Relaxation
Guided Imagery for Stress Relief and Well-Being
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Each issue is full of valuable
information and inspiration to help you release tension and find balance
in life.
Learn simple relaxation techniques
that support your well-being.
Let the practical wisdom of Joel
& Michelle Levey guide you on your inner journey of self-discovery.
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be glad you did."
Bryan
Brewer
Producer
Self-Guided.com
Seattle, WA USA
The
Relaxation Response by Joel Levey
There is a common approach to relaxation that many people often use. First, they neglect
the warning signs of accumulating stress and tension by keeping very busy or distracting
themselves. They allow the tensions to build and build until at last they become
unbearably tense and anxious, irritable and uncomfortable. Then they might sit down and
try very hard to relax. And if that doesn't work, they might try harder! With this method,
they quickly become more tense about being tense, more anxious about being anxious.
Perhaps
you are familiar with this strategy, and perhaps you are looking for an alternative.
As the pace of our modern life continues to accelerate, the practical value of
relaxation skills is emerging as a common sense alternative to tension, stress,
and anxiety. Clinical research and performance evaluations clearly show that the ability
to deeply relax is vital to our peace of mind, emotional well-being, physical health, and
high-level performance.
The alternative to a chronic state of distress has been called the relaxation
response. This is an integrated set of mind/body responses that counteracts and
reduces the harmful effects of stress. This mode of dynamic relaxation is a return to a
balanced, calm state following a period of stress-induced trauma. It's a movement toward
equalizing and dissipating the pressures that build up in your mind and body.
The relaxation response is the mental and physical "sigh of relief" such as
occurs when you put down a heavy load or when you recover from a close call. This kind of internal
shift toward greater balance and harmony can be achieved by numerous methods,
some of which have been successfully practiced for thousands of years. As the level of our
personal and planetary distress has continued to grow, these methods have been closely
studied and acclaimed as effective antidotes to the often destructive tension of the
modern lifestyle from which so many of us suffer.
The dynamic relaxation offered on the Self-Guided
Relaxation CD is characterized by an ever-changing balance which unifies
mental alertness with a physical state of deep, restful relaxation.
Ordinary relaxation is often associated with a dull or asleep state, with little or no
conscious activity of mind or body. At the other end of the spectrum is daily activity,
most often associated with a busy, and often tense or anxious, state.
Dynamic relaxation
represents a third option, a state of calm intensity, poised and balanced in your own
center of power ... completely relaxed yet focused in the present moment. You have likely
entered this state during those special moments of your life when you
felt the most alive or when you performed at your peak, but you may not know how to get
back to it. The purpose of the Self-Guided
Relaxation CD is to teach you some proven methods for releasing tension from your
mind and body.