Module Three awareness of the physical self. Even though we live inside physical bodies, so to speak, it's not uncommon to proceed day in and day out with ever truly being aware of one's body. Unless we are experiencing high degrees of pain or physical stress how our bodies feel at any given moment can completely escape our notice, however, and increased awareness of your physical body is the first step in improving both your physical and emotional health. Even though it is a first step, the importance of being aware of your physical self in this space it operates can't be understated scanning. One of the best ways to develop a habit of being physically aware comes from mindfulness meditation, and this specific practice of scanning. This practice allows you to focus your attention throughout your body and take note of how things stand.

Since we often make stressful situations worse by holding tension in our muscles, practicing this method can make you aware even in the midst of stress of where this tension might be hiding and intensifying things. progressive relaxation. While scanning can be an effective tool in becoming more aware of one's physical self, a variation on this technique can actually improve one's ability to relax. This technique is called progressive relaxation. It's identical in process to scanning except that when you place your focus on a specific part of your body, you also tense up all the muscles in that area for two to three seconds as you take deep breaths, and then you release your muscles. By tensing and releasing these muscles, you actually release any muscular tension that you were holding in your muscles before performing this technique.

Progressive relaxation is a prelude to another technique called a relaxation response. This technique allows a person to immediately initiate a feeling of relaxation in the body without having to lie down or meditate. The relaxation response is achieved by consciously tensing all the muscles in your body at once as you inhale and then relaxing all of your muscles together as you exhale Well, the relaxation response bots can be supremely helpful when you find yourself in a stressful situation. And progressive relaxation is immensely helpful when you can't fall asleep in bed, among other uses of the technique, consciously tensing one's muscles is not healthy for everyone to practice. If you have TMD, a condition where you grind your teeth frequently, tensing the jaw muscles could actually be detrimental. The same applies if you have various types of physical injuries where the muscles around the injured body part are already tense and increasing tension can have negative results.

If you're unsure of whether you should practice progressive relaxation or the relaxation response, you should probably consult with your doctor or stick to scanning as a method of increasing physical awareness and relaxation. Physical stressors. As you become more physically aware, you should also become more aware of physical elements that create stress in your life. These can be varied and can have as much to do with what is outside your body as what you put into your body. Smoking, losing sleep, eating unhealthily or setting up your workspace none ergonomically are just a few examples of physical stressors. While stress is an inevitable consequence of being alive.

You can reduce stress in your life both by eliminating elements that cause you stress and developing strategies that reduce your physical stress. Exercise. When you exercise regularly, you can improve yourself in many ways. exercise helps your brain to stimulate positive emotions and eliminate low arousal emotions such as disappointment or depression. Exercise improves your physical health, your energy level and it reduces physical stress. That good exercise program focuses on improving your body in four areas.

Balance exercises such as Tai Chi, martial arts, yoga and gymnastics, I'll help you to improve your physical balance and by extension your mental emotional and spiritual balance as well. Endurance exercises such as running, swimming, cycling or aerobics help you to improve your endurance. Improved endurance means you can function Better for longer periods of time. strength. Weight Training is the best way to improve your strength. You can use free weights, don't forget to have a spotter, weight machines kettlebells or resistance bands.

Remember, the greater the weight you lift, the more muscle mass you can build. The more repetitions you do, the more tuned into find your muscles become. One way to combine endurance and weight training is the circuit train. This means that instead of doing three sets of reps at each station with 30 seconds to a minute to recover, you do one set and move on in a circuit with rest between sets. Repeat the circuit three times. flexibility.

Stretching is vital to a good exercise regimen. Not only does this improve your flexibility, but practicing yoga polities or other types of stretching exercises, also eliminates toxins in your body that creates stress and discomfort and stretching also prevents injuries. Even though we hear it all the time and know deep down that exercising is good for us. It remains difficult to put into practice and to keep it up. Here are some suggestions to help you maintain a consistent exercise regimen. Try to exercise at the same time each day and avoid exercise three hours before you go to sleep.

Find a workout partner. This can help when you aren't feeling as motivated and you can help your partner when they aren't motivated to stick with it. Never exercise beyond your physical capabilities. When you initially begin exercising, you might experience muscle soreness. This ache is a different feeling than a muscle tear, which will be a sharper and more pronounced pain. There's the saying no pain, no gain, but you must differentiate between the hurt of improving yourself physically and the pain of injury.

Drink plenty of water and eat a balanced diet with lots of vitamins. If you experience muscle soreness that lasts for more than a few days, you might not be getting enough vitamin C. Especially if your exercise regimen involves stretching. You need to drink plenty of water to flush the stress producing toxins from your body. Vary up your exercise regimen from time to time. This accomplishes two things. It prevents your body from getting used to an exercise so that the positive changes are decreased known as play Telling and changing up your regimen keeps the exercises from becoming boring.

Make sure that your new exercises continue to improve your physical self and each of the four areas balance, strength, flexibility and endurance.