How To Relax

Herbert Benson and his group at the Mind-Body Medical Institute have been studying the relaxation response since the 1970s and have linked its use to reductions in high blood pressure. The idea is simple: just as the body experiences  stress for certain cues and situations, it can also receives a relaxation response. With 20 minutes a day, you can learn to use the relaxation response to reduce stress and to improve blood pressure.

Difficulty level: Easy

Time Required: 20 minutes a day

Here's How:

1. Sit

   Find a comfortable place to sit. Sit with you back straight and feet on the floor. Be comfortable, but alert.

2. Close your eyes

   Just relax. Close your eyes. Let everything fall away.

3. Breathe in

   Breathe in through your nose. Feel the breath fill your body.

4. Breathe out

   Exhale through your nose. Feel your body collapse. Breathe out fully.

5. Repeat

   Continue breathing. After each time your breath in and out, say (or think) the word “One”. Continue for 20 minutes. You can change the word to anything meaningful for you. 

6. Practice daily

   Repeat this everyday. Have a set time to do it. Don’t worry about setting an alarm, just have a clock nearby that you can see. If you start drifting in thought, gently return to your breathing.

7. Mini-relaxations

   During your day, stop a few times and ‘do a mini’. Just breath in and out for about a minute. This will relax you and begin to teach your body how to respond to stress in a calm way.
   

What You Need:

• Place to sit
• 20 uninterrupted minutes