Relaxation Month

Throughout April in our Personal Welling Program we have been looking at Holistic Well being and Relaxation, within this we have tried different ways to relax and learnt the theory behind Relaxation.  We started the month with a taster session in Yoga.

We discussed and practiced different poses used in yoga, to start the session we look at the different benefits and reasons for yoga, which was very interesting and informative.  We practiced the poses, which I think we under estimated how difficult some of the poses were. The poses most people managed the best was the ‘Mountain Pose’, ‘Triangle’, ‘Warrior 1’ and ‘Warrior 2’ and some managed ‘Bridge pose’ and ‘child’s pose’.  This type of relaxation defiantly needs to be practiced regularly to gain benefits and build of flexibility.

Following on our relaxation month today we participated in a group relaxation session.  We looked into the theory behind relaxation and participated in Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) and Body and Breathing relaxation sessions.  To start we discussed the benefits of relaxation and how to relax as well as distraction techniques.  We practiced some deep breathing that is very useful during a relaxation session.

Everyone was than encouraged to find a comfortable position on the chair and close their eyes and listen to the soft music and the words being spoken from the script.  This exercise went on for 20 minutes and most people felt this was calming and De-stressing.  We then moved on to the Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise which looks at relaxing your mind and body by progressively tensing and relaxing muscle group throughout your body.  This type of relaxation is good for people that find it difficult to relax or focus as you are participating throughout unlike the body and breathing where you are just listening.  Most people enjoyed the PMR but like the Yoga these need to be practiced regularly in order to achieve the feeling of relaxation.

Next we visited the swimming pool and health suite to see if we could achieve a level of relaxation here.  Everyone was very positive arriving at the swimming pool and we all worked together as a team to ensure any less confident swimmers were supported by others.  After swimming around for 45 minutes we visited the health suite and were able to access the Jacuzzi, Steam Room and Sauna, these were especially relaxing.  Whilst in the pool we all discussed the benefit of using the leisure centre and the positive effects on our holistic well being.

To finish the month the group cooked a healthy social breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and fruit and discussed the benefits of a healthy breakfast as part of a healthy and balanced diet.  Discussions also centered on drinking plenty fluids especially water and how drinking enough water can help improve sleep patterns, mental state and overall general health.

We then finished with a holistic and mindful walk along through the Inch park and then along the River Tay.  It was lovely to observe the group members walking and talking naturally pointing out signs of spring and chatting away about how they were feeling because the sun was shining and they were out in the fresh air.  The group’s positivity and cheerfulness was a result of walking out in the sunshine, chatting and thinking about how the month has impacted on their own holistic health.