Vorland's Relaxation Technique
Enhanced and adapted to the busy schedule, this relaxation technique targets both the mind and body. Against stress, relaxation techniques can be effective. However, the mirror image of fear and anger is what ultimately keeps feeding the
cycle of stress.
In this technique you're actually going to see and feel what stress does to you, as well as how good relaxation feels and looks...
Brief background theory on muscle relaxation If a muscle is placed in static stretch or active, static contraction for more than six seconds, the Golgi tendon organ (GTO) fires sensory impulses to the spinal cord in order to inhibit alpha motoneuron activity. In plain English, this means that the GTO, a protective sensor in the muscle tendon, inhibits tension in the muscle in which it lies by eliciting a relaxation response from the central nervous system. Vorland's relaxation technique Vorland's relaxation technique focuses on relaxing the muscles most closely associated with stress and tension. Due to
mind-body feedback
you don't need to contract every muscle group. The carry-over effect will take care of tension in neighboring muscles. A few tips... - Wear loose clothing, no shoes.
- You should preferably be in a quiet area and in a comfortable sitting or lying position.
- For added effect, have a mirror ready or around the corner for a quick peek at "the face of stress" (and relaxation) as we finish.
- Breathe in a relaxed manner, just as we practiced in
breathing relaxation.
- Between sets, take a slow, deep, and relaxing breath before moving on to the next muscle contraction. Sigh with relief, then move on.
- And here's our
disclaimer.
Now let's start... - Toes: Curl your toes against the floor, and dig into it. Hold it and count to 10... Relax, b-r-e-a-t-h-e, slowly, deeply... Feel the tension in your toes and ankles melt away.
- Butt: Tense your buttocks tightly, elevating pelvis slightly off the chair. Hold for 10 seconds... Exhale with relaxation.
- Fists: Let your arms and hands hang down. Clench your fists. Now relax your fists, relax your breath. Feel how your hand and arm muscles relax and become heavy as you count to ten.
- Shoulders: Elevate and retract your shoulders (cautiously). Hold for ten. Let go, relax and breathe. Feel the muscle tension melting away.
- Jaws: Now clench your jaws, tighten your lips. Breathe through your nose while counting to 10. Relax your jaws and lips, breathe slowly in through your nose, out through your mouth. Feel your jaws relax and become heavy.
- Nostrils/eye brows: Now flare your nostrils and furrow your eye brows. Hold for 10. Relax.
- Fists/jaws/nostrils/eye brows - Clench fists, then jaws, then flare nostrils and furrow your eye brows. Hold for 10. Do you feel like a fool? Well, that's the way we look when we're tense and angry. Now relax and b-r-e-a-t-h-e...
- Do #7 again.
- Now tense all the muscles from 1 through 6, one after the other. Hold it, feel the tension. Pretty exhausting stuff, right? Keep holding it until you finish the paragraph below...
Negative emotions and stress not only make you look foolish and strain your voluntary muscles but also tense up your skin, your blood vessels, and your heart. Just to mention a few health issues this relaxation technique helps you deal with. Now relax and breathe... Feel the tension melt away. - Go find a mirror. Standing in front of it, tense up all your facial muscles. Check out the reflection of your tensed-up and angry face, displaying flared nostrils, furrowed eye brows and all.
- Finishing, relax and laugh at your stressful, angry reflection. And notice how much better you look and feel when you're relaxed. Always end your session on a relaxed, good note. There's no need for anger or stress...
Further recommendations and reasoning Seeing your anger in the mirror is an effective deterrent against stress because you're actually looking at a major
cause of stress.
I'm sure that your angry reflection in the mirror makes you understand that it's not just the anger you're looking at... Implicit in this angry expression/response is the fear of your own angry stimuli (just look at your reflection – pretty scary stuff! Think about how other people respond to your angry stimuli.) Fear is often a response to anger. A husband's anger often produces fear in his wife (and vice versa). If frequent over time, it becomes a conditioned stimulus-response. In the angry husband's case, fear can become a conditioned response over time as a negative feedback against his own harmful, hard-to-control anger. Hurtful and inconsiderate angry outbursts may also have triggered guilt and remorse...
The Mirror Of Perception
It's easier to project negative emotions onto someone else, but everything you think, say, and do originate in your mind/brain and will inevitably reflect back onto you because
the mind/brain interacts with itself.
The mind perceives and interprets, remember? And so you also tend to perceive, interpret, and pick up on other people's responses to your own behavior. Treat fear and anger as enemies because they are the king and queen of stress. They stand between you and your short-term relaxation, and they stand between you and your potential for long-term, true happiness. Conditioned Feedback When fight-or-flight responses (accompanied by stress) occur automatically, it means that the stimulus-response feedback has been conditioned. At this point you may not even be aware of any reason for anger and fear, and there seems to be no obvious reasons to why you're stressed. Realize that your fight-or-flight associated stimuli now are largely unconscious (they've been conditioned), and they are the direct stimuli for your stress responses. The Bottom Line... Against harmful stress, relaxation techniques that only target your body are useful. However, I recommend that you use a mirror the first 10 times you practice in order to visualize anger and fear. Remember to have a last glance at yourself fully relaxed, and laugh at the stupid face of anger and fear. Vorland's relaxation technique is ultimately a method to show yourself
love and compassion.
After all, what do you think is the exact opposite mechanism to stressful, separating, conflict-producing fight or flight/anger or fear-based responses? And what, then, do you think is the king and queen of true, long-term happiness?
Comments, suggestions?
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