What is relaxation?
Although everyone understands that relaxing means lowering muscle tone, no more and no less, everyone understands that relaxation is much more, that at least it serves to calm the nerves without the need for drugs. The truth is that relaxing is a very powerful weapon to combat physical and mental stress.
The practice of relaxation avoids mental blocks, unsatisfactory situations of anger and rage and the constant imbalance caused by stress that can give rise to multiple diseases, is completely overcome.
We can say that relaxation is a beneficial tool for mental and physical health. A technique based mainly on breathing and aided by different visualizations and sometimes with vibrational music to help you achieve an altered state of consciousness where your mind reaches a deep relaxation that goes from the feeling of calm and well-being to the feeling of fullness that translates as happiness, although that term is appreciative of each subject.
Breathing
Breathing is a natural act that communicates us with life. When we die we stop breathing. This very natural act can be consciously directed by ourselves if when exploring our body we are able to locate the depth of our inspirations.
So, to be complete, breathing must fill the blood with maximum oxygen by expelling carbon dioxide through breathing and that only happens correctly when you integrate the 3 different breaths that human beings usually use:
High clavicular breathing:
It involves the upper part of the chest and is characterized by short and repetitive inspirations, which manifests itself in states of anxiety. We use a lot of energy to get little air.
Middle thoracic breathing:
The air reaches the thorax, but not the abdominal area and the lungs are not at their maximum air capacity. They raise the ribs and increase thoracic capacity but not enough to relax deeply. The difficulty is noted for greater air entry, although it is better than clavicular breathing and is the one most used. All three should be used, especially the :
Thoracic abdominal breathing:
also known as diaphragmatic breathing: we relax the abdominal muscles independently of the thorax. It is the type of breathing that is used in relaxation.
It is said that our second heart is located in the diaphragm. It is an especially sensitive place and considered as a chakra, the center through which energy enters and leaves – the so-called manipura or third chakra – as considered by Hinduism and different oriental movements such as those practiced by the different yoga techniques .
The objective is to consciously make the air travel through your body, filling your lungs to the maximum with air and exhaling more slowly than you have inhaled, in this way physical relaxation is assured, but not mental relaxation, although without physical relaxation, mental relaxation is impossible.
Deep breathing
It is the fundamental exercise to relax and that we can apply anywhere when we need to relax and calm down. It not only reduces nervous stress, but keeps your mind in balance, which is why practicing it daily in the morning and at night 5 times each time is very beneficial for your health. You have to follow these steps:
- Sit or lie down comfortably, put your left hand on your abdomen, and your right hand on top of your left hand. You will notice a particularly sensitive point, it is usually the navel, although higher or lower depends on each individual.
- Imagine that under your abdomen there is an empty bag, just below where you are putting your hands.
- Breathe inhaling as slowly as possible (between 3 and 5 seconds) through your nose and mouth and notice how the empty bag fills and how the air rises to your shoulders, filling your body.
- Keep your breath while in your mind you repeat to yourself: “I am deeply relaxed.” -Always a little more than the inspiration time-
- Exhale the air and empty your lungs as much as possible as slowly as possible while mentally repeating – I am deeply relaxed-a etc. Positive phrases that relax your mind.
If you do this exercise in the morning 5 times in a row and the same at night before going to bed, it guarantees you will be balanced and relaxed. , if there is a case of need, worrying news, unexpected disappointment, etc. You can practice this exercise anywhere, it is an aid that will give you enough energy and mental clarity to continue.
Yoga
Yoga is an ancient technique that has its origin in the books written by the “Vedas” in India. Originally there were 3 basic types of yoga – Janani yoga, karma yoga, raja yoga – from these came batty yoga and hata yoga and although their creed is the same, depending on the type of yoga practiced, the purpose is different for each of them.
But let’s start at the beginning. Yoga means the union of the soul, mind and body., regardless of which school is chosen. It is used as a means of evolution and is based on breathing, which is understood as an energy called “prana” which in Hinduism means “inspired breath”, it is the vital energy that emanates from the universe and connects all living beings.
The objective of yoga is the liberation of the ties of the soul with the matter that is enslaved by our emotions. This is achieved with the connection with everything that is eternal and that comes from God, the origin of everything beyond the world of illusion known as “Maya”, referring to our temporal reality of existence that causes us to interpret reality based on our spiritual evolution that is linked to our learning through different lives. It is not a religion. And although each of these schools of yoga have their own visions of how to reach that “liberation”, they all practice relaxation as their main basis
It must be said that Yoga came to the West around the 1950s and has evolved a lot, here in the West more than 20 types of supposedly different yogas are practiced where the base philosophy of their beliefs matters little for the most part. Only the postures and breathing matter and they call it YOGA, I do not detract from the physical benefits it entails and in small cases even mental benefits on the part of those who practice these new yogas, I only dare to say that authentic YOGA is much more.
Meditation
It is the technique that serves to calm your mind. Where breathing relaxes the body, meditation relaxes the mind. But to be able to meditate, the previous step is to blank your mind, that is, to make sure that thoughts do not invade your conscious mind and it is not easy to make sure that thoughts pass through you and do not stay in your mind, crushing an idea and losing concentration at the same time.
That is why various aids are used to meditate, such as relaxing music so that when listening to it, the ideas calm down and fade away. Guided meditation, listening to a voice that shows you the way. The benefits of meditation are impressive, if everyone practiced it the pharmaceutical industry would suffer.
Headaches and physical pain would be eradicated, stress would disappear and people would have time to think and not be manipulated and the consequences are that they would be happier and much healthier. But society settles for much less and barely seeks to find itself and take care of itself as a whole.
Tai chi and Chi Kung
They are not the same, they are similar. The objectives are different. TAI-CHI is a martial technique that was invented to maintain the center of the body and balance and to be able to repel aggression.
Another thing is that currently the objective has been modified and the movements seek to maintain that balance and also keep the mind balanced. TAI-CHI, much older, its objective is to achieve internal health, fullness and longevity. Both techniques use movements and breathing, while chi-tung uses various breathing techniques that are coordinated with your movements, in TAI-CHI the breathing is natural and relaxed and is not always coordinated with the movements.
TAI-CHI is individual, it is one’s own work, TAI-CHI is always linked to the other. Both techniques are suitable for relaxing the mind and body.
