With the television or a good book just an arm-reach away, many people don’t see the point in doing specific deep relaxation exercises just to relax. However, favorite hobbies aren’t always able to alter the body’s physiological state like deep relaxation exercises. Deep relaxation exercises decrease heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure and muscle tension while increasing alpha wave activity in the brain, according to Edmund J. Bourne in his book “The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook.”
Deep Breathing
Deep breathing exercises can help an anxious person relax. This helps take the focus off her anxiety and helps stabilize her mood. To do deep breathing properly, the anxious person should only concentrate on the air going in and out of her lungs. Suzan Lazarus, in her book “Stress Relief and Relaxation Techniques,” explains that it is important not to breathe shallowly. One technique to avoid doing this is to inhale through the nose for about four seconds, hold that breath for seven seconds and then release the air through the mouth for eight seconds.
Meditation
Meditation can be successful at combating anxiety, both on its own and in conjunction with other anxiety treatments. The purpose of meditation is to free the mind of all thoughts completely. This can be difficult for many people, especially those who are prone to anxiety, but using a specific technique may help. Thinking of a specific image, concentrating on the inner eyelid or envisioning a calming light surrounding the body may help.
Visualization
Visualizing a relaxing experience or place can also help banish anxiety. However, for visualization to work properly, a person should concentrate on the total experience. This includes involving as many of his senses as possible, including imagining sights, sounds, tastes, touches and smells. It doesn’t matter if the visualization is completely fabricated or taken from a real life experience, as long as the person is able to focus solely on the experience and block out the current environment and his worries.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
When a person is anxious, she often unconsciously tenses up the muscles in her body. It is difficult to relax and let go of anxiety when the body is in such a tense state. Progressive muscle relaxation can help fix this. To do this exercise, she slowly tenses a certain muscle group for about 10 seconds, and then slowly relaxes those muscles. She then repeats that process with another muscle group, and continues repeating until she has worked all the muscle groups. Although the order of the muscle groups doesn’t matter much, HelpGuide.org states that most progressive muscle practitioners work from the feet to the face.
Physical Exercise
Most people think of mental relaxation exercises when trying to eliminate feelings of anxiety, but physical exercises may also help. Walking, running, dancing or playing sports are just a few of many physical activities that can release “feel good” hormones that help people feel more relaxed and happy. Mind-body exercises, like yoga or tai chi, may be particularly useful for some anxiety-prone individuals.
