For breathing exercises, you might focus on taking slow, deep breaths—also called diaphragmatic breathing. (see my blog post February 7th, 2022 on Belly Breathing)

  
  

In a 2019 review of 17 studies involving 1,165 participants, slow breathing or relaxed breathing can lead to modest reductions in blood pressure.  Refocusing from a stressful situation and eliciting the relaxation response can do no harm, it can only help the body return from a flight response to one of relaxation.  A 2017 review looked at 24 studies and 484 participants and noted that the relaxation response can help reduce general anxiety and help those suffering from chronic stress and its effects.  Diaphragmatic or belly breathing (see my blog post February 7th, 2022 on Belly Breathing) was shown to reduce the effects of chronic stress in a 2019 review of 3 studies and 880 people.  Promising changes in mental health were also noted. Others report it helping with arthritis, fibromyalgia, headaches, insomnia or restless sleep, low-back pain and pain after surgery.

Resources:

Adapted from Benson, H. (1996). Timeless healing. NY: Scribner

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