Massage
Massage reduced levels of glucocorticoids and epinephrine in depressed mothers with infants. A study at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School found that massage therapy also improved sleep and reduced the mothers’ depression.
Pre-schoolers who received a 15-minute massage scored better on tests of cognitive performance compared to children who just read stories with an adult for the 15 minutes prior to testing.
Recall from our discussion on pain and how massage helps temporarily relieve the throbbing pain. Besides reducing the pain, it helps us to relax and better focus on our activities afterwards.
Breathe to Relax
Nature has provided a perfect way to help activate our relaxation response, and it involves an involuntary bodily function that we can also consciously control—our breathing. Nothing is more convenient than using our breath to bring ourselves back into balance. Whether quieting a rapid fearful breath or boosting a shallow anxious one, just a few mindful breaths can shift our experience.
Breath Control Power Studies
After individuals with normal blood pressure were subjected to mental stress for 5 minutes, it took an average of 3.7 minutes for their blood pressure to return to normal. But when they practised deep breathing, it returned to normal in 2.7 minutes, an almost 25 per cent reduction in time.
Rapid Relaxation Breath
The Stress Management and Counseling Center in New York recommends a breathing technique for rapid relaxation. According to programme director and practising psychologist Allen Elkin, Ph.D.: You take a deep breath, deeper than normal, and hold it in until you notice a little discomfort. At the same time, squeeze your thumb and first finger together (as if you were making the okay sign) for six or seven seconds. Then exhale slowly through your mouth, release the pressure in your fingers, and imagine all your tension to drain out. Repeat these deep breaths three times to extend the relaxation. With each breath, allow your shoulders to droop, your jaw to drop and your body to relax.’
A Breathing Exercise You Can Do Right Now— The first step is to bring your breathing under control:
• Exhale completely.
• Then slowly breathe in through your nose.
• Expand your diaphragm/belly to bring air into the lower portion of your lungs.
• As you gradually fill your lungs from bottom to top, expand your chest.
• At the end, lift your shoulders for a last bit of volume.
• Briefly pause your breathing.
• Then relax and let the air flow smoothly and fully out through your mouth.
• Pull in your stomach at the end to expel the last bit of air.
• Enjoy the emptiness for a few seconds.
• Then begin another breath.
• As you do this a few times, pay attention to the sound and sensation of your breath. If you get light-headed at first, then breathe normally.