Need to Relax? | Tweak Your Meditation
Photo by kevin laminto on Unsplash
In our previous blog post, "Which Comes First? The Body or the Mind?" we posed the question, "when you're in a stressful situation and need to relax, should you target a solution directed at the mind or the body first? What is the most effective option?"
Today we are going to help you answer that question. In addition, we will also outline simple tweaks to make your meditation more effective for relaxation.
Based on the feedback we received (thank you to those who reached out), a variety of methods are popular for relaxing, including:
Meditation
Exercise such as running or weight training
Yoga
Listening to music
Reading fiction or non-fiction
Watching TV or other screens
Stretching
Arts and Crafts
These are all common relaxation techniques, and our goal is to examine what activities might be most effective and why. Particularly late at night, when you are struggling to fall asleep and running, or weight training, may not be the best options.
First, let's quickly review what happens to the body when stressed.
When anxious, the brain triggers a release of neurotransmitters and hormones that stimulate the body's natural fight or flight response. Depending on the strength of this reaction, blood pressure rises, muscles tense, and the mind and body prepare for action. After this process begins, it can be almost impossible to relax.
The autonomic nervous system is made up of the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the "fight-or-flight" response. In contrast, the parasympathetic nervous system releases the hormone acetylcholine, which slows the heart rate and helps ease the body back into a relaxed state.
Bear with me; there is a reason for the biology overview!
As a result, to calm down and relax, we need to proactively stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. Recent research has revealed targeting the vagus nerve is an effective way to achieve this. The vagus is the longest nerve in the body linking the brain to the neck, heart, lungs, and abdomen. That’s one important nerve!
Vagus Nerve is a freely licensed work by Beth Scupham, under CC BY 4.0
When your heart beats faster, and your stomach clenches in response to a threat, you can thank the vagus nerve. When your breathing slows, and your heart rate drops while relaxing with family and friends, that's also the vagus nerve.
Research has revealed the vagus nerve is literally the mind-body connection.
Interest in the vagus nerve is growing rapidly, and scientists are studying how meditation and other mind-based practices work to calm the body. Recent studies suggest it may be the controlled breathing accompanying most meditative practices that is responsible for stimulating the vagus nerve and triggering the relaxation response.
This is cutting edge research, and there remains a lot to be discovered.
In the meantime, the key takeaway is that the relationship is bi-directional.
Stimulation of your mind can relax your body, and stimulation of your body can relax your mind. The vagus nerve makes this relationship possible.
As a result, the meditative relaxation response can be enhanced by adding a physical component to your meditation process and approaching it from both directions. In fact, this bi-directional approach is the premise on which we based Cassidy Concept Active Meditation (CCAM).
We asked the question: Why not combine physical and mental relaxation processes to give the vagus nerve that extra nudge it needs?
Meditation is a powerful and proven tool for many aspects of mental and physical well being. When examined from a relaxation perspective, studies have shown meditation can reduce blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, as well as negative alterations to brain matter.
At this point, it’s not fully understood why meditation is so effective.
What we do know is an enhanced response from the vagus nerve is possible. This can be achieved by combining additional physical stimulation to meditative practices.
Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation and deeper, slower breathing exercises are ideal candidates to consider.
Based on this information, and in response to our original question, we would suggest targeting both the mind and the body for an optimal relaxation response. A coordinated approach engaging both ends of the vagus nerve (mind and body) will facilitate a stronger parasympathetic nervous system response to help calm and relax you.
Simply put, try combining your meditative practice with some additional deep breath work and gentle muscle stimulation, such as progressive muscle relaxation.
So, there you have it. While all the relaxation methods listed at the beginning can be useful, we would suggest this enhanced meditative approach as the most effective way to calm down, relax, and fall asleep.
It seems deceptively simple, but recent science is supporting the approach and we can tell you from first-hand experience that it does help.
We hope you found this valuable, and we would love to hear your opinions and viewpoints. Please share this post if you found it helpful, and don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or comments.