Relaxation. Andrzej Stanislaw Budzinski

of the skeletal muscle to feel the weight of your body,

       The state of relaxation of the vascular system and the feeling of warmth,

       Slowing down of the work rhythm of your body (heart beat and breathing).

      2nd Phase - Feeling the sense of peace and internal tranquillity.

      3rd Phase - It depends on the individual needs of each person: in a state of deep relaxation - giving suggestions on what we want to work on:

       fear

       self-image

       relations with others

       relations with God

       forgiveness

       self-esteem

       the stages of your life

       the various problems in your life

       the past

      Each one of us should know it for him/herself. You can work out every problem periodically, for a few days.

      OK, ready?

      Shall we start? I knew it - you can’t wait.

      Pay attention! Pay attention! If we want to change our life, the theory and knowledge is not enough, but we need practice. The theory is the start, practice is the route to…??? to be discovered. We must exercise relaxation:

      1 every day constantly

      2 it must become a habit

      3 1-3 times a day

      4 for 15-30 minutes

      5 the most appropriate place and position (the best position is supine)

      6 wear comfortable clothes, not constricting

      The exercise is divided into 6 stages for 6 weeks.

      We breathe in through our nose and breathe out through the mouth. The breathing must be slow, but naturally done through the diaphragm.

       Stage I (1 ^st week)

      The aim - to feel the weight of your body. Here is the first step to achieve, in a simple way, complete relaxation of the body.

       We start with relaxing the skeletal musculature. In practice, we must imagine that our body is becoming ever heaver: you start with the formula “my right arm is heavy”, then you continue with the left arm, and so on, you gradually proceed, thus generalising the feeling of heaviness over your whole body, all its parts (my body becomes inert), my arms are heavy, ever heavier, very heavy.

       Stage 2 (2 ^nd week)

      The aim - to feel that our body becomes warm. Here is the second step to achieve, in a simple manner, complete relaxation of the body.

       It is in fact possible to obtain a real peripheral vasodilation, corresponding to the relaxation of the musculature that covers the blood vessels. This condition is realised through the induction of heat which, as for the heaviness, becomes generalised from the arm to the whole body with the feeling of delicate and pleasant warmth.

       In practice, we must imagine that our body is becoming warm, ever warmer: you start with the formula “my right arm is warm”, then you continue with the left arm, and so on, you gradually proceed, thus generalising the feeling of warmth over your whole body, in all its parts (“my body becomes warm, my arms are warm, ever warmer, the warmth embraces my whole body”).

       Stage III (3 ^rd week)

      The aim - to calm and control the rhythm of your breathing

       With the formula “my breathing is calm and regular” your breathing becomes deeper and spontaneous, approaching that state which you have during your sleep.

       Having reached this phase, we arrive at an ever greater state of calm and less interference from worrying thoughts.

      We breathe in through our nose and breathe out through our mouth. The breathing must be slow, but naturally done through the diaphragm. Our breathing must become ever calmer.

       Stage IV (4 ^th week)

      The aim - exercise to calm your heart (“my heart beats calmly and regularly”).

       This exercise, regulating cardiac activity, allows for the consolidation of the state of relaxation; moreover, as cardiac functionality is very much influenced by psychological and emotional factors, it helps us to reach a deeper emotional relaxation. It helps people who, in stressful situations, feel a violent and sometimes irregular heart-beat.

       Let’s move our attention to the heart, its beat, its rhythm and let’s repeat “my heart is beating calmly and regularly - ever calmer and regular - I’m relaxed, ever more relaxed”.

       Stage V (5 ^th week)

      The aim - to feel internal warmth in the solar plexus

       A nervous structure situated under the diaphragm, between the stomach and the vertebral column, which connects to numerous internal organs: stomach, intestine, liver, pancreas, kidneys and adrenal glands.

       With the formula “my solar plexus is pleasantly warm”, that structure spreads over all the above-mentioned abdominal organs.

       Stage VI (6 ^th week)

      The aim - to feel a cool forehead

       While for the body stretching and relaxation are encouraged by vasodilation (exercises of the weight and warmth of the body, see stages I and II), as regards the head, vasoconstriction - a pleasant calming feeling, that is: we feel a delicate coolness on our forehead.

       This exercise foresees the repetition of the formula “my forehead is pleasantly cool”, which induces in us a feeling of well-being and relaxation also around your head.

       In this phase of relaxation, we are by now in a “state of bliss”, that is: a deep feeling of bodily and mental calm, which is the essence of relaxation.

      The relaxation is complete and deep.

      by now

      We have become experts!

      The ideal would be, the aim is: that this exercise should become a habit.

      Benefits of the constant practice of relaxation:

       stretching the body,

       recovery of physical and psychological energy,

       improvement in vital performance,

       normalisation and self-regulation of the bodily functions,

       emotional tranquillity,

       greater introspection and self-awareness

       control of your behaviour

       reduction in the perception of pain.

A dive into the depths of man

      Every one³ of us is like a house with three rooms⁴:

      1 the room of the soul (to be set up)

      2 the