There are effective relaxation techniques to combat different psychosomatic symptoms.
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8 relaxation techniques to avoid stress and anxiety
There are different relaxation techniques to avoid anxiety and stress . The options are the most varied and their origins too. Some have an ancient history, usually from the Asian continent, while others have been created recently as psychotherapeutic resources.
In any case, it represents a great decision to choose to implement any of these techniques. Below are the ones that have shown the most proven efficacy. Many only require 5 minutes a day to have a positive impact on health.
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1. Yoga
Yoga is one of the most effective relaxation techniques to avoid stress and anxiety . It is a discipline originating in India that today is becoming very popular in the West.
The different branches follow philosophical ideas that are thousands of years old, and the most popular form today is Hatha Yoga. This type of yoga gives a lot of importance to both physical and mental work.
2. Muscle relaxation
Muscle relaxation is one of the most effective relaxation techniques . To avoid stress and anxiety, simply close your eyes in a quiet space and concentrate on muscle relaxation (better lying down). The most representative technique is Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation.
The main idea is to successively focus on different muscle groups of the body, which contract for a few seconds and then relax. This allows the mind and body to focus their attention on the body and stop feeding all kinds of thoughts for a while, being very useful for getting to sleep.
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3. Auto-hipnosis
Self-hypnosis allows one to administer hypnosis procedures to oneself . It is a tool that allows you to relax and lower the state of alert in which the body and mind are.
In this way, self-hypnosis allows you to enter a state of calm, although it is also used to achieve certain goals. There is material in the form of audio that allows the interested person to work on certain topics at a subconscious level.
4. Meditation
Meditation is a very suitable relaxation technique to avoid suffering from anxiety and stress . It is a practice that aims to induce the person to a state of consciousness that promotes relaxation, but also the so-called “life force”, which encourages the development of compassion, generosity, love and forgiveness.
Its point of general interest is to ensure that the person who practices it develops a state of general well-being. This is linked to any activity of daily life. An outstanding form of meditation and for which it requires a lot of experience is that which allows you to concentrate on one point without effort.
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5. Autogenic training
Autogenic training is a technique typical of psychology . It is based on the person concentrating on sensations in her body, thus being related to muscle relaxation, hypnosis or meditation.
It is especially indicated to combat stress and anxiety, being a relaxation technique that is used from psychotherapy. In this way, with a psychotherapist you follow his instructions, but it is also possible to work this technique in a self-taught way. This is achieved through books and recordings for this purpose, although experience in this type of session is a great help.
6. Sonoterapia
Sound therapy is a relaxation technique that uses sounds to prevent stress and anxiety . This technique is well established in some Asian regions, and is considered an alternative therapy. Among the elements to which he resorts are the Tibetan bowls, the tuning forks and the voice.
All these resources are used to achieve a series of frequencies that allow you to relax. There is scientific evidence that the harmonics generated by this type of technique have properties and benefits for people’s mental health, and they are becoming more widely known in the West.
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7. Manual therapies
Manual therapies are a set of techniques that allow unblocking muscle tension . Physiotherapists and osteopaths are the professionals who most dominate this type of intervention, and one of the best known manual therapies is massage.
They are used to improve different types of ailments, and to a greater or lesser degree they also aim to release tension. It is therefore another relaxation technique that allows you to combat stress and anxiety. There are many people who resort to massages in specialized centers.
8. Breathing techniques
The way you breathe has a lot to do with your health . Certainly the human being breathes all the time, but spending some time to control the way in which it is done can greatly improve expressing a lower degree of stress and anxiety.
There are different exercises in this regard, but all are based on inhaling deeply, holding the air for a few seconds, and exhaling the air slowly and progressively. Some of the techniques described above use breath control. It represents one of the essential ways to focus the mind and become aware of the present moment.
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Bibliographic references
- Lehrer, P.M., Barlow, D.H., Woolfolk, R.L. y Sime, W.E. (2007). Principles and Practice of Stress Management. The Guilford Press.
- Iyengar, BKS (2005). Light on Yoga. Barcelona: Editorial Kairos.
- Shaner, L., Kelly, L., Rockwell, D. y Curtis, D. (2016). Calm Abiding”. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 57, 98.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.