Relax for the muscles: a technique for quickly relaxing the body. How to relax the muscles of the back (relieve spasms)

Muscle relaxation is one of the most common methods of psychotherapy today.

Its action is aimed at reducing the level of stress on the body, which directly depends on the dysfunction of the neuromuscular system.

A person must be able to distinguish between tension and relaxation, as well as be able to manage them. You can learn this at any time.

As a result complete relaxation, it is possible to master a universal remedy that can cope with almost all diseases of the nervous system caused by constant stress. You can recover from insomnia, hypertension, headaches, anxiety that does not leave you and prevent the development of a number of other diseases.

Effective Muscle Relaxation: The Progressive Neuromuscular Relaxation Technique

To begin with, the patient should visit a doctor and consult with him. It will help to identify any contraindications for such a procedure. Deviations such as neurological disorders, insufficient training or muscle damage, and bone pathology are possible.

The place for the exercises should be comfortable, quiet and darkened, which will allow you to completely relax and concentrate your attention on the processes taking place in the body. Nothing should hinder the movement of a person.

It is best to use loose clothing, exercise without shoes and accessories such as glasses. The body of the patient must have a stable support (this does not apply to the neck and head), so that he could not fall asleep during the session.

Each person should grasp the difference between spontaneously occurring muscle spasms and directed muscle tension.

In the first case, pain occurs in the joints and ligaments, accompanied by unpleasant spontaneous trembling of the muscles. This state of affairs leads to their excessive stress.
In the second case, only a slightly unpleasant feeling of constriction occurs in the tensed muscle, nothing more.

During the exercise, the patient should never hold his breath. It should be normal or consist of inhaling at the moment of muscle tension and exhalation at the moment of their relaxation.

First of all, attention should be paid to the muscles of the lower parts of the body, and last - the face. Repeated tension of the muscles of the organs is unacceptable.

Even before the start of the relaxation session, you should give yourself a clear set for the consistent relaxation of each muscle in your body. This will achieve the most effective result.

How to achieve complete relaxation of the body

Lean back a little and take a comfortable position. Get rid of restrictive clothing, shoes and accessories. Close your eyes. Concentrate on your breathing, it should be correct and calm. Feel your lungs filling with air, pausing for 30 seconds as you inhale.

Consider the relaxation of the body, or rather each of its parts separately.

Rib cage

Deep inhale, hold the breath, relax and exhale. Try to empty your lungs completely and restore your normal breathing patterns. On inspiration, some tension should appear in the chest area, on exhalation - complete relaxation of the muscles. Repeat the exercise several times in a row, resting for 5-10 seconds.

Feet and shins

Both feet should be in contact with the floor with their entire surface. Stand on your toes, stay in this position for a while and relax. Sit down on your heels should be smooth, without making sudden movements. If there is a slight tension in the back of the calf muscles, then the exercise is performed correctly. At the moment of relaxation, a slight tingling sensation and a surge of warmth may appear.

To strengthen the opposite muscle group, you should stand on your heels, while raising your socks as high as possible. A few seconds of tension and then relaxation. After these steps in lower parts legs should feel heavy. After each exercise, you should take a break of 20 seconds.

Hips and abdomen

Straighten your legs, lift them up and stay in that position. The calves should be relaxed. After a while, slowly lower your legs to the floor. In this case, the thigh muscles should feel some tension.

Hands

Squeeze both hands into fists, hold them in this state and relax. This exercise is well suited for those who write or type a lot and often. You can spread your fingers in different directions, hold them in this state and also relax. In the area of the hands and forearms, a feeling of warmth or a slight tingling should appear. Between exercises, you should pause for 20 seconds.

Face

Smile as wide as possible, stay in this state and relax. Do the same with pursed lips. Pay attention to your eyes. Close them tightly, raise your eyebrows, then relax. Pause between exercises 15 seconds.

Thus, it is achieved complete relaxation of the body .

When muscle relaxation has been achieved, you can move into the wakefulness stage. Count from 1 to 10, focusing on yourself and the world around you. Open your eyes and feel cheerfulness, a surge of strength and freshness.

When a person is filled with energy, he easily copes with all his tasks. But when his energy tone drops, then any action for him turns into flour. And to avoid such a state, just in time take care about my body. For our well-being and energy level is largely determined at the level of physiology by our body.

But, unfortunately, we are used to paying attention to it only when something starts to hurt. But the body is able to accumulate fatigue without even signaling it with pain.

any tension and negative emotions, if we have not worked them out, accumulate in the muscles, forming in them the so-called “ muscle clamps". Clamps can be felt as a chronic tension of some muscle group. Outwardly, this manifests itself as fatigue. Often this condition is even noticeable outwardly - the person seems to droop and begins to slouch.

Muscle clamps are dangerous because normal blood circulation is disturbed in these places. Consequently, certain groups of cells receive less useful substances or, on the contrary, suffer from an excess of toxins. Ultimately, clamps lead to disease. What kind of happiness can we talk about if a person constantly experiences discomfort from his condition?

The easiest way to avoid these unfortunate consequences is to introduce a daily practice of relaxation. The person who knows relaxation techniques able to effectively relax. This means that during his rest he can quickly and effectively restore his wasted strength, activate his energy potential and better tune in to work.

Let's look at four of the simplest relaxation techniques that can be applied every day. They will help you to relax better and restore your strength.

Method 1 .
Relaxation through breathing.

Breathing exercises have long been considered the basis for any.

The practice is carried out in a secluded place, in a comfortable position, with eyes closed. Concentrate on your breathing, feel its rhythm and depth. Watch carefully as the air enters the lungs and then leaves them.

Then imagine that the air will get inside your body not only this way, but also directly through the skin your body.

At the beginning, feel how "breathes" right hand. Imagine that there are many small holes in the skin through which air enters and exits. Pay close attention to the sensations of how easily the air flows through the skin.

Watch your hand until you feel a complete relaxation of the hand. It may take you a few days of training to learn how to do it quickly.

Then you can move on to relaxing the left arm, legs, back and neck. Very important to catch those parts of the body through which the air, as it were, “does not pass”. It is necessary to concentrate especially on them and try to achieve their “passability”.

Method 2 .
Relaxation with the help of the image.

This practice is based on methods. It is a pleasure to practice it, especially with appropriate music for meditation.

First you need to find their images that help you feel relaxed. For example, these can be pictures:

You literally melt in the hot sun on a lounger near the sea.
You luxuriate in a soft bed.
You are lying on a fluffy soft cloud.
You are relaxing in a hammock among tropical trees.
You go crazy while taking a bath.

Don't just stop at the above. Look for the image closest to you. Let go of your imagination, let it paint pictures of supreme bliss for you. You may even find a few of these images. Analyze how they change your state. You can even create a whole "roll" from these pictures.

Do not rush to get out of the image that relaxes you. Consider all the details, feel all your feelings. In the future, a moment may come when it will be enough for you just to remember your image. The body itself relaxes at the level of muscle memory.

Method 3 .
Relaxation through suggestion with words.

This technique is also called autogenic training or. It is very well suited to those people who trust only logic.

Classes are held on special formulas self-hypnosis, which are compiled independently or taken ready-made. Then they are either written to disk or memorized.

Since muscle relaxation is associated with a feeling of warmth and heaviness, these words should definitely be among the “relaxing” phrases. Begin classes with relaxation of the right hand:

“My right hand is relaxed… It is heavy and warm… Each finger becomes heavier… I feel the heaviness of my right hand… My right arm is relaxed.”

Then you need to switch to other parts of the body. Formulas should be pronounced slowly and quietly. At the same time, focus on your feelings. It is important to pronounce simple few words. With the help of formulas, you associate the relaxation of your body with certain words. Ultimately, you can achieve a situation where you achieve complete relaxation with just one phrase: "My body is relaxed."

Method 4 .
Relaxation with tension.

This method is based on a simple physiological pattern of the body: after strong muscle tension automatically muscle relaxation occurs. Training begins, as usual, with the right hand.

Start slowly, but as strongly as possible, clench your right hand in a fist, then in your elbow. Concentrate all your efforts on this movement, and then sharply open your hand - it should hang like a whip. Remember how you feel and write down how long the relaxation “held” in your hand.

Relax other parts of the body in the same way. Relax your legs while sitting on a chair. They need to be lifted a little and strongly direct the feet towards you. And to relax your shoulders, you need to “pull up” your shoulders as much as possible to your ears.

It should be noted that this technique is not suitable for everyone. And if it makes you uncomfortable, then choose another way to relax.

As you can see, you can find very simple methods relaxation. You can use them according to the described technique, or come up with your own exercises that suit your body. in the best way. Very important spend your first workouts in the same place. Allocate yourself a certain “resting place”. Gradually, the body will get used to the fact that it is comfortable here and you can relax. Then it will be enough for you to just sit on this place to feel relaxation.

All these techniques require some time for development. Our body has inertia and is able to “remember” only over time. But, having mastered these practices, later you can very quickly achieve a state of relaxation and peace.

So take the time to learn the techniques. Even if you devote 5-10 minutes to your activities every day, you will quickly learn how to achieve relaxation.

Choose the method that allows you to relax faster and start your exercises right now.

To get an idea of body-oriented psychotherapy, see the section articles in. Classical verbal-oriented approaches are losing their relevance, while work with the body is almost limitless in its possibilities. Body psychotherapy is an attempt to overcome the barrier between mental and physical, it emphasizes the unity of the body and mind, it is supposed to reveal some special wisdom in the physiological functioning of the body. Body psychotherapy focuses on deep bodily sensations and the exploration of how needs, needs, and feelings are encoded in the state of the body, and its ultimate goal is to develop more realistic approaches to resolving conflicts that are associated with these needs. The specific experience of psychotherapeutic practice shows that the path to the integral presence of a person in the world very often begins precisely with a integral presence in one's body. And vice versa, distancing from one's body, treating it as something alien is one of the main signs of mental illness of a very different etiology and insecurity of a person. We often ignore the signals of our own body that we have gone astray somewhere, have betrayed ourselves. If something oppresses you from the inside, and either for a very long time or very sensitively, then the problem will soon make itself felt with the help of a deterioration in your health.

Why do you need a deep muscle relaxation technique?

First of all, this technique is suitable for the treatment and prevention of psychosomatic diseases. Deep muscle relaxation has immediate physical effects ranging from simple muscle relaxation to activation of the body's entire immune system. It helps to achieve emotional and peace of mind, gives rise to optimism and automatically improves the overall well-being of a person.

Having learned to relax and influence his body, a person again begins to trust the body's ability to resist disease. The body again becomes a source of joy and pleasure, in addition, it also serves as an important means of feedback- how effectively a person lives. A person gets in touch with himself, his emotions. And to be truly yourself means to live in the fullness of your being, fully present in the situation, and, consequently, in your body.

Many people say that after relaxation exercises, they begin to see everything in a different light and feel a surge of energy. It becomes a kind of energy recharging. If a person manages to physically relax, this will break the vicious circle of fear and tension, and return the joy of life. Every chronically tense muscle in the body is a scared muscle; otherwise, she would not have resisted with such persistence and tenacity to the flow of feelings and vital forces passing through the body. It is also an angry, angry muscle, because anger is a natural response to enforced restrictions and lack of freedom. And, among other things, there is also sadness here because of the loss of even the potential opportunity to be in a state of pleasant excitement, when the blood circulates vigorously, and the body seems to vibrate and waves of positive excitement penetrate it.

All practitioners of the body absorption technique have said that they went through periods of their childhood or past experience when they learned to suppress their hatred, anxiety or love through certain actions that affected autonomic functions (breath control, abdominal muscle tension). Exercises like "diving into your body" help to get back in touch with our bodies and feelings, with abilities, develop the ability to capture the slightest nuances in changing our own well-being and control the processes of our body.

Why do psychosomatic illnesses occur?

Why do such diseases occur (according to some researchers, up to 80% of patients in medical institutions can be classified as psychosomatic patients)? To the need to be treated, people are brought by inattention to feelings or their misunderstanding. Body psychotherapy implies that the mutual alienation of people is due to the alienation of a person from his own body and emotions.

One thing is typical for all people suffering from psychosomatic diseases: they do not know how, they are not taught to put their feelings into words and express them out loud. Psychotherapy teaches a person to recognize and express the fullness of their feelings, and not to displace them with bodily suffering.

Society.

How can you blame someone for living in a society, he completely followed its rules - after all, few people know how to adequately handle their emotions. Like everyone else, you were not even aware of the existence of any connection between emotional stress and illness. Therefore, your participation was almost certainly the result of unconscious ideas and socially accepted norms of behavior.

The sources of pleasure are freedom of movement and lack of tension. The development of the capacity for pleasure is hindered by the influence of society, which requires people to neglect their primary needs, agreeing with social conventions and yielding to the needs of others.

People are social beings whose survival depends on the joint and cooperative actions of the entire group. Restrictions on behavior that promote the welfare and prosperity of a group are not necessarily harmful or offensive to the individual in the group. It is quite another thing - the restrictions imposed on the senses. Since feelings form the bodily life of a person, then to evaluate feelings as "good" or "bad" means to evaluate a given individual, and not his actions and deeds.

Family.

If you do not satisfy the needs of a small child to be fed, warmed, held in his arms, entertained, given him the opportunity to develop, his resentment transforms into "primary pain", which subsequently hides under the armor of physical and mental stress. Neurosis is a manifestation of this primary pain - a person finds such an outlet for his internal tension, which allows him not to be aware of painful experiences. This exit is necessarily some highly symptomatic form of self-destructive behavior, the purpose of which is to reduce the incessant internal anxiety. Such forms of behavior are constantly reproduced in endless and futile attempts to get rid of the unrecognized source of inner pain. This pain reflects the patient's realization that in childhood he did not receive enough love from his parents. The most unconscious, deeply seated, and therefore especially strongly and imperceptibly affecting a person's life, psychological traumas are childhood psychological traumas. Any violation of family relationships does not pass without a trace for anyone, but for the child this factor becomes decisive.

From childhood, a person is allowed to show only positive emotions, and negative ones (grief, longing, resentment, fear, dependency, bitterness, anger, etc.) are prohibited. The fact that a person does not show certain emotions does not mean that he does not experience them. Sooner or later, the "mechanisms of control" of our emotional state are crashing. The stream of distorted and suppressed emotions either pours out at the most inopportune moment, or finds its manifestation through somatic symptoms. To condemn any feeling is to condemn life itself. Parents often do just that, telling their child that he (or she) is bad because he has certain feelings. This is especially true of sexual feelings, but far from being the only one. Parents often shame their child for being afraid; this forces the child to deny the presence of fear and act bravely. But if someone does not feel fear, then this does not mean at all that he is full of courage, but only says that he does not have a feeling of fear.

Incorrectly protecting ourselves from strong negative impressions, we deprive ourselves of strong positive impressions.

Psychological trauma is a reactive mental formation (reaction to significant events for a given person), which causes long-term emotional experiences and has a long-term psychological impact. Any significant event for a person can become the cause of injury: deceit, betrayal, disappointment, injustice, violence, the death of a loved one, experiencing loss, any crisis, illness. All of these events may not be traumatic if the person has integrated them into their worldview.

Muscular shell.

Under the muscular shell refers to chronic muscle tension, which prevents the experience of unpleasant emotions. When the muscles tense up, the senses are dulled. In other words, the muscles that play the role of armor create obstacles for the energy flows flowing in the body. Blocked by negative impressions and therefore not receiving an outlet, feelings and impulses are modified or suppressed, which leads to bodily stiffness, disturbances in the energy processes in the body and personality changes.

In humans, any stress, any irritation leads to the release of "hormones of action." A stressful situation provokes muscle tension and prepares the body to respond with an action to stress. Moreover, this tension is not always outwardly noticeable. IN modern world discharge of the resulting internal voltage does not occur. And the so-called muscle clamp remains - insignificant and passing over time. But if the experienced stress is repeatedly and often repeated, then the tension accumulates, and a persistent clamping of a certain muscle group occurs. Similar pockets of chronic muscle tension are found throughout the body, serving as visible signs of blocked impulses and lost feelings.

The muscular shell is formed as a result of negative impact stress. But not because a person is forced to mobilize all the forces of the body in certain periods of life. And due to the fact that the situation was not resolved properly and there was no opportunity (or ability) to relax. The shell may be superficial or deep. Its function is protection from displeasure. However, the body pays for this protection by losing much of its capacity for pleasure. Relaxation of the muscular shell releases significant vital energy. Only after the repressed emotion finds its expression can a person completely give up his chronic tension and clamp.

The release of rigid (inflexible) muscles not only releases vegetative energy, but also brings back the memory of a situation in early childhood when this clamp was used for a certain suppression. Chronic muscle clamps block three main biological excitations: anxiety, anger, sexual arousal. By influencing muscle clamps, it is possible to influence the corresponding structures in the psyche, and vice versa.

The natural (real) self rests deep within our body, buried under many layers of tension that serve as representations of our repressed feelings. To get to this deep self, the patient must travel back to the distant past, to the time of his own self. early childhood. This journey inevitably creates pain, as it evokes unpleasant and frightening memories and brings numerous painful feelings to the surface. But as the tension is relieved and the crushed feelings are relieved, the body slowly and gradually becomes completely alive.

The joy of life.

Man is unable to force his mind to experience joy. All positive bodily sensations start from some initial state that can be described as "good." Its opposite is when a person feels "bad", which means that instead of positive arousal, he has an opposite, negative arousal due to feelings of fear, despair or guilt. If the fear or despair is too great, then it completely suppresses all other feelings, and in this case the body becomes numb, becoming numb or lifeless. When feelings are completely suppressed, a person loses the ability to feel, which means sinking into depression - a condition that, unfortunately, can turn into a real way of life for some people. On the other hand, when, starting from the initial state of well-being, pleasant excitement gradually increases, a person experiences joy. And when joy overflows the whole being, it turns into ecstasy.

If the bodily life is strong and resilient, then feelings, like the weather, are changeable. At some point, we can be angry, then full of love, and even later - start crying. Sorrow can be replaced by pleasure in the same way as after sunny day it might rain. Such changes of mood in a person, like changes in the weather, do not in any way violate any fundamental balance of his personality. All these changes occur only on the surface and do not disturb those deep pulsations that give a person a sense of the fullness and quality of being. The repression of the senses is a deadening process which entails the reduction of the body's inner pulsation, its vitality or vitality, its state of positive arousal. For this reason, the suppression of one feeling leads to the suppression of all others. If we suppress our fear, we also suppress our anger. And the result of the suppression of anger is the suppression of love.

Chronic muscle tension is the physical side of guilt because it represents the ego's negative attitude towards certain feelings and actions. Only a few of those who suffer from this kind of chronic tension really feel guilty; most are not at all aware of the fact that they feel guilty, nor of what exactly their guilt is connected with. In a certain, specific sense, guilt is the feeling of not having the right to be free, to do what one wants. In a broader, general sense, it is a feeling of lack of lightness in the body when a person feels unwell. If a person in the depths of his nature does not feel good, then behind all this lies the thought: "I must have done something bad or wrong." For example, when a person tells a lie, he feels bad or guilty because he betrayed his true self, his true feelings. Feeling guilty about lying is completely natural. However, there are people who, when telling a lie, do not feel any guilt, but this happens because they do not feel anything at all - they have suppressed almost every feeling in themselves. On the other hand, it is impossible to feel guilty if a person feels good or if he is full of joy. These two states - feeling good/happy and feeling bad/guilty - are mutually exclusive. Without inner freedom, which allows you to deeply feel and express your feelings in their entirety, there can be no joy.

From time to time, all hidden feelings, sufferings rise to the level of consciousness, but since such an event threatens survival, they are again driven down. We are able to survive if we live on the surface, where we have the power to control our feelings and behavior; but this is accompanied by the need to sacrifice deep and genuine feelings. Living on the surface means - in terms of ego values - maintaining a narcissistic lifestyle that is inherently empty and usually results in depression. When a person begins to lead a life in the depths of his being, it may seem painful and intimidating at first, but in the end such a lifestyle can bring a feeling of fullness and joy in life, if only we have the courage to go through our personal hell in hope and purpose. reach paradise.

The deep feelings we buried in ourselves are feelings that belonged to the child we once were, the child who was innocent and free, the child who knew joy until his spirit was broken by what he was forced to experience. feelings of guilt and shame in connection with his most natural impulses and impulses. This child continues to live on in our hearts and in our gut, but we have lost contact with him, which means that we have lost contact with the deepest parts of ourselves. To find ourselves, to find this buried child in ourselves, we must go down into the deepest zones of our being, into the darkness of the unconscious.

If the ego of a person who is used to "seeming, not being" does not capitulate, then a person is not able to capitulate in the face of love. The miracle of love is out of reach scientific knowledge. Science is unable to establish a logical connection between the heart as a pump for pumping blood throughout the body and the heart as an organ of love, which is a feeling. Wise people have long understood this seeming paradox. Pascal's statement that "the heart has its own reasonable reasons, which are not given to understand the resonating mind" continues to be true today.

The ban on the expression of one's feelings of fear, sadness and anger, the suppression of these feelings and the tension that accompanies this leads to a noticeable decrease in motor activity of the body, resulting in a state of reduced or depressed, that is, suppressed, liveliness of a person. Paired with this is the illusory conviction of a person that he or someone else will be loved for being good, obedient, successful, and the like. This mirage serves to keep a person in an enthusiastic mood while he is fighting to win love. However, since true love cannot be earned and it cannot be achieved by any kind of success in any field, then the haze of delusions will dissipate and the said illusion will sooner or later burst like a soap bubble. As a result, on our overpopulated planet, there is one more depressive personality more. Depression will dissipate if the person is able to feel and express the feelings experienced. Allowing a depressed patient to sob violently or fall into undisguised anger, we thereby bring him out of his state of depression - at least temporarily. Any expression of repressed feelings relieves or even relieves tension.

All the therapist's patients suffer from some sort of delusion to some degree. Some have the illusion that wealth brings happiness, that fame brings with it the guarantee of love, or that a show of submission and submission protects a person from possible violence. Such illusions are developed in us on early stages life as a means to survive in various painful and unpleasant situations of childhood life; later, as adults, we are afraid to give them up. Perhaps the greatest of all illusions is the belief that the conscious mind controls the body and that by changing the way we think, we can change our feelings.

Illusions are the ego's defense against reality, and although they may relieve the pain of the frightening reality around us for a while, illusions make us prisoners of an unreal world. Emotional health is the ability to accept reality as it is and not run away from it. Our basic and most real reality is our own body. Our Self is not at all an image or representation that lives somewhere in the bowels of the brain, but a very real, living and pulsating organism. To know ourselves, we must feel our body. Loss of sensation in any part of the body means the loss of some part of yourself. Self-awareness, which is the first step in the therapeutic process of self-discovery, means that a person feels his body - the whole body, from head to toe. Many people, when under stress, lose their sense of the body. They leave the body in an attempt to escape and hide from reality, which constitutes a serious emotional disorder. But not only such people in our culture leave some parts of their body. Each part of our body, if we actually feel it and are in contact with it, makes a certain contribution to our sense of self. And the latter is possible only if the specified element of the body is characterized by liveliness and mobility, or, in other words, mobility. If every particle of our body is charged with energy and elastically pulsating, we feel animated and joyful. But in order for this to really happen, you need to unconditionally surrender to the body with all its feelings and sensations.

The ability to surrender to the power of your body, to surrender to it means to allow the body to become completely alive and free. This means that all involuntary, reflex processes occurring in the body, such as breathing, should be given complete freedom of action and not controlled in any way. The body is not at all some kind of machine or machine that a person must start or stop. Our body has its own "mind", and it knows what it needs to do. As a result, the only thing we actually give up by surrendering to the body is the illusion of the strength and power of our mind.

Many people have rather confusing ideas about reality, because they put an identity sign between the surrounding reality and the accepted cultural norm, and not what they directly feel and perceive with their bodies. Of course, if feelings are absent or reduced, that is, lowered, then a person is looking for the meaning of life outside of his Self. But those individuals whose body is full of life and pulsations can directly feel the reality of their being, and we can say about them that this truly sensitive and feeling people. How full of life a person is and how strongly he feels is a measure of the degree of his contact with reality.

Self-knowledge activities are largely a matter of maintaining contact with your body. Many people do not have such contact, or, at best, they feel only separate, limited areas and areas of their own bodies. Those fragments of the body with which this person does not contact, contain feelings that frighten him, which are counterparts of the corresponding frightening images in his mind. The degree to which a person has lost contact with a part of his body indicates the extent to which he has lost a particular feeling or sensation associated with that part of the body. If the whole body becomes rigid, then such a person will never have feelings associated with tenderness. If we go to deeper levels, then many people do not have a feeling of love, because their hearts are locked in a rigid chest, which blocks both the awareness of the fact of having a heart and the expression of heart feelings, which include love.

The goal of therapy is for a person to discover himself, and this will entail the restoration of his soul and the release of his spirit. Three steps lead to this goal. The first of these is self-awareness, which means the ability to feel each part of your body and the feelings that may arise in it. Of course, when an individual manages to feel his sadness, pain or fear, this does not give him any joy at all, but if these repressed emotions are not felt, then it will be impossible to get rid of them at all. Man languishes in a prison hidden behind this smiling facade that does not allow the rays of the sun to penetrate into the depths of the human heart.

The second step to discovering yourself is self-expression. If feelings are not expressed, they go into a depressed state and the person loses contact with himself. When children are forbidden to express certain feelings, such as anger, or are punished for expressing them, then such feelings have to be hidden and eventually become part of an impenetrable dungeon in the depths of this personality. A lot of people are terrified of their feelings, which they consider dangerous, threatening or crazy.

The third step to your own liberation is to achieve self-mastery. This state means that a person knows what exactly he feels in this moment; he is in touch with himself. He also has the ability to express himself in the proper way, and in a way that best suits his highest interests. Such an individual is in complete control of himself. He managed to get rid of all sorts of unconscious props, pedals and controls that originated in the fear of being himself. He managed to get rid of guilt and shame about who he is and how he feels. He was able to free himself from the various muscle tensions in his body that previously blocked his self-expression and limited his self-awareness. Their place was now taken by acceptance of oneself and the freedom to be oneself.

Since all those events and experiences of childhood that later give rise to the problems and difficulties of an adult are fixed in his body and are structurally reflected there, a careful "reading" of the body can provide the therapist with basic information about the past of this person. It cannot be done quickly, it is by no means easy, and it is not devoid of fears and dangers. In some cases, such a journey can take a lifetime, but the reward is the feeling that your life has not been lived in vain. A person can find the true meaning of life in a deep experience of joy.

Immersion in the body.

The essence of the method is "simple" to the point of impossibility: get into a comfortable position and immerse yourself in the sensation of your body. The environment that surrounds you during immersion in the body should be as conducive to concentration and peace. Ideally, if you feel completely safe when the very possibility that someone interrupts or distracts you is excluded.

Most people feel that they were able to achieve relaxation the first time, but as relaxation can gradually become more and more complete and deep, you will find that over time you will be able to sink into a state of more and more deep relaxation. Just focus on your body: you don't need to feel warmth, lightness, heaviness, or anything else. Let the body speak for itself. Do not impose your expectations and wishes.

Listen and feel what is really there. The journey into your inner world begins. Relaxation and concentration complement each other and the more a person relaxes, the easier it is for him to concentrate. Then the body starts to give feedback.

Gradually, those problems that have distorted and continue to distort our existence, interfere with life, will gradually emerge and be felt. For example, repressed desires or negative emotions that you block, and in return they destroy your inner harmony. You can hear children's psychological trauma, disappointments; events in a person's life that left unhealed wounds in his soul. You can feel any of your internal conflicts and contradictions. Separation from one's inner basis inevitably leads to conflict between the conscious and the unconscious, spirit and nature, knowledge and faith. Why can you feel your psychological content? Because mental and physical experiences do not exist separately from each other. The subconscious and the unconscious is that part, or sphere, of the body that a person does not feel. There are also large areas and zones in our body that we cannot feel or sense. In people suffering from emotional problems or conflicts, there are areas in the body that, although they are within the range of what is normally fully conscious, are not felt at all by these individuals due to the fact that they have been immobilized, or immobilized, by existing in their body with chronic tension. Such immobilization blocks impulses that carry a threat, but at the same time leads to the "death" of this part of the body, resulting in the loss of the corresponding part of one's self. Consequently, such areas, or zones, of the body serve almost visual representation various emotional conflicts that were suppressed by a person and pushed into the subconscious, into the unconscious. Muscle tension naturally entails a change in the sensations emanating from these muscles. A tense muscle feels far different than a relaxed muscle. Often it is not felt at all.

We find sources of bodily discomfort or areas of the body that are hard to feel, we try to "revive" them; we listen to the feelings that pop up in connection with this and remember the events, we work with it - and thus we move forward on the path to goals. And the goals are completeness human life, realization of oneself, the ability to be oneself, treatment and prevention of psychosomatic diseases. Happiness and harmony. In fact, not everything is as simple as it might seem. However, if anyone said that achieving these goals is an easy and quick task, then you were deceived.

As a hint: there are golden rules of psychology and psychotherapy, in the objectivity of which representatives of different areas of psychotherapy are convinced, they only talk about them in different terms. By the way, many thinkers who are not psychologists talk about the same thing. For example, one of the criteria for a full-fledged and mature personality is the ability to be authentic (to be yourself), as well as the ability to live "here and now". And another important thought: a person has the right to experience any feeling, any experience and state; the main thing is not to take for final the truth of their reasoning and conclusions based on experiences. The criterion of truth can be considered the complete absence of doubts about something in a person who until the end be honest with yourself. Everything else is hypotheses, assumptions, "temporary truths", more or less approaching the knowledge of the Truth. But this is a separate issue.

Relaxation is a process that is mistakenly perceived as a way to relax. This is a powerful technique aimed at eliminating psychological clamps, phobias and complexes. Its use allows not only to restore mental strength, but also to get rid of the manifestations of gastritis, headache and hypertension. This technique has a wide range of applications. Its adherents are flexible in thinking and cope with stress more easily.

Why is relaxation needed?

Relaxation is the process of consciously relaxing the body to reduce muscle tone. For this, special techniques, exercises and preparations are used. As a result, the patient's level of mental and physical stress decreases, and working capacity increases.

For the proper functioning of all body systems, after tension, nervous or physical, relaxation must follow. Everyday life filled with stress and the modern rhythm of life deprives people of this opportunity. The psyche is in constant tension, and watching TV shows, movies or reading news on social networks only further overloads the mind. Therefore, relaxation methods are a necessary measure for maintaining health.

Any stress inhibits relaxation, resulting in muscle clamps. Over time, the consequences of its destructive influence accumulate, and there are more and more muscle clamps. They interfere with proper blood circulation, reduce concentration and general tone organism.

Mind and body are interconnected. Therefore, engaging in physical relaxation, a person simultaneously works on his mental health, and vice versa. When healing the body and spirit, it is important to observe the fundamental principle of relaxation - generalization is needed to achieve the result.

Generalization is the process of distribution and consolidation of the produced effect. Without it, the methods of relaxing the body will not have the expected effect.

Unsystematic studies will never give a lasting result. To achieve therapeutic effectiveness and get rid of nervousness, classes require organization. Relaxation is not a miracle pill.

The essence of the technique and its application in everyday life

Relaxation is not necessarily meditation and yoga. Methods of physical and mental relaxation are present in the life of every person, even if he does not consciously deal with them. For example, the classic case of an office worker. Everyday day is filled with vanity and huge amount information, but when a person goes outside and is about to go home, his attention switches. A change of activity provokes a change in the direction of thought, he understands that work difficulties are left behind, and a pleasant evening and rest await him ahead. At this point, there is a slight mental and physical relaxation.

Proper use of relaxation techniques can prevent depression, restore vigor and tone of the body.

Ways to relieve stress:

1. A deep breath, despite its simplicity, can significantly change the state of consciousness. In a stressful situation that seems hopeless, it is useful to use the exercise: a deep breath is taken, the breath is held for 10 seconds, followed by a slow exhalation. A short period of time will allow you to assess the situation, understand your main advantages, saturate the cells with oxygen and calm down a bit. During such a respite, it is important to try to think positively, a critical perception of reality will spoil the result.
2. Hugs are another effective way to deal with stress. They awaken in a person a sense of security and the release of endorphins. Important condition: you need to hug only those who are pleasant. It is pointless to expect a result by touching a person who causes only negative emotions. Contact with children has the greatest positive effect. Their spontaneity and sincerity will help not only to feel better, but also to cheer you up.
3. Massage is a popular way to deal with stress. To achieve a therapeutic effect, regular procedures are recommended. But if you need to relax right now, then a short session of light massage will do. To do this, just rub your ears, stretch your neck, shoulders, forearms, hands, palms and fingers. Particular attention should be paid to the cervical region. This will improve blood flow, cause a surge of vigor and increase concentration.
4. Aromatherapy is recommended in combination with massage. But it can be used in Everyday life. For this, aromatic baths with mint in the evenings and bergamot in the mornings are suitable. A few drops of mint are recommended to drip on the pillow. Orange oil is used to lift the mood and increase efficiency. An aroma lamp with it should be lit in the office or use perfumes with notes of orange. An alternative option is a basket with these citrus fruits on your desktop.
5. Music helps relieve stress, switch attention and improve mood. Listening to your favorite songs will help you stay in high spirits. Classical music is useful for creative work, and drum rhythms increase concentration. It is recommended to spend 10-15 minutes every morning dancing to drum beats. Vibrations of percussion instruments invigorate, have a beneficial effect on attention and performance.
6. Herbal teas. The correct selection of herbs and the rejection of caffeinated drinks increases concentration, overall body tone and removes toxins. Chamomile is suitable for morning tea drinking, a cup of mint or lemon balm infusion is useful at night or in the evening. During the day, ginseng, chamomile and oregano are recommended.

Types of relaxation

Modern psychology identifies a number of the most effective methods. Their implementation does not require complex skills or financial investments.

Popular relaxation methods:

Method	Performance
Breathing exercises	Breathing techniques are the basis of yoga, Pilates and any kind of professional sports. For therapeutic purposes, you need to practice indoors with a minimum amount of lighting and without strangers. Music for meditation, the sounds of nature, are suitable as a sound accompaniment, you can completely refuse it. TV, radio and music with words will distract attention. Before starting the exercise, you need to take a comfortable position, the stomach should be relaxed and not pinched by anything. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breath. It should be measured and unhurried. It is necessary to control the flow of air into the lungs and fill not only chest but also the belly. Belly breathing provides good ventilation of the lungs. Then visualization and sensations are connected to the work. You need to imagine how the air gradually penetrates through the pores and fills first one hand, then the other, then both. And so you need to work out every part of the body. Switching from one part of the body to another occurs only after complete relaxation of the limb. At the end of the exercise, it is useful to lie on your back with one hand on your stomach to control your breathing and breathe with your stomach.
Creating an image	It is a visualization method and requires a lot of practice. Not everyone gets it right the first time. You need to sit comfortably and to the right music without words to start working. During the exercise, you need to imagine the most pleasant environment, for each person such an image is individual. It should be a place where he feels a state of bliss. For example, a sandy beach, a forest edge, a beautiful garden. An important condition: immersion in visualization must be complete. That is, a person must present all the smallest details. If it is a sandy beach, you should try to hear the sound of the surf, feel the warm rays of the sun and splashes of water on your skin, remember the feeling of touching the sand. Before you can find a good image, you need to use several options. Regular exercise will help your body develop muscle memory. This will allow in any situation and place, at will, to recreate the desired image without the slightest effort. It is important in the process of work to make the image as realistic as possible.
Autogenic training	This method of self-hypnosis is suitable for those who are used to independently controlling every area of their lives. Before starting classes, you need to record verbal instructions to yourself for relaxation on the recorder. They should sound like this: "My right hand relaxes, I feel its warmth, each finger is filled with heaviness, the hand and wrist become heavier, my whole right hand is completely relaxed." The instruction is spoken slowly, so that there is enough time to concentrate on the sensations. The voice should sound soft and not loud. With the help of sound instructions, you need to relax the whole body. Regular training will help induce relaxation in the future with one phrase: “my body is relaxed”
Muscle tension method	The technique is based on the physiological laws of the body. Relaxation is carried out in the process of passing through four stages. The first is concentration on the internal processes in the body. The second is progressive relaxation, which is achieved through conscious muscle tension and relaxation. The third stage is autogenic training, or self-order. Fourth, final - creating an image
Jacobson relaxation	The technique is based on alternating relaxation with tension of different muscle groups and is performed in several approaches. The exercise begins lying on your back, your arms need to be bent and strongly strained. On muscle tension, you need to concentrate all your attention. The second approach is to achieve complete relaxation by concentrating on extending and relaxing the arms. Both steps are repeated several times. The third affects the work of the biceps. It is necessary to strain the muscles as much as possible, and then relax them very slowly. After several repetitions, you need to completely relax them for 15 minutes. Relaxation must be absolute. The exercise is considered correctly performed if the weakest contractions of the biceps cease to be felt. Manipulations are repeated with each muscle group separately, the muscles of the face and larynx relax last. The next stage of the exercise is "differentiated relaxation". You need to take a sitting position and work out muscle groups that are not involved in the vertical maintenance of the body. They need to be relaxed as much as possible. That is, those muscles that are not involved at the time of the exercise are being worked out. The final step is to observe your life. You need to track which muscles tense up in stressful, anxious and frightening situations. The technique allows you to identify and prevent muscle clamps and get rid of negative emotions
combination method	You need to sit on a chair, moving as far as possible to the edge, and cross your legs. The main support should be on the toes. The spine must be carefully straightened, not leading to overstrain. The chin is pulled towards you, hands are placed on the hips with palms up and several conscious breaths and exhalations are performed, mentally pronouncing a drawn-out “ah-o-um”. After that, you need to hold your breath for a couple of seconds and instantly imagine yourself completely healthy and vigorous. The exercise is repeated 8-10 times, and you need to complete it by vigorously rising. Then jog for a minute. People suffering reduced pressure, it is useful to add push-ups, squats and walking to your workout. After completion, it is recommended to lie down for a few minutes.

Jacobson relaxation

Postisometric technique

Postisometric relaxation is a technique designed to prepare the muscles for subsequent manual practices. It relieves pain, spasms and stretches the muscle. Classes are based on a combination of isometric work (holding the body in a certain position) of minimal intensity with inert muscle stretching. The duration of one approach is from 5 to 10 seconds, and the number of approaches should be at least 6. The painful syndrome is eliminated due to the formation of a persistent hypotonic effect during the exercise.

Proper post-isometric work is characterized by a number of features, without which it is impossible to achieve a therapeutic effect:

1. Exercise should be of minimal intensity and short duration. Changing the parameters contributes to the opposite relaxation effect. Increasing the intervals causes fatigue in the muscles, too short - does not entail any changes.
2. Isometric work can be replaced by volitional muscle tension. It will be stronger in severity, but the effect after the procedure remains the same.
3. The combination of volitional muscle tension with the direction of gaze allows you to better work out the muscles. The human body is designed in such a way that the gaze causes the activation of a certain muscle group. For example, if you look up, your neck and back tense up, and if you look down, your torso and neck. Looking to the side activates the work of the rotator muscles.

Before starting the exercise, you need to fix the most comfortable position. Excessive effort and performance through pain prevents you from achieving the desired relaxation effect. Before tensing the muscle, you need to hold your breath, followed by a deep breath and a decrease in contraction. After a few seconds, after complete relaxation of the muscle, you can begin to stretch it for 10-15 seconds. The cycle is repeated several times.

If, after performing the technique, a relaxing effect has not been achieved, the time increases to 30 seconds. Subject to all the rules, relaxation is achieved by the third phase of the repetition cycle.

The initial stage of the training involves the supervision of an instructor, he helps to get comfortable with the technique and learn to feel your body. Not all muscle groups can be worked out with the help of a specialist. In some cases, contraction and relaxation have to be monitored independently.

Postisometric relaxation is shown:

to warm up the muscles;
to reduce local hypertonicity;
to eliminate musculoskeletal pain;
with local postural imbalance.
for the treatment of pathologies of the spine caused by neurological manifestations.

It is recommended to refrain from exercising without first consulting a doctor. Exercise is contraindicated in people with skin diseases, headaches, fever, transient ischemic attack, thrombosis, arrhythmia, pulmonary insufficiency and skin lesions in the affected area. Exercise is not recommended if the patient has severe pain during muscle contraction.

"People who can relax are not only more flexible in their thinking, but they are also better equipped to cope with stress."

R. Copelan

Relaxation as a phenomenon is often devalued and confused with idleness and "doing nothing". In fact, this is a very effective and powerful method of psychotherapy in its impact.

The idea of the method and the history of its occurrence

Relaxation(from the Latin word "relaxatio" - "relaxation") - a special method that appeared abroad in the 30-40s. twentieth century, aimed at removing muscle and nervous tension using specially selected techniques.

Relaxation is a voluntary or involuntary state of rest, relaxation, associated with complete or partial muscle relaxation. It occurs as a result of stress relief, after strong experiences or physical efforts. It can be involuntary (relaxation when going to sleep) and voluntary, caused by taking a calm posture, imagining states that usually correspond to rest, relaxation of the muscles involved in various types of activity.

Muscle relaxation techniques are historically the earliest techniques of body-oriented psychotherapy and still remain its main methods. At the heart of the emergence of relaxation techniques are Eastern spiritual and religious practices that have developed their own techniques of psychoregulation. Upon penetration into European culture these esoteric methods were reworked, primarily in terms of a pragmatic approach.

The first Western experts who applied the relaxation method in their activities and developed their own muscle relaxation techniques were the American psychologist E. Jacobson and the German neuropathologist I. Schultz.

As a psychologist, E. Jacobson studied the objective manifestations of emotions. One of the ways to assess the emotional state of a person was the registration of muscle tension. The specificity of changes in muscle tone was found in various psycho-emotional disorders, neuroses and psychosomatic diseases.

E. Jacobson called the discovered relationship between muscle tension and neuropsychic tension neuromuscular hypertension, which he considered as a manifestation of the reflex principles of the functioning of the nervous system. He proved that relaxing the muscles helps relieve the state of hyperexcitation of the nervous system, helping it to rest and restore balance.

Therefore, teaching a person the skills of muscle relaxation is useful both for relieving mental tension and for eliminating the symptoms of a number of diseases (such as headache and heart pain, gastritis, hypertension, etc.)

In addition, additional effects of muscle relaxation are improved sleep, elimination of "muscle clamps", emotional "discharge" and increased efficiency.

Relaxation is different

There are a great many techniques, techniques and methods aimed at relieving stress and relaxation.

The relaxation stage is one of the main preparatory stages in the provision of psychological assistance to various categories of clients and it is no coincidence that it is an indispensable component of trainings of various kinds (including business trainings and personal growth trainings). Relaxation is one of the auxiliary methods of sports and autogenic training, speech therapy, acting, etc. To teach a person to independently use the skills of muscle relaxation and mental self-regulation, there are special relaxation trainings.

A modern psychologist must have in his working arsenal a sufficient number of relaxation and meditative exercises. After all, it is known that relaxation is not limited only to the effect of relaxing the muscles of the body. The skills of self-relaxation and self-regulation, as well as the ability to restore physical and psychological resources in a short time, are now in demand in the most various areas human activities.

The range of application of relaxation techniques is quite wide: it is the removal of muscle clamps, and the study of emotional trauma, and the treatment of psychosomatic diseases, and much more. In addition, training in various relaxation techniques is available for both adults and children.

Conventionally, there are several main types of relaxation.

By time: long-term - occurring during sleep, hypnosis, with pharmacological effects and relatively short-term - replaced by stress.

By way of execution: muscular and mental (figurative).

Origin: primary (natural, arising spontaneously after physical activity) and secondary (purposefully caused, created in artificial conditions).

Depth: superficial and deep. Superficial relaxation is equated to a short rest. Deep relaxation lasts at least 20 minutes and is performed using special techniques. It is deep relaxation that has a powerful effect on the body and has well-known healing properties.

According to the speed of occurrence: emergency (emergency methods of relaxation in case of urgent need) and prolonged (involving long-term training and systematic use for therapeutic purposes).

As an example of emergency (fast) relaxation, one can cite the metaphor of M.E. Stormy, describing a similar "instantaneous" relaxation.

The bird, exhausted by the long flight, falls down like a stone from the cloudy heights. And in this rapid fall, the reflex mechanisms of muscle relaxation are activated. Thanks to the natural, natural, saving relaxation, in a short moment of falling, the bird has time to rest in order to continue the flight.

Similarly, a person who has mastered the techniques of muscle relaxation can, in a short period of time, create the conditions for the necessary inner peace in order to restore strength and relieve physical and psychological stress.

In terms of impact: general (total) and differentiated (local).

Differentiated (local) relaxation involves the elimination of local muscle clamps by selective intensive relaxation of individual muscle groups. The first stage of this exercise - self-observation, is used primarily after stressful situations. The purpose of this observation is to find areas of stagnant muscle tension in the body, felt as pain or heaviness, especially intensified in connection with unpleasant emotions. Then, along with a deep long exhalation, it is necessary to instantly relieve tension ("exhale with relief"). To achieve a greater effect of muscle relaxation, you can combine the described methods of general and differentiated relaxation with the respiratory relaxation technique - work with sensations in the area of tense muscles using "directed" breathing.

When using this method in medical practice (for example, in manual therapy), each cycle of tension-relaxation ends with passive movements performed with the help of a doctor to smoothly stretch the corresponding muscles (“post-isometric relaxation”).

Well-known psychotherapeutic methods often combine several types of relaxation at once, which makes them as effective as possible.

As an example, we can cite the methods of E. Jacobson and I. Schulz mentioned at the beginning.

The method of progressive muscle relaxation by E. Jacobson is based on the principle that after strong muscle tension, their strong relaxation occurs. That is, in order to relax a muscle, you must first strain it strongly. Straining alternately different groups muscles, you can achieve maximum relaxation of the whole body. This type of muscle relaxation is the most accessible, in a playful way it is used even with young children.

IN autogenic training(AT) I. Schultz in order to achieve a state of relaxation, not a real preliminary muscle tension is used, but an ideomotor modification of its tone (the method of "mental movements"). This corresponds to a more general principle of ideodynamics, according to which only one mental representation causes a physiological reaction of the organism without the participation of consciousness (according to M. Sandomirsky). The main elements of relaxation here are sensory awareness and directed imagination. This is a careful observation and memorization of bodily sensations of muscle relaxation, on the basis of which the skill of voluntary reproduction of these sensations is developed, and, together with them, the necessary functional state.

This type of relaxation can be called more advanced, since it is its development that gives a person the opportunity to manage the state of his body on his own and effectively cope with tension and stress.

What are the benefits of relaxation

Relaxation is a fairly common phenomenon and is understood by everyone in different ways. Therefore, the effect of it can be different: from passive "relaxation" to meditative music to the cure of a serious illness. It all depends on the knowledge and level of training of the person.

Relaxation efficiency as special method studied and proven, its possibilities are endless, but in practice it is mainly used in the following areas:

As a means of relieving muscle "clamps", accompanied by pain, local fatigue and limitation of movement. The appearance of painful seals in the muscles of the neck and limbs can be associated with both psychological reasons, that is, chronic stress, and with initially bodily causes, disorders of the peripheral nervous system (osteochondrosis of the spine, muscular-fascial pain). More often, there are causes of both types, which are superimposed on each other (syndrome of "mutual aggravation").
As a way to restore the energy balance of the body. Good relaxation helps restore body energy and give all muscles and joints good rest. Excellent physical condition is closely related to improved blood and lymph circulation. All organs, from the brain to the limbs, are enriched with oxygen, which stimulates the metabolic, respiratory, digestive and other functions of the body, and, in addition, the body adds strength to overcome stress.
As a means of restoring peace of mind and emotional response. Speaking about relaxation as a psychotechnique of personal growth, it is necessary first of all to keep in mind its use as a subtle tool for creating transformational, altered states of consciousness in combination with the technique of sensory awareness.
As a way to heal the body. All of the above functions of relaxation in their totality lead to the fact that the body gets rid of chronic tension and gains access to new resources for survival and self-healing. In addition, the very process of deep muscle and mental relaxation has a beneficial effect on the autonomic nervous system that regulates the activity internal organs.

For a correct understanding of the basics of changes occurring in the body, it is necessary to consider the psychophysiological concepts of the mechanisms of muscle relaxation and its effect on the functional state of a person.

Psychophysiology of relaxation

As you know, muscle tone is not a passive state, but an active process, physiologically representing a reflex to muscle stretching, due to which, in fact, movement occurs. The muscle tone regulation system is multilevel and is controlled by the central nervous system.

During relaxation, the flow of electrical impulses (sensory impulses) from the muscles to the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres decreases, and from the muscles to the activating system of the brain (the reticular formation), which maintains the cerebral cortex in an awake state. Thus, a decrease in muscle tone reduces the flow of information from the muscles to the brain. This partial sensory deprivation reduces the level of wakefulness, which allows our brain to rest and "recharge" for further fruitful work.

Against the background of the described decrease in the level of wakefulness, general protective (according to I.P. Pavlov) inhibition of the cerebral cortex, its "conscious" sections, that is, the frontal lobes, "fall asleep" faster, which reduces their excessive activation. This is especially true of the frontal (anterior) cortex of the dominant, left hemisphere of the brain, which is initially in a more active, and often "overexcited" state, which is often the cause of mental overstrain and neurotic disorders.

Relative sensory deprivation also creates conditions for local activation of the cerebral cortex, redistributing the processes of voluntary attention to its separate areas associated with viscero-sensory sensitivity and controlling the functional state of internal organs. Thus, the focus of attention "in" that occurs during deep relaxation helps the body to deal with problem areas and improve health.

Relaxation for men and women

There is a certain group of muscles that has a special stimulating effect on the brain - these are facial and chewing muscles. Therefore, it is impossible to completely relax without relaxing the muscles of the face, tongue and lower jaw. By learning to relax this muscle group, you can learn how to quickly relieve tension even in cases where it is not possible to lie down or sit comfortably in a chair. In autogenic training, the "Relaxation Mask" is used for these purposes.

Relaxation mask exercise is done in the following way.

1. To relax the masticatory muscles with the head upright, silently say the sound "s", let your jaw drop.

2. Relax your tongue. This can be done with the silent syllable "te". If you are sitting, the tongue should “fall apart” in a relaxed manner in the space of the lower jaw, gently resting on the back surface of the lower teeth. If you lie down, the tip of the tongue rests slightly on the back surface of the upper teeth (the lower jaw moves slightly down).

3. Stay in this state for several minutes, observe how a wave of relaxation passes through the body with the relaxation of the masticatory muscles, how the muscles of the face relax, the eyelids become heavier, the look becomes blurred (this is due to the relaxation of the muscles that focus the lens).

4. The exercise must be completed with an exit, as in auto-training. If the exercise lasted less than 10 minutes and / or a deep autogenous state did not occur, it is enough to take a few deep breaths and sharp exhalations, then stretch the whole body while inhaling and open your eyes while exhaling.

For women, it will be useful to add massage stroking of the face to the "relaxation mask". Such psychological massage can become an indispensable rejuvenating cosmetic procedure. The participants of our relaxation trainings are very fond of doing this procedure: it not only calms and improves mood, but also slightly tightens the circular muscles of the face, smoothes out small mimic wrinkles. This is due to the fact that when chronic tension is removed from the face and jaw, blood supply and oxygen supply to the facial muscles increase, which leads to an improvement in turgor and the general condition of the muscles and skin of the face.

A similar procedure can be used as a light sleeping pill if done at night, just before bedtime. Massage stroking can be done in combination with a "relaxation mask" or separately. It depends on what effect you want to achieve.

Stroking is done with the fingertips along the massage lines (from the central line of the face to the ears). Lightly touching with your fingers, as if with brushes (as in the elite "Royal massage"), you seem to sweep away daytime fatigue from your face. At the same time, you feel how, after the touch, every cell of your skin relaxes, how your face is smoothed. Pay special attention to the eyes and forehead area: by acting in this way on this area, you can reduce the tension of the eye muscles, which is very useful for tired eyes. Stroking the chin area, try to relax as much as possible, "let go" of the lower jaw. This procedure is done for a short time, exactly as much as you need to relieve tension. If everything is done correctly, then good mood and fast falling asleep will be a reward for your care of your health.