Gordon Rosenberg is a healing arts practitioner, writer, and self-awareness guide. Gordon awakened his natural healing and intuitive abilities through years of exploration and practice with many leading edge technologies. He is a Reiki master-teacher who works with vibrational healing energies through touch, sound, music, movement, and deep relaxation techniques. He’s conducted some 6000 individual energy balancing sessions and taught many students.
Beginning in the early 1980’s, Gordon studied relaxation and stress relief, including the work of such leading therapists as Dr. Herbert Benson, Dr. Hans Selye, Dr. Bernie Siegel, Jon Kabat-Kinn, Ph.D., Buddhist scholar Stephen Levine, and many others. He soon developed a program intended to help people in high-stress work environments learn to relax and gain more balance in their lives. That work led eventually to the creation of his own full Relaxation Program in the mid 1990's, including the easy-to-follow exercises in this book developed from his studies and practice with clients.
The information and exercises presented in this Relaxation Program are provided for informational and educational purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice, whether towards diagnosis or treatment of a health problem or disease, or for prescribing medication. This program is not intended to heal you of serious illness or injury. If you have, or feel you may have, a medical problem, contact your physician or other qualified health care provider. I assume no responsibility for how the information provided here is used. It’s always advisable for you to seek any assistance you may need at any time during the practice of any of these exercises. This includes mental or therapeutic assistance, if the energies, memories or emotions which may be released are more than you can deal with on your own. It’s my hope that you can be fully in touch with yourself each step of the way and determine your proper use of the program, and that you’ll find it to be supportive of your life and growth. I do not recommend that you ever do any form of movement or other activity which may be painful, strenuous, or in any other way discomforting. As with any course of study, I recommend that you use what seems helpful to you and discard the rest.
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 1: RELAXING CAN BE FUN ............................................................................................... 9
EXERCISE 1: LETTING GO......................................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 2: IT’S OKAY TO FEEL THE BODY............................................................................... 13
EXERCISE 2: NOTICING TENSION IN THE BODY........................................................................................ 14
CHAPTER 3: SENSING SELF................................................................................................................ 16
EXERCISE 3: STILLING THE MIND ............................................................................................................ 17
CHAPTER 4: STRESS & HOW IT AFFECTS YOUR BODY........................................................... 20
EXERCISE 4: LETTING GO OF STRESS....................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 5: AWARENESS - KEY TO RELEASING EMOTIONS................................................. 23
EXERCISE 5: GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE HEART.................................................................................. 26
CHAPTER 6: HOW FEAR CONTROLS OUR LIVES........................................................................ 29
EXERCISE 6: LETTING GO OF FEAR........................................................................................................... 30
CHAPTER 7: GETTING IN TOUCH YOUR ESSENCE.................................................................... 33
EXERCISE 7: DISCOVERING THE INNER SELF ............................................................................................ 35
CHAPTER 8: INTEGRATING BODY & MIND.................................................................................. 38
EXERCISE 8: RELEASING EMOTIONS........................................................................................................ 39
CHAPTER 9: PAIN AND HOW TO RELEASE IT............................................................................. 42
EXERCISE 9: LETTING GO OF PAIN........................................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER 10: DEVELOPING A DAILY PRACTICE ....................................................................... 46
EXERCISE 10: TOTAL BODY RELAXATION............................................................................................... 47
I’ve practiced the techniques in this book myself for many years, and I’ve used them with great results with hundreds of clients in my healing practice. I’ve found that by practicing these exercises regularly, a person can greatly reduce the effects of stress on the body and can make their life more balanced and peaceful. I believe that learning to relax deeply is clearly one of the best things you can do for your body, your mind, and your soul.
Many studies now show conclusively that stress and tension are major contributing factors in most illnesses. You can learn to let your body relax and ease debilitating pain, tension, and any number of other sensations and harmful conditions. When you let go of negative emotions and stress, you begin to feel places where you've blocked energy for a long time; you learn to sense your body more. When you sense your body, you get in touch with chronic conditions which may have been blocking the flow of natural energy for years. Gradually, you may learn to give up things that have been keeping you from being more healthy. You may learn that it's not okay to ignore your body. You may learn that our bodies need our attention in some ways, and that they need to be left alone to do their work in other ways.
Relaxation is an important key to the entire healing process. If one isn’t relaxed, the body isn't able to sense itself enough to be healthy. When you relax, the body is more free to achieve a higher level of health. Whatever healthy things you may be doing for your body now, it will be quite beneficial if you can learn to relax more fully. You can combine this program with whatever program or techniques you're presently doing and see how they may work together. You don't need to give up your present fitness or treatment program to learn to relax. I present suggestions for how you may incorporate these exercises into a simple daily routine. Ultimately, it’s for you to decide how you may apply this program in your life.
Throughout this program, you may find your body changing considerably. You may notice places where your body is letting go of stress or sensation. You may find that you can move more fluidly, or with more of a sense of selfcontrol or centeredness. These are all indicators that your body is freeing up and gaining more of a sense of itself, and they’re ways to know that the exercises are working for you. Even the most subtle, seemingly ‘inactive’ exercise can bring about great changes within the body. Visualization processes such as I use will assist you in gaining control of the most subtle body processes at a level where you’re free to accept beneficial changes.
The kind of relaxation I guide can help a person learn to release many harmful energies from the body, energies such as fear, tension, stress, anger, grief, and all emotions. When we learn to release negative sensations and blocked energies from our bodies, we can become more free of pain, or fear, or any number of other sensations. We can begin to release these feelings and sensations, by wanting it to happen and by practicing powerful techniques such provided in this program. This program integrates many techniques into an easy-to-follow and easy-to-do format. I hope it will serve you in discovering what you’ve been carrying in your body and how you may release it to be more fully centered and balanced in your present form.
Relaxation is our normal state. We just learn to be un-relaxed here. We can relearn how to be relaxed again. Learning how to relax isn't all hard work. Yes, it can be difficult at times – especially if you're just starting to get in touch with places in the body where you've carried tension for a long time. When you begin to let go of that tension, you may go through periods of frustration, or discomfort. Yet, it's possible to move through these stages fairly rapidly, and reach a place where you can sense your body and let it relax.
The exercises provided in this program can definitely help you learn to relax. They're designed to keep you in an experiential mode, rather than just processing information. Our minds are too busy most of the time as it is! These techniques will help you learn to release negative energies and work through emotions and negativity as they come up. We can learn to release tension by feeling it, by becoming more aware of it. Throughout this program, you'll have many opportunities to strengthen this awareness. You may find soon you can actually relax your body quite deeply and quite rapidly by bringing awareness to each part that’s “speaking” to you in some way.
We usually allow tension to be in our bodies, because we don't know it's there. We may even believe that it’s normal to have tension in our bodies, that we just have to accept it as a normal part of life. But it isn't normal to be tense. It's normal to be relaxed. We may need to "learn" to relax, just as we've learned to be tense. What might it be like if your body were relaxed, if you weren't stressed in any way? For many of us, this isn't even possible to imagine; we’ve been tense and tight for so long. But it is possible to learn to relax.
When we hold tension in our bodies, we hold back the flow of life force energy, the energy which is intended to flow naturally through our bodies with each breath and each movement. Our health is largely dependent on a free flow of this energy through our bodies. Often, when we hold back life force energy in our bodies and don't allow it to release naturally, we experience illness or injury. Many of the problems we have with our bodies are the result of holding onto stagnant, or used up, energy. For instance, if you hold too much stagnant energy in your heart, you can develop heart problems. And so on, for each part of the body. When you release enough old energy, you begin to feel what it’s like to be fully in your body. You learn to let go of tension and return to your normal and relaxed state. I hope this book may help you do that.
Relaxing isn't all hard work. Yes, it can be difficult at times – especially if you're just starting to get in touch with places where you've carried fear or tension for a long time. When you begin to open up to the energies in your body, you may go through a period of frustration, or discomfort. Yet, it's possible to move through this stage fairly rapidly, and reach a place where you can sense your body and learn to relax. This program is designed to help you get in touch with places where you carry tension, fear and other emotions.
The exercises provided in this book can definitely help you learn to relax. They're designed to keep you in an experiential mode, rather than just processing information. Our minds are too busy most of the time as it is! These techniques will help you learn to release negative energies and work through emotions and negativity as they come up. Here’s a simple technique that’s part of several of the coming exercises.
Try This: Take a moment and feel where there's tension in your body. Just feel your body and see if there's a particular place that's bothering you. Let any such place come into your awareness. Every time you do this, you may find new areas. That's okay. Each of us is different from one moment to the next. For a moment, focus on whatever area that you're feeling. If you’re aware of tension there, see if you can get some of the tension to release, just by focusing on it. We can learn to release tension by feeling it, by becoming more aware of it. Throughout this program, you'll have many opportunities to strengthen this awareness. You may find soon that you can actually relax your body quite deeply and quite rapidly by bringing awareness to each part that’s “speaking” to you somehow.
We usually allow tension to be in our bodies, because we don't know it's there. We may even believe that it’s normal to have tension in our bodies, that we just have to accept it as a normal part of life. But it isn't normal to be tense. It's normal to be relaxed. We may need to "learn" to relax, just as we've learned to be tense. What might it be like if your body were relaxed, if you weren't stressed in any way? For many of us, this isn't even possible to imagine; we’ve been tense and tight for so long. But it is possible to learn to relax.
When we hold tension in our bodies, we hold back the flow of life force energy, the energy which is intended to flow naturally through our bodies with each breath and each movement. Our health is largely dependent on a free flow of this energy through our bodies. Often, when we hold back life force energy in our bodies and don't allow it to release naturally, we experience illness or injury. Many of the problems we have with our bodies are the result of holding onto stagnant, or used up, energy. For instance, if you hold too much stagnant energy in your heart, you can develop heart problems. And so on, for each part of the body. When you release enough old energy, you begin to feel what it’s like to be fully in your body. You learn to let go of tension and return to your normaland relaxed state.
Exercise 1: Letting GoWelcome to the first exercise of my Relaxation Program. I hope it helps you relax - even a small amount in the beginning is fine. I’ll introduce this first exercise with this wonderful testimonial I received as an email message several years ago from a young man who discovered and tried it online. I’ve received many such rewarding messages. I believe this one especially tells better than I ever could the great value of learning to relax.
“After completing Exercise 1, a remarkable thing happened to me! For the first time, I got my pulse down to 70!! I have heart problems and high blood pressure, and I’m so worried because I’m only 21. All my life my pulse has been at 90 or above. I feel so wonderful. I sat here in front of my computer and cried because I’ve never felt my pulse slow down so much, and I realized I had control. Thank you so much. Incredible!”
[name withheld]Following is this exercise in written form. You may choose to have someone read it to you aloud while you practice it. Or you may download an audio version at my site www.authorsden.com/source. When you do this exercise and all others in this series, it’s helpful if you’re in a place where it’s fairly quiet around you, and you have nothing else on which to focus. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position, and close your eyes if it feels right to you.
Begin paying particular attention to your breath. Take two or three deep, slow breaths as I speak to you… (pause) Let your breath move slowly, and as freely as possible, through your body. Feel the air entering your body as deeply as you can. Relax and let your breath move through all parts of you. Let yourself begin to relax. Just let go of any thoughts you may be holding onto, anything from your day, any worries, any concerns. Let go of any thoughts about the past, or the future. Just let them go for now.
Let go of any sensations that may arise. Let go of whatever you may feel yourself holding onto, any thoughts, or feelings, or concerns, anything that may keep you from relaxing. Let yourself sink slowly into the place where you're sitting or lying. Let go as much as you can and relax into that place. You may feel energy flowing through your body. Relax and let that energy flow. Imagine that this energy can help you let go of anything that's not benefiting your body. Just let go and let the energy move fully through you. Imagine that you’re relaxing even more deeply. If you feel any particular place in your body, let that part relax more deeply. If your awareness comes to any spot, let that place relax.
Let this gentle wave of relaxation move more deeply through your entire body. Just let the energy flow down through your body. Let go of anywhere you may feel yourself holding on. Let go any fears or concerns which may arise. Let go of anything that may not be serving you. Just let go of everything. Take a moment now and stay in this space. Allow the energy to move through your body. There’s nowhere to go and nothing to do. Just let yourself relax deeply for this time…. Stay there in that space for as long as you like.
When you feel ready, begin returning to the room. See if you can retain this relaxed state as you come slowly back into the room around you. When you're ready, open your eyes, and continue letting go of whatever you've been feeling. Let go of any sensation that may be up in your body. Let go of this exercise!
Be certain you're fully back in your body before getting up and resuming your normal functioning. And see if you can remain a bit more relaxed through your day! This completes Exercise 1 of this program.
After the Exercise: How did you like this exercise? Did you find it helping you get in touch with anything in your body? Don't worry if you didn't feel very much yet. There's plenty of time to work with these exercises. You can go back to them individually any time you want, after you finish the lesson. I recommend that you do these exercises as often as you can, especially in the beginning, while you're learning this work. You may begin to notice places in your body where you hold on. We’re all full of sensations, full of emotions, all the time. It just takes time, and a bit of effort, to begin to discover places that hold these sensations, and to learn to release them.
Letting go is not an easy process. We’ve all spent many years holding on tightly to all that’s inside us. It can take quite some time to learn to let go of everything we no longer need to hold. Know that as you begin to learn the art of deep relaxation, it will work for you to whatever degree you open to it. Releasing tension in the body is as easy as becoming aware of it and forming the intent to let it go.
Yes, it's okay to feel the body. Does this seem an obvious statement? Of course, we can feel our bodies! Yet, we're often trained from an early age not to feel our bodies in many ways. This may be because somebody around us thought it wasn't right to feel our bodies. It may be because we ourselves decided for one reason or another not to feel our bodies. It may be because we suffered some kind of abuse that convinced us not to feel our bodies. For whatever reason, we’ve often decided it's not something we want to do.
The problem here is that if we don't feel our bodies, we're not healthy. A healthy body needs to know that it's being acknowledged, that it's being given the things it needs to keep it healthy. Our bodies know what they want, what they need to be healthy. If we listen to them, we can know what to give them. Our bodies need rest, and food, and other things. They can tell us these things. If we listen, we can give them what they need.
Does this sound preposterous? That your body can tell you what it needs. Why? Why shouldn't your own body be able to tell you its needs? After all, it's your body. Why shouldn't it know what to tell you? Bodies do tell us these things, but we often don't listen. We need to learn to listen to what our bodies tell us. The following exercise may help you learn to sense your body better and to refrain from judging what you hear or feel inside.
Exercise 2: Noticing Tension in the BodyWelcome to the second exercise of this series. This exercise is to help you notice places where you carry stress or tension in your body, and to help you allow that stress and tension to release, naturally and easily. Following is this exercise in written form. You may choose to have someone read it to you aloud while you practice it. Or you may download an audio version at my site www.authorsden.com/source. When you do this exercise and all others in this series, it’s helpful if you’re in a place where it’s fairly quiet around you, and you have nothing else on which to focus. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position, and close your eyes if it feels right to you.
I'd like you to begin now to explore getting in touch with a place where there's a particular tension, or a feeling of stress, in your body. As you do this, remember to let go of, as much as you can, whatever comes up in your body, as you did in Exercise #1. This time, also, I'd like you to pay particular attention to the kind of energy you're feeling in your body.
Take a moment now and begin to feel where there may be tension in your body. Just feel your body however you can, to the best of your ability. There’s no right way to do this exercise; it’s about feeling whatever you do in your body… See if you can notice any place that may be bothering you for whatever reason. You may feel this place as tension, or stress, or some kind of emotion, or as a general tightness or discomfort. Whatever you may feel, let yourself experience it as fully as possible. Don’t try to change it in any way. For this moment, just take time to feel it as fully as you can.
Now, look for a second place where you feel tension or stress in your body. Take a few moments to feel that place as fully as you can. Every time you do this exercise, you may find new areas of stress or tension. That's fine. Each of us is different from one moment to the next. We hold stress in different places at different times. The important thing for this exercise is that you’re learning to notice it. … Continue seeking new places where you may feel tension or discomfort of some kind... Each time you find another place, just focus on the feeling there for a moment. Keep your focus there for a few moments, then move on to another place….I’ll give you some time here to explore for new places of sensation in your body….
Now that you’ve had some time to learn this simple exercise, I’d like you to try this: Return to the first place you noticed, or if you prefer you may go to another place that you found along the way .. one that may be particularly tight or stressful in this moment. You may have discovered a place where you hold a deeper tension as you allowed yourself to go deeper into the exercise. Working with the place you’ve chosen, hold your focus there for a moment and see if it has anything to tell you. Just pay attention to this place, and let any information, or sensation, or feeling, come to you… Now, see if you can feel some of the tension there releasing, just by focusing on it. We can learn to release tension by feeling it, by becoming more aware of it. Awareness itself can be a great beginning to releasing tension and stress. You can take some time now to move your focus around your body.
Do this process now for as long as you want; feeling places that come to you, and each time allowing them to release some of the tension that may be there. Remember not to try to force the area to change in any way, but rather to let your awareness be there. Just relax and let that place soften or release on its own. I’ll provide some peaceful sounds for a few moments to assist you.
You can do this exercise whenever you want, for a few minutes to an hour at a time, systematically going through your body, releasing tension and stress wherever you find it. It can be a very powerful and very simple way to relax and get in touch with places that need to release stress from your body. When you feel ready, begin returning to the room. See if you can retain this relaxed state as you come slowly back into the room around you.
When you're ready, open your eyes, and continue letting go of whatever you've been feeling. Let go of any sensation that may be up in your body. Let go of this exercise! Be certain you're fully back in your body before getting up and resuming your normal functioning. And see if you can remain a bit more relaxed through your day! This completes Exercise 2 of this program. You may want to repeat this exercise whenever you want, or move on to the next exercise if you feel ready. I wish you a relaxing day.
After the Exercise: Did you like this exercise? I recommend you do it any time you can; make it part of your daily practice if you can. Each time you do it, you might take notes about your experience. Begin to pay attention to what's going on in your body, and keep track of it, so you can see your progress. Before you know it, you may see that it's okay to feel your body. You may learn that no matter what you may have been told about it, you can learn to feel your body more, and to get in touch with places where you hold tension and anything else that doesn’t serve you.
Most of us talk to ourselves most of the time. Often, we even talk to our bodies. But we usually don't listen very well. We may be constantly asking ourselves what we want to do. But we don't listen to what our bodies tell us. It takes practice to learn to listen to the body. We have to learn that the body has interesting, even important, things to tell us. My favorite technique for learning to listen to the body is very simple. There are many variations with many names. For our purposes here, I'll call it "Direct Sensing". Here's how it works.
To do this technique, all you have to do is take some time and pay attention to what you're doing. As you walk around the house for instance, watch what you're doing. Follow your actions, and see what your
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