Relaxation Matters Issue 2 Your 10 minute read to a happier body and mind Questions? Call +44-20-8974-8974
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Learning to relax : Lesson 2 - Head, neck and shoulders Stress Solutions+ : Watch your mood Under the spotlight : The word "stress" Hot news : Mirror neurons: who are you imitating? Hot topic : The clarity cure Advertisement : Train to improve your health through movement Practice group : 31st May "Raising your awareness from your neck down" Learning to relax
Lesson 2 - Head, neck & shoulders
This is a self awareness and muscle relaxing exercise for your head, neck and shoulders. Becoming sensitive to the difference between what relaxed muscles feel like, and what tense muscles feel like will help to rid you of those niggly aches and pains.
Time needed: 2 minutes
Frequency: 2 times a day
Forehead
Frown as deeply as possible. Hold for a moment. Notice what it feels like. Release. Repeat two more times.
Eyes
Scrunch up your eyes as if avoiding the glare of the sun. Hold for a moment. Notice what it feels like. Release. Repeat two more times.
Face
Scrunch up your face as if you are eating a bitter lemon. Hold for a moment. Notice what it feels like. Release. Repeat two more times.
Jaw
Clench your teeth together as hard as possible and tense your jaw. Hold for a moment. Notice what it feels like. Release. Repeat two more times.
Lips
Scrunch up your lips to make them into a really tight ball. Hold for a moment. Notice what it feels like. Release. Repeat two more times.
Neck
Stretch up a far as possible. Pull your chin down into your chest. Hold for a moment. Notice what it feels like. Release. Repeat two more times.
Shoulders
Hunch your shoulders up toward the sky as far as possible. Hold for a moment. Notice what it feels like. Release. Repeat two more times. Stress Solutions+ Watch your mood When you were a child your mood was your parent's responsibility. Now it is yours. There are two things that significantly impact your mood and your ability to be relaxed. One is being tired and the other is your energy level, which is impacted by the type of food you've eaten and the frequency of meals. If you are behaving moodily ask yourself these two questions: 1) Am I tired? If you think you are, then take yourself away from the situation and go and rest, or, acknowledge that you are tired and compensate for that in your interactions with people and the activities that you engage in (until you can go and rest).
2) What have I eaten and how long ago? The kind of foods you put in your body and the frequency of when you eat effects your mood and your ability to be relaxed. Refined sugar and caffeine are best replaced with slow release energy foods and drinking plenty of water. Under the spotlight
The word "Stress" is under the spotlight for this issue When you sense danger (whether it be real or perceived) your body goes into a temporary state of physical brace. Muscles in your body become rigid and your body takes on a new shape to protect itself against the danger.
Examples of danger in this day and age could be:
- Concerns about your health
- Fear of embarrassing yourself in front of others
- Worries over finances
- Not being able to find a parking space when you're pressed for time! Once the danger has passed, your brain initiates a reverse course of action that releases a mixture of biochemicals throughout your body in order to bring you back into balance. Your brain is seeking "homeostasis" which is an elusive state of metabolic equilibrium between the stimulating and the tranquilizing chemical forces in your body.
When your brain isn't given the time to initiate the reverse course of action (and your body remains in that state of physical brace) we call this "stress", and on-going stress is sometimes the cause of health issues ranging from back ache and migraine to respiratory problems and cancer. Book a lesson so that you can learn how to release the mixture of bio chemicals in your body that will bring you you back into balance. Hot news Mirror neurons: Who are you imitating? Primal regions in the brain contain what are called mirror neurons that cause a person to mentally imitate every action they witness. It explains the contagious effects of yawning and laughter as well as the tears that are shed in empathy of another person's experience. If we see someone experiencing pain on the television, our mirror neurons fire as if we ourselves are experiencing that pain first hand.
Since this neuroscientific discovery it has made me think about who it is that I spend time around and what is it that I am modeling (imitating) as a result? Hanging out with people who are stressed all the time would mean that there's the potential for me to become like them. No thanks! Hot topic
The clarity cure In a training room not that long ago...
He asks: "...so what do you want?"
Silence filled the room.
He waits.
More silence.
He waits.
Even more silence.
After her brain finally got over the shock of being asked, she gave a long and meaningful response. To which he said:
"You haven't answered my question. What do you want?"
And here lies the root cause of much of the stress and ill-health that people have in their lives. Not knowing (or perhaps just not acknowledging) what they want to be true of and for themselves in their life.
If this is you, read the advice of relaxation for health specialist Charles Moore:
"To begin with, and for a brief while only, let's separate out how you want to feel within yourself as you move through your life, and what you want to be doing. We'll begin with the first - how you want to feel within yourself as you move through your life. Consider it for a few moments n(o)w before reading on. How do you want to be within yourself as you move through your life?
What will probably come up for you is a feeling or sensation of some sort (as well as a verbal description, which we'll put aside for n(o)w). That feeling or sensation is the answer to the question and it must become the benchmark against which decisions about what to be doing are made. If that feeling or sensation isn't present for you, then you are "off track" and need to do what's necessary to return there. "Follow your bliss" is the message (your bliss being that internal benchmark).
Now let's think about what to be doing. The answer to this is easier n(o)w that you have your internal benchmark in place. Engage in the things that enable you to keep this feeling or sensation in tact, and avoid (completely or as much as possible) the things that take you away from being at your best. Just doing this one thing alone will serve as a miracle remedy to some of the illness around today. I call it "the clarity cure!". Just one of the things you will learn when you Book a Learn to Relax Lesson with relaxation for health specialist Charles Moore is how you uniquely access that feeling or sensation that represents how you want to be moving through your life. Improve Your Health through Movement
Dance of the Elements™ - A MythoSelf® Program Dance of the Elements™ is a two or three day training that teaches people how to use and move their body for optimal well-being as they go about their everyday life. Although the training is not exclusively for people with a medical condition, it has made a profound impact to the recovery process of patients, and, incorporated into their treatment program, it has many benefits. The next training is taking place in Godalming, Surrey (UK) on 9-11th June.
Find out more Practice Group Events
Join Charles Moore on Wednesday 31st May for his educational and witty session: "Raising Your Awareness From The Neck Down." At the 4th R we're so committed to spreading a wave of relaxation through Surrey and beyond that we provide virtually fre(e) learning opportunities! The Relaxation Practice Group for London and the South East of England will usually meet once a month, in Kingston upon Thames or Surbiton (20 minutes from Waterloo station) and it's open to all, with a small entrance fee of just £10. Doors open at 6:30pm for guided practice, and the presentation itself starts prompt at 7:30pm until 9:00pm. Just come along and enjoy the evening; whether you are someone who wants to learn about being relaxed for health reasons or any other. No membership is required, but we do ask that you register your attendance before the evening. To register your attendance call The 4th R on 020-8974-8974 or email events@the4thr.co.uk. You'll be sent an email confirming your registration and venue details. Feedback?
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