Relaxation Tips Newsletter

I'm Candi, with Inner Health Studio. Welcome to Edition 9 of Inner Health Studio Relaxation Tips.

In This Issue....

Inner Health Studio Updates and News
New Relaxation Scripts
Tip of the Month: Instant Relaxation Response

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Inner Health Studio Updates and News

New on the Members Only site: relaxation downloads you can save to your computer. Download progressive relaxation, stretch and relax, sleep relaxation, autogenic relaxation, and more.

New Relaxation Scripts

Progressive Muscle Relaxation with Keywords Progressive muscle relaxation involves progressively tensing and then relaxing muscles to induce the relaxation response. This progressive relaxation script includes the keywords breathe and relax.

Relaxation for Children Relaxation for children that guides children or adults to relax using simple breathing and progressive relaxation techniques. This script is intended to be used with the guidance of an adult.

Body Image This body image relaxation script is a guided meditation focused on self-acceptance and self-image.

Starry Sky This starry sky relaxation is a guided imagery script that will describe relaxing at dusk and watching the stars appear in the night sky.

Relaxation to Deal with Anger This guided relaxation script describes how to deal with anger quickly and effectively in the moment. Guides you in controlling anger in a healthy, productive way.

Tip of the Month: Instant Relaxation Response

Have you ever been in a stressful situation, and wished that you could press a button that would relax you immediately?

There is a way to achieve this type of instant relaxation. It's called "anchoring." It usually takes a few relaxation sessions to train your body, but once you do, you can quickly and easily relax, just by touching a spot on your hand or wrist that you have chosen as your "anchor."

Anchoring is quick and effective, and a great way to program the relaxation response so you can quickly feel relaxed on cue. It really works!

Anchoring uses the concept of classical conditioning. Here is an example from wikipedia:

"The original and most famous example of classical conditioning involved the salivary conditioning of Pavlov's dogs. ... [Pavlov] predicted that, if a particular stimulus in the dog’s surroundings were present when the dog was presented with meat powder, then this stimulus would become associated with food and cause salivation on its own. In his initial experiment, Pavlov used a metronome to call the dogs to their food and, after a few repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the metronome." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning)

The dogs became conditioned to salivate upon hearing the metronome because this neutral stimulus became associated with food.

So what does this have to do with relaxation? By pairing the stimulus of touching an particular spot on your hand or wrist with a state of relaxation, the anchor spot becomes associated with relaxation. When the conditioning is complete, simply by touching the anchor spot, the subject experiences relaxation. The anchor spot is comparable to the metronome in the example above - and relaxation is the conditioned response (like salivating).

Notice that the conditioned response is automatic - it happens without any effort, and is not a deliberate response. It just happens.

How to Create a Conditioned Relaxation Response

First choose a spot on your hand or wrist that will work as your "anchor." Some people like to squeeze their right thumb, for example. Whatever spot you choose, consistently use this same location. Let's say you decide to use your right thumb as an anchor. Choose an anchor word as well, for example "relax." You can use any word you like.

Listen to a relaxation script or use whatever relaxation strategy works for you. When you are feeling calm and relaxed, use your left thumb and two fingers to gently squeeze your right thumb, while at the same time saying silently "relax."

Continue your relaxation technique, and when you are feeling deeply relaxed, squeeze your right thumb again while saying "relax." Do this a few times, and then end your relaxation session as you normally would.

Practice this a on a few separate occasions. You are training your body to make a connection between your anchor and relaxation. 

Then, you can use your anchor without needing to do the relaxation technique. Squeeze your thumb while saying "relax," and notice that your body automatically relaxes and you feel more calm.

With practice, the anchor can be so strongly ingrained that you can use it any time, any place to quickly relax.  

To practice using this technique, try the Anchoring Relaxation Script.