In last month's article, the levels of relaxation were compared to the layers of an onion as the question was raised: How do we get to that bottom line (innermost layer) of relaxation?    Reviewing; There are three steps:  first is recognizing the need to relax (See "Relaxation" article in July's issue of Intentional Health), second is the willingness to commit to change and thirdly; we must work on controlling our thoughts and focusing on one activity.  "Relaxation" for this month will focus on...
 
Commit to Change (or "Deeper into the Onion")
When we are willing to make the change, we need to set a goal to relax and further, develop the ability to differentiate between the layers of relaxation.  For example; watching TV is one way of relaxing.  But, if we are watching news related accidents and calamities that happen around the world, this is very possibly going to create some tension in us.  Yet, we're going to consider watching TV a relaxation activity.  Well, are you relaxed?  Yes, probably to some degree, but not enough.  Another example is reading a book.  We are removing ourselves from the daily activities, daily stresses, daily problems, however what are we doing?  Taking our mind away from reality to the fiction of the book, but at the same time, we also take our mind away from our bodies.  So, we are not paying attention to the body. 
 
Another option would be to just sit in a chair and breathe.  That is perfect.  Focus on one activity, breathing as opposed to watching TV or reading a book. The question, however, is are we recognizing at the same time there are about 100,000,000 thoughts going through our head as we are sitting in this chair and breathing?  Relaxation breathing is a deeper layer in the onion.  Any other relaxation activities are again sub layers of eliminating tensions and achieving a deeper level of relaxation, as long as we are committed to making that change. 
 
Breathing is a form of a meditative technique.  We can utilize other methods to assist in accomplishing relaxation.  These tools can be tai chi, chi gong and I would say the most popular and common choice is yoga.  All of those tools should be directed with a sense of accomplishing not stretching, or getting rid of the pain, but enhancing our ability to listen to our body and relax.  Our body is whispering to us continuously, but our hectic mind doesn't allow it to be heard.  So, when we practice yoga and are in downward facing dog, our thinking can be:  "Oh my goodness!  My back cannot stretch!  I'm aching there! Oh, my hamstrings are not stretched enough! My calf is hurting! The top of my foot is hurting" OR we may choose to think; "Ok, I'm in a certain position.  Is my body tense?  Am I able to relax?  How is my breathing?"  We need to learn the difference between tension and pain.  Tension being: a slight abnormal state of the muscles; and what we're going to do about it?  Are we going to push them through (as most people do) or are we going to stop, focus our brain on controlling the tension?  Our willingness to make that change and consistently fine tuning the level of our ability of intentional focus can eliminate the problem of constantly being diverted by other thoughts.
 
            The goal of our treatment is to hear the tensions in your body and release them.