How do relaxation techniques work?
When we become stressed, our bodies engage in something called the “fight or flight response.” The fight or flight response refers to changes that occur in the body when it prepares to either fight or run. These changes include increased heart rate, blood pressure, and rate of breathing, and a 300 to 400 percent increase in the amount of blood being pumped to the muscles. Over time, these reactions raise cholesterol levels, disturb intestinal activities, and depress the immune system. In general, they leave us feeling “stressed out.” However, we also possess the opposite of the fight or flight response the “relaxation response.” These changes include decreased blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and rate of breathing, as well as feelings of being calm and in control. Learning the relaxation response helps to counter the ill effects of the fight or flight response and, over time, allow the development of a greater state of alertness. The relaxation response can be developed thro
