Relaxation Therapy
Relaxation Therapy Techniques
The negative effects of stress on the body are well documented, but relaxation therapy can help relieve the toll of stress on the body. Relaxation therapies can help you release the stress of a busy life and even help reduce anxiety or other problems related to stress. Relaxation therapy consists of techniques to relieve the stress and anxiety that can cause harmful medical conditions like hypertension and ulcers. Relaxation therapy also helps alleviate the emotional problems associated with long-term stress and can give people a way to manage anxiety.
Why Relaxation Therapy?
The goal of most stress relief therapies is to focus the mind away from stressful and anxious thoughts and induce a feeling of calm and peace. This feeling of calm will cause the heart rate to slow and muscles to relax, which can improve flood flow and reduce physical stress on the body. While the effects of the relaxation therapy may only last as long as the therapy itself, the body and mind are still refreshed and better able to cope with future stress. Many patients who practice relaxation techniques regularly can see a decrease in anxiety and other emotional problems. Relaxation therapies include meditation, aromatherapy massage, acupuncture, energy healing, and many others.
Meditation
Meditation is an ancient practice that focuses the mind on something to bring mental calm. The thing that the mind focuses on can be a sound, the person’s breathing, a word or phrase, a series of visualizations, or simply nothing. The goal of meditation is to calm the mind by focusing it on one thing and away from stressful or anxious thoughts. In meditation, the mind is calmed, which then calms the body. There are many different types of meditation, from the spiritual to the purely therapeutic. Therapeutic forms of meditation include relaxation response, where the person focuses on a repeated phrase or word, and autogenic training, where the person focuses on a series of mental directions or tasks.
Aromatherapy Massage
Another popular form of relaxation therapy is aromatherapy, which combines therapeutic massage with plant oils that release calming scents. The oils used in aromatherapy massage are not simply perfumes, which are often synthetic and made of chemicals, but natural plant oils made from leaves, flowers, roots, and other plant parts. Aromatherapy oils that are used for relaxation often include basil, bergamot, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, jasmine, lavender, lemon, patchouli, pine, rosemary, and tea tree oil. These natural oils are often used in herbal therapy as well, and have many healing properties associated with them. The relaxation massage part of aromatherapy massage is a type of massage that seeks to remove tensions in the body to promote physical relaxation. Coupled with the oils, the massage can release tension in the muscles, joints, or nervous system that can contribute to chronic conditions related to stress.
Easy Relaxation Techniques at Home
You don’t have to spend a lot of money at a spa to become more relaxed. You can put on relaxing music, draw yourself a bath, and just soak and listen to the music for a few minutes. You can use some aromatherapy in your bath by using relaxing bath salts or body wash scented with lavender. You can even practice meditation at home by sitting still and clearing your mind. Just taking a few minutes out of your busy day to calm your mind and let your body relax can do wonders for your stress levels. The key to doing relaxation therapy at home is to focus your mind away from the thoughts and situations that are causing you stress and focus on something that brings you calm and peace.