Relaxation experiment

NinjaFrodo · Post by **NinjaFrodo** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 4:45 am

Lets say our stress tolerance is like a glass of water, a big glass. When it's near full we feel happy, enjoy things to the fullest and anxiety is very minimal to the point that could be considered normal. On the opposite end when our glas is near empty that is when we struggle to feel happy, nothing seems enjoyable, everything seems overwhelming (even peeling an onion can seem overwhelming & impossible), and anxiety is around every corner.

The fluid in the glass of tolerance fluctuates day by day. It can be filled and emptied.
What empties this glass is stress or more specifically, Internal stress (Our thoughts about situations, our selves, others, ideas...etc).
Filling the glass comes from relaxation (breathing techniques, visualizations & progressive muscle relaxation). In essense spending less time in the fight or flight mode will make it's power over us less & less.

To prove this I've done an experiment where I've calculated satisfaction, effectiveness & my comments on several relaxation sessions using a few diffrent meditations/relaxations as well as 1 day without rest.

June 11th
#1 Relaxation cd- .I felt alot more relaxed after tensing the shoulders
.I got a few ideas & insights
.Heart palpitations vanished
.Didn't visualize as well as I would have liked and there was many times i was distracted by thoughts
.I felt tired and in need of sleep after
Effectiveness 40%, Satisfaction 60%

#2 Wayne Dyer Chanting- .More ideas popped up
.Easier to focus as opposed to the relaxation cd
.I enjoyed it and it was a little easier to feel positive
Effectiveness 65%, Satisfaction 75%

#3 Love Meditation- .I was feeling really lonely and like i'd never be able to be in a relationship but after this meditation made me feel cared about and less lonely.

Effectiveness 75%, Satisfaction 65%

(Stay Tuned-More to come!)

I sincerely wish that this helps people to decide that they can benefit from relaxing and that they deserve it!

Mike aka Ninjafrodo

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 4:58 am

June 12th 2009

#1 Relaxation cd- Difficulty starting it but I could focus on it better than yestaurday and I feel a little more hopeful.
Effectiveness 60%, Satisfaction 60%

#2 Wayne Dyer Chanting- It was easier to visualize my goal, I felt good for the most part and I enjoy things slightly more.
Effectiveness 10%, Satisfaction 85%

June 15th

#1 Relaxation cd- Difficult to start, I had alot of resistance but felt a bit better after.
Effectiveness 20%, Satisfaction 60%

#2 Wayne Dyer Chanting- Right after relaxation cd.
.It felt easy to do
.I feel a little more happy
.I'm able to enjoy my music more
.I feel more hopeful and realizing that some days I may need to have more relaxation in order to feel better
.Days i feel overwhelmed, I don't have to spend the day distracting myself anymore and wait till the next day to feel better. I can use the relaxation to overcome it.
. I feel like doing alot more relaxation now.
Effectiveness 30%, Satisfaction 70%

#3 Love meditation- felt more relaxed & happy

(more to come!)

Mike aka Ninjafrodo

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 8:29 am

What CD or book teaches the Wayne Dyer chanting? I have a hard time with the program Relaxation CD. I like the first two segments (the breathing and muscle tension/relaxation) but find it difficult to stay focused during the last part (visualizing the walk through the woods).

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:57 am

I found it on limewire along with a bunch of other meditation files. Theresa2008 I still find it hard to stay focused during the last part myself and I've been using it the last 5 years on and off. It does however get easier to visualize and stay focused as you continue which is what i'm finding now.

M

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:59 am

I think I'm going to rebel and do relaxation with a different tape or just on my own, because I don't rate Lucinda's very highly, and I have plenty of others that I've picked up over the years that I think are much better. For one thing, I'm not a fan of tense-and-relax things, I tend to end up trapping nerves and pulling muscles and generally feeling less relaxed than when I started. Also, her idea of slow breathing feels way too fast for me, and it's really badly planned, so that if you follow her pace the first time she goes through it, then continue at that pace, the second time she goes through it you're out of step with what she's saying. That's kind of a basic error.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:55 am

AlexG

Wow, it really sounds like you dislike her relaxation. Your right that it does has some errors in it but obviously this isn't the relaxation for you.

Mike

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 3:19 pm

Alex, that's interesting - her breathing rate is way too slow for me, so I never followed it, just took it as a guideline and found my own pace. I think men and women have very different breathing rates, so it might be difficult to find one that fits all.

It sounds like maybe you tried a little too hard on this one... I don't think you're supposed to tense so hard that you pull muscles!

I have learned the technique before from a physiotherapist, and used it to fall asleep (extremely effective), so I'm very comfortable with it.

Glad that you have something else you can use, I think the point is simply to use something on a daily basis so you have it ready to use as a firm habit whenever you need it.