I voluntarily teach relaxation by the bed side for heart, stroke, and cancer patients in the hospital. I thought it might be interesting to address the 7 Myths of relaxation through the eyes of the patients.

Myth #1 If you slow down and relax nothing gets done.

Having a major health challenge allows you to appreciate the joys of slowing down.

Myth #2 I don't know how to relax.

The patients in the hospital learn the relaxation process faster than all my other clients.I guess their mind is not cluttered with all the stresses of the world.

Myth #3 Keeping yourself busy as a form of therapy for dealing with stress

A young stoke patient (40 years old) discovered that being busy stopped her from getting in touch with her true feelings.It took the experience of a stroke to convince her that there is no need or benefit for always being busy.

Myth#4 You need to accept that you are stressed.

A young man 40 years old was stressing out about having a stroke.In the relaxation process I was able to take him to a garden.This garden brought back memories that he had not experience for the last 35 years.He now understood that with these memories there is no need to be stressed.

Myth #5 Relaxation is from the outside.

One older gentleman who had a stroke told me that his relaxation was to please his dad. This desire caused him to forsake his family because he was always attempting to change the world. Changing the world meant that he got his dad's approval.

When his dad acknowledged him he felt relaxed.Now after having a stroke at age 67 he has decided it is time to spend some time with his family.

Myht #6 Relaxation should be a one time thing.

Most patients agree,as a result of their experience, that to be healthy you need to slow down and smell the roses. Slowing down is a process and not a quick fix.

Relaxation is not part of life; relaxation is a process of living in each moment.

Myth #7 It is OK to be all stressed out.

Sometimes you need a life altering experience (like a stroke or a heart attack) to appreciate the fact that you create stress. That is the bad news.

The good news is that now you know you have the ability to create stress, you can also find pleasant memories within you to help you create relaxation.

In summary

1. Relaxation helps you slow down so that you can notice the feeling of peace and tranquility and listen to your thoughts which will make you become more relaxed, productive and healthy.

2. Relaxation if practiced regularly give you a feeling of more energy as you notice you're becoming more focused.

3.Now you can notice the feelings, that it is not healthy to avoid a situation by being busy.

4.Relaxation makes you more aware, as you listen to that part of you that you now call 'relax' and notice the feeling.

5. You do not need other people's approval to make you feel relaxed. Also, you may begin to notice the feeling of the health benefits of being relaxed.

6.You need to practice relaxation regularly because you will begin to acknowledge and notice the experience of the sounds of the simple things in life.

7.When you discover your experiences of the ways you create stress, then within the next 30 days you can look foward with excitement as you tell yourself how many ways you are going to create relaxation.

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