Healthwise: Practice relaxation techniques to reduce stress

• To keep stress at a minimum and reduce its effects on your life, you need to find and practice healthy ways to manage it. Start with your breathing.
• For a deeper level of relaxation, practice what is called progressive relaxation.
• Visualization can play an important role in relaxation.
• Practicing a method that seems to work for you on an ongoing basis — not just when your life is out of control — is important.

Everyone experiences stress and its effects.

Short-term effects of stress include headaches, shallow breathing, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and upset stomach. Long-term chronic stress can increase the risk for heart disease, back pain, depression, persistent muscle aches and pains, and a weakened immune system. Chronic stress can also affect your emotions and behavior by making you irritable, impatient, less enthusiastic about your job and even depressed.

To keep stress at a minimum and reduce its effects on your life, you need to find and practice healthy ways to manage it. Start with your breathing. Begin by sitting up straight. Breathe in using your abdomen which promotes deep breathing. Put one hand on your abdomen (belly) and one on your chest. When you take a breath the hand on your belly should move up while there is very little movement of your chest. Then exhale slowly. Breathing in this way relaxes muscles, reducing tension and the likelihood of muscle and back pain. You can focus on a word, a mantra, or even focusing on your nostrils, feeling the breath coming in and going out. What you're trying to do is put the focus on something other than your problems.

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For a deeper level of relaxation, practice what is called progressive relaxation. Start by taking a few deep breaths. Sit or lie down, if you can, and close your eyes. Starting at your head, tense your face by clenching your teeth and furrowing your brow. Hold the tension for five seconds, then release it. Next, tense your shoulders by bringing them up to your ears. Hold for five seconds, then release. Tense your arm muscles and hold for five seconds, then release. Continue to tighten and release each group of muscles in your body until you reach your toes. Focus on the warmth and heaviness of your body as you relax. Breathe gently for a few moments, then open your eyes.

Visualization can play an important role in relaxation. Sit or lie down and close your eyes. For five to 10 minutes, imagine you're in a place you love, like the beach, mountains or the house you grew up in. Breathe slowly and deeply as you imagine what you see, feel, hear, taste and smell in your special place. Be patient with yourself and with the process. Practicing a method that seems to work for you on an ongoing basis — not just when your life is out of control — is important. Doing so can give you a place of calm to return to when the going gets rough.

Raritan Bay Medical Center is offering eight-session courses in September and October that can help kick start your stress reduction. Tuesday and Thursday evening Tai Chi/Qigong and Meditation/Guided Imagery classes will begin Sept. 6 and 8. Also, a two-day Reiki Level 1 Training Workshop will be held Sept. 24 and 25. Call 732-324-5257 to register and for more information.

Paula O’Neill, MS, R.N.-BC, is co-director of Integrative Health Services at Raritan Bay Medical Center, a member of the Hackensack Meridian Health family, with Nina K. Regevik, M.D., FACP, ABIHM. Since 2004, the program’s qualified and credentialed practitioners have provided integrative therapies to enhance patients’ health and well-being with complementary medicine supporting the mind-body-spirit connection. Scheduled classes and private sessions are provided for a fee. To make an appointment, call 732-324-5257.