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Posts Tagged ‘relaxation techniques’

The Mayo Clinic has endorsed meditation techniques for stomach pain, and other stress-related problems.  Here’s what they say about recommended meditation techniques and other anxiety reducing practices.  you can read the original story here.

Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to a relaxed state of being. There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques that have meditation components. All share the same goal of achieving inner peace.

Ways to meditate can include:

• Guided meditation. Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization, with this method of meditation you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing. you try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures. you may be led through this process by a guide or teacher.

• Mantra meditation. in this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.

• Mindfulness meditation. this type of meditation is based on being mindful, or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment. you broaden your conscious awareness. you focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath. you can observe your thoughts and emotions but let them pass without judgment.

• Qi gong. this practice generally combines meditation, relaxation, physical movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance. Qi gong (CHEE-gung) is part of traditional Chinese medicine.

• Tai chi. this is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts. in tai chi (TIE-chee), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing.

• Transcendental meditation. you use a mantra, such as a word, sound or phrase repeatedly silently, to narrow your conscious awareness and eliminate all thoughts from your mind. you focus exclusively on your mantra to achieve a state of perfect stillness and consciousness.

• Yoga. you perform a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises to promote a more flexible body and a calm mind. as you move through poses that require balance and concentration, you’re encouraged to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment

These meditation techniques for stomach pain have the potential to change your life profoundly for the better.

Of course, please remember to check out any lasting pain with your doctor … meditation for pain relief MUST be preceded by good medical care.

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AROUND THE BURBS

Tai chi sessions offered to ease arthritis pain

Two free workshops will introduce the movements of tai chi and explain why the combination of exercise and meditation may help those coping with arthritis pain and swelling.

The free, hourlong sessions, sponsored by West Penn Allegheny Health system, will be held at 4 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. Oct 12 at Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side and at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the health system’s Outpatient Care Center in Peters.

A formal six-week program for $60 will subsequently be offered at both sites.

“Tai chi is an activity that improves balance, strength and coordination while teaching relaxation techniques,” said Fotios Koumpouras, medical director and arthritis specialist at the Lupus Center of Excellence at West Penn.

The workshops will be led by J. Gurney Bolster, a certified fitness instructor with a master’s degree in dance and movement therapy.

Details: 412-362-8677.

• Power and energy company Dominion Resources awarded $80,000 in grants to Pennsylvania colleges this week for environmental and conservation programs.

Westmoreland County Community College received $25,000 to expand a welding program, which could help students prepare for jobs in the natural gas industry.

LATROBE

Arnold Palmer Airport parking to expand

As more flights take off from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport every week, the parking lot seems smaller and smaller.

Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, said 220 to 250 spaces will be added to the current 500-space lot.

“It will enable us to better serve the airlines and the companies,” he said.

The project, which will cost about $606,000, will be 95 percent funded by an Airport Improvement Program grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, mr. Monzo said. The remaining funding will come from the Airport Authority and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aviation, he said.

The success of Spirit Airlines, which started offering low-cost flights to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this year, is the main reason the parking expansion is necessary, mr. Monzo said.

He said the expansion should be completed by the spring.

NORTH HUNTINGDON

Shopping center developers ask for tax abatement

A group of investors seeking to redevelop the Norwin Towne Square shopping center asked the school board for tax abatement last week.

Colony Norwin entered into a purchase agreement with the Soffer Organization in June to acquire the shopping center on Route 30 in North Huntingdon.

Attorney Donald Tarosky, a partner and spokesman for Colony Norwin LLC, said the group asked for 10 years of tax abatement from the Norwin school board. The first five years would be a 100 percent abatement, with tax reductions for the next five years, he said.

Mr. Tarosky said eliminating the tax bill would spur redevelopment at the plaza, which currently has a vacancy rate of 30 to 40 percent. The revamped plaza would include a grocery store, additional parking, a new facade and a car dealership.

“The annual taxes now are a substantial amount, so if you can get some relief there you can use those amounts to help pay for improvements or pass them on to new tenants,” he said.

Colony Norwin is awaiting a decision from the school board.

PLUM

School administrators see pay raises cut

All of the administrators in the Plum Borough School District received raises this year, but not as much as last year.

The decreased raises were due to the governor’s budget cuts to eduction, said Eugene Marraccini, the district’s director of business affairs.

Last year, all administrators received raises of 1.5 to 3.25 percent, he said.

This year, administrators received one-time payments of $500 to $1,000. Three administrators – superintendent Lillian Naccarati, assistant superintendent Timothy Glasspool and mr. Marraccini – received a 2 percent raise.

Mr. Marraccini said that overall, the raises were about one-third of what they were last year.

The district did not furlough any teachers, but 16 members of the paraprofessional staff were laid off, mr. Marraccini said.

WHITE OAK

Penneco to drill for gas

Council has voted to enter into an 18-month lease with Penneco that will allow the company to drill for natural gas on the Heritage Hill Park and White Oak Athletic Association properties.

Both properties belong to the borough. Penneco will have an option to extend the lease one year at a time.

Monday Manager Jack Petro Jr. said borough officials will get to choose where the wells are located and how many are drilled by Penneco.

The company has drilled in White Oak before, and at the 4,000-foot depth Penneco drills to, gas is so plentiful company representatives haven’t had to do fracking, or rock fracturing, mr. Petro said. he said fracking is done elsewhere with the deeper Marcellus Shale drilling 8,000 feet down.

• Council also discussed ways to obliterate a home-made yellow “slow down” safety sign in the 1900 block of Kansas Avenue. The letters were painted by an unidentified citizen in large yellow letters shortly after the street was repaved this summer.

Mr. Petro said graffiti remover, which didn’t work, was tried on one part of the yellow letters, and fly-ash sandblasting on another part.

He recommended buying a $29 can of blacktop sealer to cover the letters, rather than using the more expensive methods available.

• Council also approved the optional fourth year of the borough’s four-year contract for trash collection with Waste Management.

The company’s $15.14 per unit charge in 2012 will represent a four percent increase over the unit trash collection price in 2011, Councilwoman Carrie Verbanick said.

• Donald Hultberg, an engineering representative from the EADS Group, said he expects work on the borough’s paving program to finish this week.

WOODLAND HILLS

Foundation to host bike ride fundraiser

If you’re looking to replicate the Tour de France in your own neighborhood, this is your opportunity.

The second Tour du District will be held Oct. 1 to raise money for the Woodland Hills Foundation, which gives scholarships and grants for students and teachers in the Woodland Hills School District.

All of the rides begin and end at Woodland Hills High School on Greensburg Pike. The longest rides, 30 and 25 miles, go through all 12 boroughs that make up the Woodland Hills School District. The 30-mile ride is called “the hill climber” because it ends with steep hills.

The 25- and 30-mile rides begin at 7:30 a.m. A 5-mile ride begins at 9 a.m., and a 2.5 mile kids ride starts at 9:30.

Roads will remain open to vehicles, but more than 100 volunteers will be available at intersections to guide the riders, according to Woodland Hills Foundation president Steve Gough.

“We have excellent assistance from all the borough police and fire departments,” he said.

Registration fees of $5 to $25 are required to participate.

To register and for more details, call 1-888-281-3241 or visit woodlandhillsfoundation.org.

first published on September 22, 2011 at 7:48 am

Stress has been listed as one of the major causative factors for preventable disease. it is known to set in to motion an unhealthy chain of events within the body, causing damage to health. just as damage can be derived from stress related illness, studies now show that the body can be healed through using techniques that calm the mind and body by evoking the relaxation response.

This response can be elicited through any of the practices listed under the focused relaxation umbrella such as yoga, tai chi, guided imagery, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation and meditation, just to scratch the surface. These techniques are being used to manage all kinds of pain, infertility, insomnia, and numerous health conditions.

Dr. Herbert Benson,who heads the Behavioral Medicine Section at new England Deaconess Hospital in Boston and who also teaches at Harvard Medical School, describes the phenomenon: What we have found is that when you evoke the relaxation response, the very genes that are turned on or off by stress are turned the other way. The mind can actively turn on and turn off genes. The mind is not separated from the body.

New studies are showing that relaxation techniques can actually improve health by changing the patterns of gene activity which affect how the body responds to stress. The positive effects were seen in the genetic analysis of both long-term and short-term users of such techniques. they showed changes in their cellular metabolism, response to oxidative stress and other processes. All of which may contribute to cellular damage from chronic stress.

While these positive outcomes from relaxation techniques were once thought to be all in the head of the user, Scientists are now starting to find more definitive proof that these techniques, that elicit a relaxation response, have a biofeedback mechanism that alters gene expression. this is the first research of its kind, showing the systemic changes produced through focused relaxation techniques.

The work of Dr. Herbert Benson has been ground breaking in the study of the effects of focused relaxation. He is the leading authority on matter. Dr. Benson’s work is part of a new scientific field of study called psychoneuroimmunology or PNI. it draws from psychology, immunology, neurology and other fields to investigate the interaction of mind and body.

In his book, The Relaxation Response, Dr. Benson discusses the actions of the fight or flight response and how, when repeatedly accessed, it can cause harm to the body. He notes, Our studies revealed the opposite was also true. The body is also imbued with what I termed the Relaxation Response – an inducible physiological state of quietude.

He goes on to discuss how the body is able to heal and rejuvenate itself through this process. In explanation he states, Regular elicitation of the Relaxation Response can prevent and compensate for, the damage incurred by frequent nervous reactions that pulse through our hearts and bodies. his research concludes that not only is this process good for health, but it can help to restore it.

In society today, where busyness and multitasking is the norm, it becomes even more important to understand the physical and mental toll that a fast paced lifestyle has on ones health and wellbeing. By understanding and taking measures to counteract the negative effects of stress, you can enhance and potentially prolong your life.

Focused relaxation is a tool that is easy to implement and one to consider as a way to improve personal wellness. Brilliant in its simplicity, many professionals are reluctant to consider it as a viable alternative for traditional treatment methods. However, as more research emerges, it is plausible that acceptance and use of focused relaxation will dramatically rise.

At the very least, regularly evoking the relaxation response allows users to find increased balance and peace. The healing effects that it yields are not just temporary boosts; they can substantially impact your systemic health, making it more resilient to future stressful encounters. this is Part four of a five-part series on the benefits of focused relaxation.

Relaxation techniques for public speaking can be tremendously important in helping you to overcome the nerves that commonly precede speaking in public. You may be surprised to learn that even people who must speak in public on a regular basis often experience a case of the nerves. the difference is that they know how to utilize relaxation techniques for public speaking to help them calm their nerves so that they can give their speech or presentation.

There are many different techniques that can be used to help you relax prior to giving a speech. Progressive muscle relaxation is one of the most common and the most effective. You may have noticed that prior to giving a speech, it feels as though every muscle in your body is taut with tension. This can make your nerves even worse so it is important to learn how to release that tension. You can do this by relaxing each muscle group in your body progressively. begin with your feet. Flex each foot for about fifteen seconds and then release it. Do this with each muscle group as you move all the way up your body. You should end with the facial muscles. once you have finished you will likely notice that your muscles do not feel nearly as taut and that you feel calmer. Try practicing this technique a few minutes before you must give a speech.

Another effective technique for relaxing before you must give a public speech is deep breathing. have you noticed that you have a hard time catching your breath before you must speak in public? Are you afraid you are going to hyperventilate? If so, this technique is for you. to practice this technique, inhale slowly. make sure you have taken a full, deep breath. Hold the breath for several counts and then slowly exhale through your mouth. Perform this technique several times and you should begin to feel some of the stress and anxiety melt away.

Dry mouth is another common problem for some people. You may have difficulty swallowing just before you give your speech. Staying hydrated the day before you give your speech can be helpful it can also help to keep some sugarless candy in your pocket as well. Try sucking on a piece of candy just before you must give your speech.

Remember that speaking in public can be unnerving for many people. Learning relaxation techniques for public speaking can help you to overcome your nerves and speak in style.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trevor_Johnson

Chances are you are having issues when it comes time to go to bed, either you are counting sheep or just staring blankly at your ceiling, but don’t worry help is here. Falling asleep shouldn’t be difficult, and if you are having problems falling asleep you may suffer from insomnia or some other condition. Natural cures are one of the growing trends in terms of sleeping aids, so that is something you may want to look into.

Sleeping Aids – Does this stuff work?

Melatonin is something you should look for when buying a sleeping aid, as it is a natural hormone found in the body and boosting melatonin has shown to have no side effects. Countless nights ive stayed awake trying to get some rest, but in this day and age that’s not something you should be doing.

Relaxation techniques can be used to relax the body before hitting the hay, and combined with exercise like yoga and visualizations, you can find sleep easier than you think The easiest way to sleep better might actually have to do with your diet. Caffeine has a profound effect on your sleeping patterns and drinks like RedBull and coffee aren’t going to help you get any rest. Magnesium-based foods are also one of the best ways to help as it is a natural sedative. There are other natural remedies to sleeping better, like exposing yourself to more sunlight during the day to give the body a subliminal push as to when to hit the sack. you could also try listening to light music that can ease your body and put your mind at rest before you go to bed. among other things to try are acupuncture, aromatherapy and scented candles, as they can help produce melatonin in your body and thus act as a sedative.

Nasal strips are one of the latest natural sleeping aids that can help you fall asleep faster by opening your nose for better breathing, and thereby better sleep. if you exercise more you will notice your body get tired faster and this can also be used as a natural method of falling asleep. A better rest isn’t that hard to come by, so don’t give up, sleeping aids do work if you use them properly and they don’t have to be expensive.

It makes so much sense to think that Yoga’s relaxation techniques would help a person with phobias, and extreme anxiety, cope with his or her irrational fears. Yet, there are reasons why relaxation may fail. Let’s take a closer look at the obstacles that may hinder the progress Yogic relaxation can make.

State of Mind: the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual states of well being are out of balance when we experience constant bouts with irrational fear. Relaxation techniques are another method in Yoga’s tool chest for training the mind. for one to relax, proper preparation is the keystone.

A warm bath or shower will help loosen muscle tension. Asanas will also help release tension. this helps relax the body, and the mind will follow. Aromatherapy scents for bringing about states of relaxation, such as vanilla, lavender, chamomile, rose, jasmine, bergamot, and sandalwood are good aromas for soap, oils, or after-bath creams.

If one has a difficult time relaxing, try using any of the above-named scents, during and after, a warm shower or bath. A few restorative Yoga postures will also make a nice addition to change one’s state of mind. Relaxing music, at a low volume, might also help. Controlling one’s breath (pranayama) is another method that may ease phobias or anxiety. it can be practiced before, during, and after a Yogic relaxation session.

Common Objections: There are many objections people fall back on to prevent a relaxation session. here are a few: “Can’t we just skip this and take medication.” “Relaxation won’t work on me.” “I’m so stressed out; I don’t have time for Yoga or relaxation sessions.”

Prescribed medication might be a solution, but why volunteer to take a prescription, if you can find a natural solution with no side effects? in some cases, a prescription could be a temporary solution. this is a decision that must be made with the guidance of a medical professional.

If a person believes something will not work – it most likely will fail. every form of therapy, whether it is scientific, medical, alternative, or natural should fail, if we strongly believe it will not work.

Time: just saying, “I don’t have time to relax,” is self-defeating. When I was a teenager, I worked for my grandfather as a roofer. as a young man, it was hard work, but it took a toll on the roofers who were over 50. There are some jobs that require so much physical energy, that every muscle in your body aches from exhaustion.

No matter how taxing your job or life is, you have time to relax. as my wife, Marie, says: “Yogic relaxation and meditation; are like the maraschino cherry on top of a hot fudge sundae.” in other words – relaxation and meditation are the most prized techniques that Yoga has to offer. That says a lot – if we consider the many valued aspects of our Yoga practice.