How to Achieve Deep Physical Relaxation With the Sandbag Technique

Sleeping womanThe state of your physical body can have a significant effect on the level of mental relaxation you are able to achieve. If you’re experiencing pain in your body, it can be difficult to focus on anything else and can truly hamper the personal growth process.

Fortunately, the mind can be used as a tool to create a feeling of relaxation in the physical body. In turn, relaxing your body frees you to use your mind more efficiently to affect positive changes in your life.

Sometimes it is helpful to check in with your physical self and take note of how you are feeling. You may not even realize certain areas are tense until you bring your attention there. This technique is designed to help you pinpoint areas of tension and release the stress from those areas until your whole body feels deeply relaxed.

The Sand Bag Technique

Find a comfortable resting position in a place where you are not likely to be disturbed. Feel free to lie on the bed or floor, or to sit upright or recline in a chair.

After reading the rest of these instructions, you should …Read more about the Sandbag Technique for deep relaxation

A Simple Technique to Help You Sleep Better

Sleeping womanWe’re always on the lookout for practical methods to help people get a night of deep, restful sleep. When an easy technique accomplishes that much and also improves mental and emotional health at the same time, it’s definitely worth sharing.

This technique takes very little time, can be done while lying in bed before falling asleep, and will work for just about everyone.

The Daily Rewind Technique

A Daily Rewind is a swift and painless way to clear all the clutter out of your mind in preparation for sleep and dreaming. The technique simply involves a …Continue reading about this easy technique to help you sleep

Light/Dark Visualization for Relaxation or Meditation

This easy visualization technique can be quite helpful and refreshing when you are having trouble sleeping, feeling overly stressed, or feeling ill or fatigued. You can use this technique indoors or outdoors.

Woman relaxing outdoors1. Get into a comfortable position. You can do this technique while lying in bed or on the floor or while reclined in a comfortable chair, wherever you are most comfortable.

2. Close your eyes.

3. As you lie there, visualize your body, wherever it is that you are at this moment. See yourself lying there on the bed or sitting in your chair.

4. Imagine your entire body is …Read more about the Light-Dark Visualization for relaxation

Breathing technique: Whole Body Breathing

This breathing technique is designed to help you learn to involve your entire body in the breathing process.

Seat yourself in a comfortable position, or lie down on the bed or floor. With relaxed concentration, focus on the idea that your entire body is performing the duty of your lungs, breathing air in and out. Inhale and exhale slowly.

As you inhale each breath, imagine you are breathing in the air through each and every pore in your skin. Imagine your entire body as …Click here to learn more about the Whole Body Breathing technique for relaxation

Using a Mandala or Image to Focus Your Mind During Meditation

mandalaThe word mandala translates to “circle”. A mandala is an image that represents, to you personally, a symbol of balance, wholeness, centeredness, and harmony. A mandala can be an excellent focusing tool for meditation.

Though we recommend keeping your eyes closed while listening to the Insight CD or MP3, you may also use a mandala for a few minutes prior to beginning your listening session in order to calm the mind and focus yourself.

Begin by finding a mandala that appeals to you. Your mandala can be any image the represents balance, wholeness, and harmony to you, but we recommend finding a mandala that incorporates visually balanced elements as well. Many beautiful mandalas may be found at the Mandala Project web site. You may also draw your own mandala on paper, in the sand, or using any other medium. The act of creating your own mandala can be a meditative experience in and of itself.

Place your mandala in a location where you will …Click here to learn more about using a mandala during meditation

Book Review: Total Relaxation

Total RelaxationTotal Relaxation by John R. Harvey, PhD, is one of the most comprehensive yet concise texts on the subject of tension and relaxation. Harvey takes the reader on a journey through every system of the body in which tension can occur. He goes into great detail about the possible causes of tension in each system, and helps the readers assess for themselves where and why their own tension resides. Most importantly, Harvey then provides detailed instructions for how to release that tension.

The layout of the book is brilliant. Each system of the body — or “level” of tension, as Harvey describes it — has its own chapter, and the following chapter contains the relaxation techniques associated with that system, or “level.” This format makes the book highly accessible for a variety of readers. A reader who is interested in learning about all the possible causes and places of tension can read the book from start to finish, gain a wealth of knowledge about how the body works with regard to producing tension, and learn how to achieve the deepest states of relaxation. Conversely, someone who already knows where his or her tension lies can go directly to the chapter containing techniques that apply to that type of tension and start relaxing. …Click here to read more about Total Relaxation

Breathing Technique: Following the Breath

The breathing technique called following the breath has been used for many years as a traditional meditation technique. It is one of the easiest breathing techniques but also one of the most effective.

Inhale, counting to four until you feel filled with breath. Hold this breath while counting to four. Be sure to keep your throat and chest relaxed.

Exhale, counting to four until the lungs are empty. Hold the exhalation while counting to four.

The pace you use to count from one to four will vary from … Click here to learn more about the Following The Breath technique

Breathing Technique: Flowing Breath

This breathing technique is a very relaxing method and can be used as a quick stress reliever or for deepening your meditative state.

Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor. Place your right hand over your heart, and place your left hand over your abdomen, just below your belly button. Rest your hands lightly, not firmly. You may reverse the position of your hands if you prefer.

Take a slow deep breath and concentrating on feeling the breath entering and filling you as you inhale. First, feel your right hand over your heart, rising as your …Click here to learn more about the Flowing Breath relaxation technique

Breathing Technique: Alternate Nostril Breathing

Alternate nostril breathing has a very balancing effect, and also has been shown to increase whole brain synchronization. The technique has been used by meditators around the world for centuries.

Seat yourself in a comfortable position. The alternate nostril breathing technique works best when performed while sitting upright rather than lying down.

Using the thumb of your right hand, put pressure on the outside of your nose to close the right nostril. Inhale through the left nostril, counting to four.

Release the pressure on the right nostril and, at the same time, use your …Click here to read more about the alternate nostril breathing technique

Breathing Technique: Breath Counting

This breathing technique involves giving each breath, both inhale and exhale, a specific count.

As you inhale a deep breath, think to yourself “1″.

As you slowly exhale that breath, think to yourself “2″.

As you inhale the next deep breath, think to yourself “3″, and as you slowly exhale that breath, think to yourself “4″.

Continue this count for a few minutes, increasing the count with each inhale and exhale until you reach a count of 50 or 100.

We recommend that this technique be used in conjunction with the Insight CD or MP3 for relaxation, stress reduction, deep meditation, and many other benefits.

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