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How to Relax: The Mind-Body Connection

The concept of the mind and body as separate spheres is breaking down in the face of research, showing the powerful connections between them. Perhaps nowhere is this clearer than in the realms of stress and relaxation. When you are stressed, where is the tension: in your body or your mind? When you relax, where do you feel relief: in your body or your mind? Clearly, it's both. You feel stress in your muscles and your stomach, as well as in your moods and thinking. The calming relief of relaxation can flow both from your body to your mind and from your mind to your body. Understanding the mind-body connection can help you relax, and learning to relax is good for your body and mind.

What is the mind-body connection?

The mind-body connection is the intimate and inseparable intertwining of your emotions and thoughts with your physical sensations and health. Your mind and your emotions influence the functioning and health of your body, just as your body influences your mind and emotions. The interconnection is often easiest to understand with examples:

• When you become anxious or afraid, your body reacts with faster, shallower breaths. Your heart rate goes up and your blood vessels constrict, raising your blood pressure. You may feel tension in your muscles and stomach. This cascade of reactions is triggered by your parasympathetic nervous system and is often referred to as the fight-or-flight response.
• That hyper-alert, tense state is not a conscious response, but you can consciously control it. Using relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation—pushing your body to behave as if it were relaxed—you can reverse the response and cause your body and mind to settle back into a calm mode. This is a great example of the mind-body connection that you can experience yourself the next time you're feeling stressed.
• When you experience prolonged or chronic stress, the unrelieved tension can have negative effects throughout your body. In the short term, these can include headaches, muscle pain, and stomach problems. In the long term, chronic stress can contribute to more serious health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of strokes.

The mind-body connection works in positive ways, too:

• Relaxation and mindfulness practices can improve both mind and body health. Studies have found that many of these stress-reduction, body-awareness methods can lead to improvements in conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic insomnia, and some types of chronic pain. They can even help in controlling blood sugar levels. (Note that relaxation practices may be effective as complements to medical treatment for some conditions and diseases, but they should never be considered as a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment.)
• Healthy lifestyle habits, such as balanced eating and regular physical activity, can also improve your mood, allowing you to handle challenges in calmer and more thoughtful ways.

How Relaxing Your Body Helps Your Mind

When you are feeling tense or anxious, physically relaxing your body can interrupt your stress response, calming both your body and mind. By focusing on your body and deliberately relaxing tense muscles or intentionally slowing your breathing, you can trigger a relaxation response in your mind. As your mind calms, your thinking becomes clearer and your mood improves. Your mind also stops sending signals to your body to be wary and alert, building a reinforcing relaxation cycle.

How Relaxing Your Mind Helps Your Body

When you relax your mind in response to signs of stress, you start a cascading series of positive effects in your body:

• Your breathing and heart rate slow.
• Your blood pressure goes down.
• Your muscles relax.
• You may experience relief from chronic pain.
• Your digestion improves.
• Your immune system becomes more effective in fighting infections.
• You sleep better.

All of these effects on your body, in turn, make it easier for you to maintain a relaxed mind.

How to Use the Mind-Body Connection to Relax and Reduce Stress

Now that you have a broad understanding of the mind-body connection, here are some ways to make it work for you in reducing stress and improving your ability to relax. Try one, two, or a few of them until you find the methods that work best for you. All of these techniques work better with practice and will have a greater effect on your health, mood, and sense of wellbeing if you make a habit of using them regularly.

Deep Breathing

This is a technique that's easy to learn and easy to use. It can be combined with other relaxation methods. When you feel signs of stress and tension, simply concentrate on taking slow, deep breaths. It can help to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth to bring your focus to your breathing. As you learn what deep breaths are, put your hand on your belly. When you breathe deeply, from your diaphragm, the hand on your belly will feel the rise and fall. You can practice deep breathing sitting up or lying down, in a five- or ten-minute break, or even to calm yourself in the middle of a meeting.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Sit in a comfortable position or lie down. Starting at one end of your body—your toes or your head and neck—tense and then relax particular sets of muscles. Clench each set of muscles for five or ten seconds, then relax, practicing deep breathing, and feeling the muscles release their tension. Work all the way through your body—from your toes up or from your head down—until you have relaxed all your muscles. Savor the feeling of relaxation. An alternative is to skip the muscle-clenching step and just concentrate on relaxing your muscles progressively from your toes to your head and neck or in the other direction.

Meditation

Sit in a comfortable position or lie down. Focus your mind on just one thing. That might be your breathing, a calming word repeated to yourself as a mantra, a soothing sound, or an object directly in front of you. If other thoughts pop into your mind, don't worry. Just return your focus to the single object of your meditation. As you practice, you'll likely find that it becomes easier to maintain your focus and shut out distractions and that each session leaves you calm and refreshed.

Mindfulness

Like meditation, mindfulness is the practice of focusing. However, rather than focusing on one thing, your focus is on the present moment. Pay attention to what is happening right now—the sounds around you, your breathing, how your body feels—without trying to change it. The goal is to be in the moment in an open and accepting way—without distraction from thoughts about the past or future and without judgment.

Visualization

Make yourself comfortable. Imagine a peaceful, calming place or situation. Bring it to life in your mind with all its sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and warmth or coolness. Once you feel sufficiently relaxed and refreshed, gradually bring yourself back to the present. Guided imagery is when you use an app, a recording, or a coach to guide you through a visualization session.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback uses sensors attached to your body to measure key body functions while you engage in a relaxation exercise. Biofeedback can be done at a hospital or physical therapy setting, or personal devices can be used at home. The goal is to help you understand how your thoughts and actions affect your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, muscle tension, and other body measures.

Other practices that can help you relax include

• Aromatherapy
• Massage
• Yoga
• Tai Chi

Simple comforts, such as a warm bath, calming music, or a hot (nonalcoholic) drink, can also break a stress cycle and help you relax your body and mind.