I'm a few days into my vacation and am finally starting to really relax and really enjoy the time with my family. It's so easy, on a day to day basis, to get used to being stressed out so that it almost feels like our natural state. Of course we all know, stress is not the state our body was meant to be in for long periods of time and that stress can lead to all kinds of problems including illness, insomnia, tension, anxiety and depression. Therefore, relaxation becomes a very important tool for counteracting the negative effects that stress has on our body and bringing our body back into balance. I personally think it would be great if I could afford to have a massage or bodywork done every week, but I live in the real world and this just isn't possible, either from a scheduling standpoint or a financial one. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat there that I am. Luckily we can take our relaxation into our own hands using a variety of techniques which cost little or no money at all. I will talk about several of them over the next few days but I'll start by introducing you to Guided Imagery today, which is not only a relaxation technique, but so much more. The linked article is an excellent resource that explains how and why the process works as well as answering a lot of common questions on the topic.

Guided imagery is a technique that uses all of the bodies senses as well as the emotions to focus and direct a persons imagination towards a particular goal, whether it be the elimination of pain or becoming a better skater. Guided imagery has been successfully used to lower blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol levels, manage pain, build the immune system and much more. I'm going to sign off for today, but will be back to introduce you to another relaxation technique tomorrow.  In the meantime, the following video outlines some of the many uses for Guided Imagery as told by an expert and practitioner in the field: