Anti-Aging Information

The oldest method of stress reduction is called "progressive relaxation." Developed by Edmund Jacobson, it calls for alternately tensing, then relaxing certain muscle groups in the body. For example, you may begin with the feet, first tensing and relaxing the toes, then the foot itself, the ankle, the lower leg, and so forth until you reach the scalp. Once you have completed all the muscle groups, the overall effect can be total relaxation.

Another technique is "autogenic training," in which an individual brings back homeostasis to whatever system has gone awry. The key is self-suggestion and positive visualization. For example, blood flow can be increased to cold extremities by thinking "warm hands" or "warm feet." Headaches can be neutralized by consciously visualizing the draining of stress and tenseness from the head and body. Even high blood pressure and chronic pain have been reversed. Although this method takes sustained practice, those who practice it claim impressive results.

A third major method, called "breathing strategies," calls for achieving a relaxed state through slow abdominal breathing. This is the same technique used in Lamaze training for childbirth. Can millions of terrified couples be wrong?

A fourth method, "quieting reflex training," is similar to progressive relaxation, but rather than dealing with overall body relaxation, it employs a 6-second progressive relaxation process that is useful for mildly tension-provoking situations. As with progressive relaxation, one contracts various muscles throughout the body and then relaxes them. But because it's done relatively quickly, the process can be repeated hundreds of times a day for everything from mild to intensely stressful situations.

Finally, "cognitive restructuring" is a stress management procedure aimed at identifying and changing self-defeating and self-destructive thinking. This technique is a derivative of Albert Ellis's Rational Emotive Therapy. The goal is to transform thin-skinned and easily frustrated individuals into thick-skinned and emotionally stable people who can better fend off the stresses of daily life. Basically, it calls for ridding the mind of negative self-talk.

You can learn how to relax using one or another of these methods to deal more effectively with the tremendous number of emotional and physical stressors that constantly bombard you. Keep in mind that all these methods for relaxing have roots that are as old as civilization itself.