Relaxation methods

I. Relaxation and Investigation
Many world-known athletes proved in their experiences that relaxation was helpful for mind's peace and quiet, which can make he excited emotion tend to calm down naturally . The interaction principle of mind and body was recognized long long ago.
For example, physiologist Edmund Jacobson pointed out in 1920 that if one can relax body, the excited emotion may be calmed down and disappear, who also wrote three books ( including progressive relaxation Methods ) where relaxation functions and theory were stated . .
Jacobson discovered though test and observation a law that first tension and then relation may make people more completely relax . Therefore , he tried to make people tested to be keyed up from the head to foot for a while and then relax as soon as possible, this proved the relaxation was much better than the normal . That was to say that first to make muscles to be keyed up utmost and then to relax will cause muscles relax more better than the normal.
The method can be understood in daily life at any time . For example when we sit on the chair with one leg stretching forward and kept it as long as possible until we can not bear , and then we put it down , thus we would understand what the extreme relaxation was. Jacobson discovered that to keep the method in application to relax at any time and everywhere can get better effects than medicine like tranquilizer and etc. .
Moreover Dr. Han Beithen who was chief physician in hypertension case Department Boston bays Islayer Hospital wrote a book about relaxation 1975 , who introduced a set of relaxation methods in the book .
He told several hundreds of students to try to learn the relaxation method every day , whose method was different from that of Jacobson mentioned above, he started with reading a sentence silently to set peace and quiet of mind , and then went to the whole body relaxation .
He let people tested love in a quiet house closed , on the one hand they relaxed , on the other hand they read repeatedly and silently specified sentences for 20 minutes . Experiment results indicated that to keep the exercise every day not only can lead to the feeling of extreme relaxation , but can obtain effects of keeping health like dropping blood pressure and etc. .
The feature of his relaxation was first to pay attention to the specified sentences (keeping idea in sentences),to free people tested from ossolating and chaotic thoughts, to be in the nature and relax the whole body. Jacobson's method was to first be keyed up and then relax so that the relaxation can be strengthened. Although the methods were different, the aim was the aim was the same.No matter what methods were, Beithen's or Jacobson's, self-implication or yoga breathing if it took 20 minutes to 60 minutes to exercise, the effect helpful for health would be obtained more or less.The methods can make people produce the feelings of flying or being dreamily intoxicated under the relaxation state , some acted as if they had taken anesthesia, some acted as if they had been induced by religion meditation into the secret feeling in mind.
No matter what they were, they should spend some time in relaxing to restore themselves. It was proved that amassed lactic acid in fatiguing would decrease through the relaxing training and the effect was somewhat like sleeping for eight hours , working abilities of circulating systems were enhanced to different extent and constitution was the same.
If athletes spent 30 minutes everyday in relaxing, the effects were nearly the same as obtaining good nourishment or keeping health in other ways , this would helpful for the development of competition.

II. Exercises of Relaxation
Here are a set of relaxation methods, keep training 10 minutes everyday and for seven days ,people would get them.
Get into the nature without external disturbances before exercise , do methods by oneself in a house . Do the training before getting asleep on the bed, this will be easy to induce to sleep.
The training may be done at other proper time, No matter when it is hoped to exercise at the same time everyday, thus the training at the one necessary course specified and is easy to be a habit The training is done after a period of time of dinner, the training following dinner is forbidden the grateful feeling difficult to describe would be produced in exercises, the habit is certain to form. The training at specified time will cause the joyful mind and feeling and give practitioners best rests.

There is a preparation stage before training, which includes:
1. Widen clothes, be in the prone position with foot 30--45cm apart, stretch legs naturally put arms gently on the sides of body, .relax from the head to foot without force.
2. Shock foot with the back stationary to select the proper position for foot.
3. Put hands on the bed with the palm of the hand upright gently rotate several times, turn around the artifice gently.
4. Shock head several times.

After the preparation is the official exercise.
1. Relaxation of left foot: lift the left foot 15-25cm high, contract the foot muscles, turn over the tip toe toward the direction of head, keep the position with force as long as possible. generally 10 seconds, stop it until muscles trembles with tension.
After shivering, give silently 'command of relaxation of legs', soon stop the contract and put down foot .
After the drop of foot, rest for 10 seconds, imply oneself 'tension goes out from the bottom of foot, foot seem more and Bore and more relaxing', feel warm and heavy, fully relax...'
Continue two times.

2. Relaxation of right foot:
The training is the same as above, continue 2 times.

3. Relaxation of hips, waist and legs: contract these parts with force as long as possible until the extreme tension, keep the position for at least 10 seconds.
Afterwards, imply one self 'relax', have a rest for about 10 seconds. Scatter and decrease tension, feel comfortable in muscles with mind .
Repeat the relaxation 2 times.

4. Relaxation of abdomen: the same as 3 for 2 times.

5. Relaxation of head and back: contract spinal column and muscles from fail bone to the neck with force, straighten the back for a short while.
Afterwards, repeatedly imply oneself 'relax', relax muscles of back. Repeat 2 times.

6. Relaxation of shoulders and arms: image that there is a horizontal bar, catch it to suspend, here are details:
(1). Image lifting up horizontal bar with the palms of hands upwards before the chest.
(2). Image catching the horizontal bar with hands full of force and suspending down below it.
(3). Contract muscles of arms and shoulders to largest extent, image lifting up in a suspending position.
(4). Keep the tension as long as possible in the position.
(5). Imply oneseltnrelax', have a rest of or about 10 seconds, get into the feeling of joy and warm comfort Scatter
the tension feeling. ±
(6). Repeat 2 times.

7. Relaxation of forehead :contract muscles of forehead with force, grit teeth, imply oneself 'relax',-repeat 2 times.

8. Relaxation of face, contract muscles of face with force to the extent of eyebrow being closed, imply oneself 'relax'.
Have a rest for a short while, pay attention to the feelings of relaxation. Repeat 2 times.

9. Relaxation of eyes:
(1). See one point of ceiling.
(2). Fix head, rotate eyeballs slowly in the right direction and then return to centre,rotate eyeballs slowly in the left direction, return the centre. Repeat 2 times.
(3). Rub hands together warm,close eyes,put warm hands on eyes to warm them.
(4). Rest for a short while, imply eyes 'relax'produce the wars feeling in eyes, scatter the feeling of tension completely.

10. Body relaxation:
(1). Contract foot and fists, lift with shoulders curved, stretch forehead and face.
(2). Meanwhile contract the body from head to toe, straighten the back .Afterwards, keep to position as long as possible until shivering.
(3). Imply oneself 'relax', free oneself from tension, lie down peacefully and experience the feelings free from tension.

11. Overall and complete relaxation:
(1). Close eyes as mentioned above, from foot to face check every part Slowly in turn, if anywhere is keyed up, imply where 'relaxes'.
If most tension feeling is going, do not mind a little.
(2). continue to close eyes and have a rest for about 10 seconds keep the state , inage where you are very joyful and comfortable.
For example , imagine a small and loving boat floats on the sea which rows to and back gently..., imagine oneself lighter than air and flying in the sky without weights.. while thinking about the joyful and peaceful scene, while implying oneself . I have relaxed, my hips, legs, abdomen , spinal column, arms, shoulders, forehead, face, eyes..., no matter what they are, they really relax without tension...
The relaxation method can cure diseases, promote the sports records and calm down the emotion of athletes in competition.

III. Breathing method
When people were attacked by unquiet, they usually heaved a deep sigh free from tension or breathed out suddenly and etc. which were always seen in daily life.
A lot of world known athletes had such a experience. For example, Bailen Nelsin said 'No matter how we are keyed up, the correct deep breath is one of the extrication methods'. Therefore , Now there are many famous athletes who use breathing exercises in order to cushion unquiet emotion. there are many experts in psychological therapy like qigong experts in ancient India, who use breathing methods. ancient India, who use breathing methods .
The experience and theoretical research prove that the method of deep breathing making breathing frequency lower can not only effectively and naturally make practitioners calm down but also improve the short and unquiet to set breathing slowly and long.
The experience also proves that when people become unquiet and exited, usually 'Not heaving a sigh' was said , it was caused by breathing muscles and chest muscles not relaxing , in the contrary if the breath can be evenly adjusted , it will be helpful to extricate from tension and calm down . Therefore there exists close relation ship between the breathing and the relaxation . Following are a set of breathing methods.
After relaxation methods are finished everyday for 10 minutes, the following is the breath training. common breathing spends about 1 minute , following is the prone position and the breath training for about 10 minutes .

1. In halation : breathe deeply and slowly ,-read silently
'1, 2, 3, 4, ...', amount to about 4 seconds . This is helpful
for the breath regulation which should be carried out in the
range of comfort . In inhaling image that the range from chest to
neck is full of air .

2. Stop breathing : After full inhalation , stop breathing,
meanwhile read silently '1, 2, 3, 4, '. In accounting
numbers , be gent , comfortable soft and natural , forbidden
white face in the pause of breathing.

3. Expiration : do not permit rushing out of air , imply oneself ' natural expiration ' repeatedly and slowly from mouth.
Expiration should be deep as if the air in Sing were all put out , this may feel soft and comfortable , with shoulders , arms and muscles of chest relaxing . Farther more in expiration image scattering the feeling of tension and being oppressed, this will cause the whole body relaxation .
At the beginning of exercise, do not mind non-ideal and nonstandard breathing . There may be some difficulties in slow expiration , but it does not matter, just continue , what is important is to catch the speed of breathing and relaxation .
Exercises above are carried out for 10 tines , breathing will become natural and even, coordinate whit reading silently
'1, 2, 3, 4,...'
Afterwards continue for 10 times , you may feel peace and quiet and unlimited joyful . some of them said that they felt wars stream spreading out from the chest in each direction.

4. Think silently about ' relaxation ' (meditation): After the exercises 1 to 3 are carried out 20 times , change the breath into natural breath , think about full relaxation, with expiration the feeling of being keyed up is scattered , the comfortable feeling is sucked in ......

5. deeper breathing : carry out the deep breathing mentioned in 1--3 for 10 times. Change it into natural breathing , pay attention to the feeling of softness and comfort , image silently 'relaxation'.

6. Hearing breathing : listen the breathing sound, focus attention on the entrance and the exit of air. if some unique breathing is found , do not mind it , let it deeper gradually.

7. Notice :
(1) In the breathing exercises , what is the most important is not to force oneself to the interrupting state of breathing or to inhale much air, which will bring about tension and not relaxation. Therefore, breathing should be kept to moderate extent., in fact , the sore natural the better the breath can go with mind , the effect will be more obvious after several days' training .
(2) Do notworry about the success of breathing , otherwise it causes dreadful mess. Be careful to do in line with what is mentioned above , it is without fault.
Concretely speaking , pay attention to inhalation of air in breathing in , feel the enough air to use in the pause Of breathing, pay attention to expiration of air in breathing out. All of these are done just in moderate way without mind divided. The treatment effect depends on whether being natural is completed or not .