Quick Relaxation Techniques

In the ideal world, you would manage stress every day through healthy lifestyle choices.  If you don't meet the ideal, however, you can still help manage your stress by using relaxation techniques.  This sampling of quick techniques should help. 

No relaxation technique works for everyone, so try several to find two or three that work for you.  Although any of these techniques will help you reduce stress on an occasional basis, all of them work best if you practice them on a continual basis.

Deep Breathing: Countdown from Ten
Sit in a chair, your back supported, your feet on the floor, with your hands flat on your thighs. Close your eyes. Inhale deeply (it should take at least ten seconds), pause, then exhale deeply, pushing all the old stale air out. Feel your shoulders relax as you exhale. Start at the count of ten and count down. After the last breath, open your eyes.

Micro-relaxation variation: Count down from three. This can be quite useful when you are in panic mode during the middle of an exam.

Visualization: Mini-Vacation
Close your eyes. Take and release two deep breaths. Think of your favorite place in the whole world. Now take yourself there. See what you’re doing. Hear the sounds that surround you. Smell the air. Feel the textures around you. Stay in your special place for a minute or two, then take two deep breaths, allow yourself to come back to the present, and open your eyes.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Sit or lie down. Close your eyes. Start with your left foot and calf. Tense them as hard as you can for five seconds, then let go. Repeat. Move up to the left thigh and hip, tensing twice and releasing. Then tense twice and release your chest and stomach, your left arm, your neck, your face and head, your right arm, your right thigh and hip, and your right foot and calf.

PMR can be hard to do because you are temporarily making yourself even more tense. However, it can be extraordinarily successful in releasing tension. It also helps your body learn to isolate tension so it will not move to other parts of the body.

Whole-Body Muscle Relaxation
Sit or lie down. Tense your entire body as hard as you can for fifteen seconds, checking to see that every muscle is tense. Release for ten seconds. Repeat three times. Notice how much more relaxed you are.

Hurry Around the Block
When you can’t concentrate, walk briskly around the block or around the outside of the law school. Breathe deeply as you go.

Smiling
Take a moderate breath and smile as you exhale. Feel the corners of your mouth go up and feel the relaxation in your forehead. Repeat ten times or until you can’t help but chuckle.

For more quick relaxation ideas, try the tips at http://www.law.suffolk.edu/offices/stuservices/asp/quick.cfm.

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