Nobody is spread from stress, worries or overload. However, there are different methods to deal with such difficult situations and get relaxed again. In this article we present 2 relaxation techniques to you which help you to calm down: Bodyscan & visualization techniques.
Bodyscan - feel your body
The bodyscan is a kind and part of mediation and is supposed to reduce stress. The key is to consciously perceive your body and how it feels right now. Therefore the attention is directed to each part of your body progressively. While laying down you concentrate on parts of your body, how they touch the base and how different these sensitive perceivings are. All this should be done without any judgment of the feeling or the wish to change it. You become a silent observer of yourself and our sensations. Uprising and distracting thoughts are recognized, but then thrust aside to keep the focus on your perceptions. For the first times an audio guide may be helpful and later you can do it on your own.
The positive effects of bodyscans
The positive and persistent effects manifest, as with all meditation and mindfulness methods, with a certain time of regular practice. However, just in the moment of the bodyscan you can also profit from some advantages, because you concentrate on your body and its feelings, which prevents you from worries or thinking about stressful situations. Furthermore you train the ability to concentrate as well as mindfulness and thereby your mental strength. You become more resilient, because in stressful times you are able to calm down yourself, so that’s why bodyscans are also part of the mindfulness based stress reduction from Kabat-Zinn.
The difference to esotericism: scientific proofs
Meditation and relaxation techniques are often associated with an esoteric philosophy – wrongly. The effects of those methods are empirical, so scientifically proven. Also the bodyscan: The regular training leads to a growth of the grey matter of the brain. Brain regions which are responsible for representing body awareness grow through the principle of neuroplasticity.
Visualization techniques
When you use this method to calm down, you imagine yourself to another place and experience that dream journey in your mind. All senses should be involved, so if you imagine yourself standing at a beach you can think about hearing the waves, smelling and tasting the salt, seeing the horizon, feeling the sand under your feet and the wind blowing through your hair. The more senses are included the more real it feels. You really experience the moment and the story or journey in your mind, like when you are dreaming. Audio guides are helpful here, too. And also the effects of this technique are proven to get you into a relaxing mood so that they are also included in psychotherapy.
The stress reducing effect can help to prevent or alleviate symptoms of anxiety. Also sleep can enhance and it’s easier to calm down and find inner peace, because positive images and stimuli promote psychological well being. Furthermore, visualization techniques are used in competitive sports to initiate processes of motivation and to train movement sequences in your mind’s eye. This helps afterwards to perform that movement in real life.
