Resources for Body Reprogramming
Several people have donated resources on the following topics:
- Diet
- Sleep
- Symptoms
- Work
- Relaxation
Diet
Ann Walker, PhD is a nutritionist who specialises in dietary advice for those experiencing symptoms. Read her advice for people with fibromyalgia.
Bridging Dietary Nutrient Gaps
Does your Diet Provide Enough Nutrients?
Good nutrition is the foundation of good health, but, unfortunately, many people do not reach their recommended target intakes for vitamins and minerals because of poor food choice or lack of exercise. Dietary surveys over the last few decades show that the average food intake in Britain is going down but average body weight is increasing. The main reason is lack of exercise. Overweight people try to lose weight by cutting down on food, but this also has the effect of reducing the intake of vitamins and minerals. Eating foods high in calories, but low in nutrients (sometimes called “empty calorie foods*), like sugar, white bread and fatty foods, will make the problem worse. Unfortunately, much nutritional advice is very negative: eat less fat or eat less sugar. While it is important to keep these “empty calorie foods” low in the diet, too little attention is given to positive dietary messages – i.e. what needs to be in the diet for the maintenance of good health.
Poor health has been shown in many studies to be linked to low intakes of essential nutrients. The cells of the immune system are particularly susceptible to nutrient insufficiency, as, with a short life and frequent replacement, nutrient requirements are high. Each cell of the body requires more than 40 essential nutrients to be continuously supplied to it via the bloodstream. Without an adequate supply of even one of these nutrients, cells get stressed and normal functioning becomes impaired.
If you experience symptoms of ill health such as fatigue, low mood or frequent infections, the first step towards putting things right is to consider your diet. There are 4 basic food groups that are important to consider, as low intakes of any of them will, over time, lead to nutrient insufficiency. If your answer is ‘no’ to any of the questions A to D below, then changing your diet should be your first priority in your journey towards full health.
A) Are you eating enough fruit and vegetables?
The recommended intake of five portions a day provides potassium, vitamins and phytochemicals in quantities that no other food group provides. The effect on the body is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is the underlying cause of most disease conditions.
B) Are you eating wholegrain cereal products?
These are rich sources of magnesium, trace elements and B complex vitamins. Consumption of refined cereal products may jeopardise intakes of these vital nutrients and particularly magnesium. Three portions a day is a sensible target.
C) Are you balancing your essential fatty acids (EFAs)?
We require EFAs of two families: omega-6 and omega-3. Eating lots of polyunsaturated margarine and other products made from seed oils, such as sunflower oil (rich in omega-6 fats), and too little oily fish (rich in omega-3 fats), upsets the body’s balance of essential fatty acids and inflammation may result. Using olive oil instead of other oils and eating two portions of oily fish a week will go a long way towards reducing your inflammatory tendency.
D) Are you eating enough dairy products?
You need 3 portions of dairy products a day to reach your intake target for calcium. Dairy products of uniquely high in this important nutrient. People with dairy allergies or intolerance should look for milk or yoghurt from non-dairy sources that supply equivalent amounts of calcium to cow’s milk. If a non-daily product says on the pack that it has added calcium in it, then it has be equivalent to the cow’s milk product by law.
Bridging the Nutrient Gaps
Multinutrients
Dietary supplements are always best used to augment a good diet, not to replace it. People who do not achieve the recommendations shown in A to D above are at risk of nutrient insufficiency and, if at all possible, should adapt their diet to improve their intake. However, there are always people who, for one reason or another, cannot comply with these recommendations: e.g. older people with dentition problems who cannot eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, or those with specific allergies. In such cases, a daily A-Z multivitamin and mineral supplement is likely to be a sensible choice. Those who might benefit also include people who are on slimming diets or cannot take exercise because of mobility problems. Others include people with diabetes and older people who may have higher nutrient requirements than the general population.
Several leading authorities in the USA have concluded that all adults would benefit taking a multi. Multi vitamins and mineral can help to ensure a good intake of trace elements. Wholegrains are particularly high in trace elements such as selenium and chromium, so if intake is low then intake of these is likely to become insufficient. Selenium is very important for the formation of key proteins in the body, including those that produce the active form of thyroxine – the thyroid hormone that is responsible for the rate of metabolism of the body. Chromium, on the other hand, is necessary for the body’s use of insulin and on account of this has been called the glucose tolerance factor. Fatigue can be a result of any nutrient deficiency, so a multi vitamin and mineral supplement would be good insurance against any unknown deficit.
Antioxidants
The antioxidant properties of fruit and vegetable is particularly important, and yet most people in Britain fail to achieve even half the recommended intake of five portions a day. Those achieving five-a-day normally get plenty of antioxidants and do not require supplementation. Cases where higher intakes, using supplemental vitamin C (may be helpful is when there is evidence of inflammation in the body (e.g. eczema, asthma, catarrh, headaches, hayfever or joint problems) or if the patient has a long history of poor diet. But antioxidants are more than just vitamin C. The term includes vitamin E, vitamin A, selenium and the phytochemicals (plant chemicals from fruit and vegetables) such as the pigments found in highly coloured plant foods. Together these provide an antioxidant network which is protective of health.
Balancing oils and fats
The two families of essential fatty acids are often provided in an unbalanced way by modern diet. In general, the diet of today is high in omega-6 fatty acids from seed oils such as sunflower oil and the spreads and products made from it. Substituting olive oil for cooking and salad dressings and using olive oils spreads will help to reduce the omega-6 intake and obviously eating oily fish will increase the omega-3 intake. This will help enormously to right any imbalance, but many people do not eat oily fish at all. An indication for need to re-balance your essential fatty acids is any evidence of inflammation. Omega-3 is one of the most anti-inflammatory elements that the diet can provide. The greater a person’s inflammation, the more likely it is that are higher dose of omega-3 will be helpful (up to 2 g per day of EPA plus DHA). These high doses cannot be reasonably obtained from diet, as two portions of oily fish per week only provides 0.5 g of omega-3 on a daily basis. If higher intakes are required then supplements of omega-3 will be needed. Vegetarian forms of active omega-3 are now available, but flax-seed oil which is often touted as a good source, is only a source of inactive and not active omega-3. In theory, the body can make the active forms of these fatty acids from the inactive forms, but in practice this conversion is slow or even non-existent. It is much better to use omega-3 from fish oil or the specialised vegetarian forms more recently derived from sea algae.
Calcium
If you cannot eat 3 portions of dairy products a day, then it is likely that your intake of calcium is low. Non-dairy replacements for milk and yoghurt are often fortified with calcium and this will be to the level found in milk. Hence, soya and cereal milks, fortified with calcium are acceptable alternatives, but vegetables are not, as their contents of calcium are too low. If calcium is needed as a supplement, then use one also containing magnesium. High levels of calcium can deplete magnesium, so it is best to take a ‘bone formula’ containing the two minerals.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is required for the body’s absorption and utilisation of calcium. If there is an overt deficiency of vitamin D, then rickets – a bone deforming disease - can result. New areas of research are showing that vitamin D has previously unknown roles in supporting the immune system to deal with bacterial and viral invaders, for maintaining an anti-inflammatory environment in the body and reducing risk of certain cancers. Vitamin D can be provided in food, but even eating lots of oily fish – one of the main sources of the vitamin – we would not get enough to cover our basic requirements. We need sunlight on the skin for this, which is problematic for those who live in locations away from the equator. In winter, the problem is critical, as the sunlight is at such a low angle in the sky that all the UVB light, needed for the skin synthesis of vitamin D, is absorbed by the atmosphere.
For optimum health, studies indicate that blood vitamin D levels should be a minimum of 125 nmol/L, with optimal levels falling between 125-200 nmol/L. Based on the body's daily vitamin D usage, the Vitamin D Council (USA) recommends as much as 5,000 IU of supplemental vitamin D3 per day in the absence of sun exposure. Additionally, people with chronic health conditions such as autism, MS, cancer, heart disease, or obesity may need as much as double these amounts. In the UK, levels can be monitored regularly to make sure that you are maintaining the optimal levels, using the excellent service of Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. They provide a kit (currently £28) which you can use easily at home, based on a finger-prick sample. Contact them on telephone number 0121 507 4278. They will email the results to you within a week of obtaining your blood sample. For more information on vitamin D go to Vitamin D Council.
Sleep
This document provides advice on sleep and is provided by permission of Livewell Southwest, a health service provider based in the South West of England.
Authors: Victoria Partington-Smith and Joanne Veale, Assistant Psychologists at Livewell Southwest
Symptoms
Explore a questionnaire of symptoms commonly experienced by people with fibromyalgia General Symptom Questionnaire for fibromyalgia.pdf [pdf] 54KB
Symptom frequency table
This table provides information about the frequency of symptoms from an internet survey of people who reported having a diagnosis of either irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia (FMS) or ME/CFS (CFS).
- Some people have more than one diagnosis, so the numbers in each of these three categories adds to more than the total number.
- The number of people experiencing the symptom at least weekly is shown.
- The percentage is shown in brackets. By looking at the percentage of any symptom you will see how prevalent that symptoms is in people with different diagnoses.
- The message that this tables gives is the high frequency of many different symptoms experienced by patients with these diagnoses.
Please note that this data is based on reported diagnosis given by the person completing the survey.
| Symptom |
Frequency (%) of symptom reported at least weekly All N = 1751 |
Frequency (%) of symptom reported at least weekly IBS N = 1122 |
Frequency (%) of symptom reported at least weekly FMS N = 1127 |
Frequency (%) of symptom reported at least weekly CFS N = 619 |
| Waking up still feeling tired | 1629 (93.0) | 1019 (90.8) | 1111(98.5) | 603 (97.4) |
| Fatigue for no reason | 1566 ( 89.5) | 961 (85.7) | 1095 (97.1) | 602 (97.3) |
| Difficulty concentrating | 1489 (85.1) | 910 (81.1) | 1066 (94.6) | 587 (94.9) |
| Mental fog | 1481 (84.6) | 902 (80.5) | 1061 (94.1) | 583 (94.2) |
| Fatigue increasing the day after you are active | 1471 ( 84.1) | 872 (77.8) | 1078 (95.7) | 602 (97.3) |
| Memory problems | 1455 (83.1) | 883 (78.7) | 1050 (93.4) | 574 (92.7) |
| Waking up often at night | 1449 (82.7) | 906 (80.7) | 1032 (91.6) | 521 (84.2) |
| Easily feel too cold | 1407 (80.4) | 883 (78.7) | 984 (87.4) | 526 (85.0) |
| Pain increasing the day after you are active | 1398 (79.8) | 818 (72.9) | 1070 (94.9) | 558 (90.2) |
| Bloating of the stomach | 1366 (78.0) | 970 (86.5) | 893 (79.2) | 466 (75.3) |
| Pain in legs and arms which is not due to hard exercise | 1357 (77.5) | 648 (71.1) | 1070 (94.9) | 520 (84.0) |
| Back pain | 1348 (77.0) | 842 (75.1) | 1020 (90.6) | 486 (78.6) |
| Easily feel too hot/sweating | 1340 (76.5) | 841 (74.9) | 958 (85.0) | 510 (82.4) |
| Very cold hands or feet | 1339 (76.5) | 847 (75.5) | 933 (82.8) | 499 (80.6) |
| Difficulty getting to sleep | 1325 (75.7) | 830 (73.9) | 957 (84.9) | 504 (81.4) |
| Pain moving from one place of body to another on different days | 1268 (72.4) | 752 (67) | 1022 (90.7) | 486 (78.6) |
| Sensitivity to noise | 1264 (72.2) | 769 (68.5) | 937 (83.0) | 519 (83.8) |
| Stomach pain | 1233 (70.4) | 910 (81.1) | 799 (70.9) | 421 (68.0) |
| Sensitive or tender skin | 1229 (70.2) | 750 (66.8) | 969 (86) | 447 (72.2) |
| Irritable | 1220 (69.6) | 786 (70.0) | 860 (76.2) | 434 (70.1) |
| Sensitivity to bright lights | 1178 (67.2) | 718 (64.0) | 888 (78.8) | 487 (83.8) |
| Jittery, easily startled, often worried | 1175 (67.1) | 765 (68.2) | 840 (74.5) | 423 (68.4) |
| More clumsy than others | 1161 (66.3) | 713 (63.5) | 869 (77.0) | 482 (77.8) |
| Thirsty all the time | 1154 (65.9) | 736 (65.5) | 865 (76.7) | 440 (71.1) |
| Numbness, tingling, pins and needles | 1153 (65.9) | 703 (62.7) | 894 (79.3) | 446 (72.1) |
| Headaches | 1149 (65.6) | 722 (64.3) | 588 (74.5) | 453(73.2) |
| Feeling anxious for no reason | 1125 (64.3) | 743 (66.2) | 793 (70.4) | 395 (63.8) |
| Itchy skin | 1122 (64.1) | 735 (65.5) | 836 (74.2) | 421 (68.0) |
| Intolerant to some food | 1082 (61.8) | 806 (71.8) | 655 (58.1) | 406 (65.6) |
| Itchy eyes | 1013 (57.8) | 664 (59.2) | 756 (67.1) | 388 (62.7) |
| Constipation | 1002 (57.2) | 709 (63.2) | 710 (63.0) | 347 (56.1) |
| Feeling out of breath for no reason | 989 (56.4) | 628 (56.0) | 739 (65.6) | 432 (69.8) |
| Racing heart | 959 (54.8) | 608 (54.2) | 688 (61.0) | 391 (63.2) |
| Swollen painful joints | 953 (54.5) | 582 (51.9) | 766 (68.0) | 355 (57.4) |
| Cramps in leg, foot or bottom | 947 (54.1) | 601 (53.5) | 743 (65.9) | 357 (57.6) |
| Very vivid dreams | 944 (53.9) | 608 (54.3) | 656 (58.2) | 381 (61.5) |
| Feeling very ill for no reason | 937 (53.4) | 579 (51.6) | 689 (61.2) | 446 (51.0) |
| Depression | 920 (52.6) | 603 (53.8) | 690 (61.2) | 330 (53.4) |
| Nausea for no reason | 917 (52.4) | 619 (55.1) | 625 (55.5) | 376 (60.7) |
| Fatigue increasing after a cold or sore throat | 910 (52.0) | 558 (49.8) | 691 (61.3) | 396 (64.0) |
| Diarrhoea | 874 (49.9) | 684 (61.0) | 518 (45.9) | 281 (45.4) |
| Blocked nose | 871 (49.7) | 575 (51.3) | 651 (57.8) | 336 (54.3) |
| Urinating two or more times per night | 854 (48.8) | 563 (50.1) | 639 (56.7) | 330 (53.3) |
| Face flushes | 848 (48.4) | 536 (47.7) | 638 (56.7) | 314 (50.8) |
| Hands tremble or shake | 838 (47.8) | 529 (47.2) | 655 (58.1) | 349 (56.4) |
| Ringing in ears | 823 (47.1) | 518 (46.2) | 603 (53.5) | 347 (56.1) |
| Heartburn | 819 (46.8) | 569 (50.7) | 579 (79.2) | 272 (43.9) |
| Running nose | 786 (44.9) | 533 (47.5) | 572 (50.8) | 296 (47.8) |
| Chest pain | 733 (41.8) | 475 (42.3) | 577 (51.2) | 293 (47.4) |
| Feeling faint | 658 (37.6) | 419 (37.4) | 461 (40.9) | 333 (53.8) |
| Twitching other than eyelid | 558 (31.9) | 349 (31.1) | 459 (40.7) | 265 (42.8) |
| Twitching of eyelid | 546 (31.3) | 348 (31.0) | 434 (38.4) | 238 (38.4) |
| Nightmares/night terrors | 480 (27.4) | 316 (28.2) | 353 (31.2) | 206 (33.2) |
| Double vision | 469 (26.8) | 297 (26.6) | 372 (33.0) | 233 (37.7) |
| Boils or pimples on face or body | 448 (25.6) | 294 (26.3) | 309 (27.4) | 196 (31.7) |
| Choking sensations | 409 (23.4) | 291 (25.9) | 413 (29.7) | 169 (27.3) |
| Skin rash | 365 (20.8) | 252 (22.5) | 266 (23.6) | 146 (23.6) |
| Head colds, sore throat, flu | 353 (20.2) | 234 (20.9) | 260 (23.0) | 191 (30.9) |
| Mouth ulcers, sores in mouth | 268 (15.3) | 177 (15.8) | 214 (19.0) | 108 (17.5) |
| Loss of voice | 259 (14.8) | 177 (15.8) | 214 (19.0) | 113 (18.3) |
| Cold sores on or near lips | 79 (4.5) | 54 (4.8) | 65 (5.8) | 34 (5.4) |
Work
Page Content
Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain
How it Affects Employees in the Workplace
Advice about employment for people with fibromyalgia has been prepared by Charlotte Goodwin, an NHS employee with fibromyalgia. This guide was created by Charlotte Goodwin (Expert Patient) in conjunction with the Plymouth Pain Service.
What is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition which results in your body becoming extremely sensitised - up to 150 symptoms have been associated with the condition.
Symptoms can include:
Widespread joint and muscle pain, including the common feeling of deep bruising in certain areas when lightly pressed.
- Decreased mobility when getting up, especially in the morning
- Severe fatigue taking several days to recover.
- Inability to sleep or have a nourishing sleep
- Memory loss (brain fog).
- Dizziness particularly on standing.
- Temperature fluctuations.
- Sensitivity to light, noise and smells.
- Irritable bowel and bladder problems.
What impact does chronic pain have in the workplace?
The points below show some of the ways an employee may feel whilst suffering in the workplace with fibromyalgia and/or other chronic pain conditions:
- Isolated
- Frustrated
- Inability to cope
- Resentful
- A nuisance
- Upset
- Negative
- Worried
- Ignored
- Unsupported
- Judged
- Angry
- Useless
- Depressed
Information for Employers and Relatives of People with Fibromyalgia
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a common, but poorly understood, medical condition which results in widespread pain and fatigue. The main current theory is that people with fibromyalgia have developed an oversensitivity to pain signals. This is called central sensitisation and evidence suggests that it can result from a person overdoing things and not listening to their body. There is no simple cure. People with fibromyalgia are often perfectionists and this conscientious approach is often a factor in the development of the condition. They often have “good” and “bad“ days with the latter usually due to a temporary flare in pain.
Treatment:
Your employee or relative is attending or has attended a body reprogramming course. This course provides advice about lifestyle modification that can help recovery.
The aim of this document is to provide a brief description of advice that is relevant when the patient works or interacts with others. Patients have been given a longer patient guide.
At work:
The patient has been advised to change from one activity to another on a regular basis, and to manage their condition. Much of working life involves a continual pattern of behaviour over several hours. Fibromyalgia patients will find things easier if they are given regular breaks, or if the type of work they do is changed throughout the day. Fibromyalgia patients will also benefit from brief (e.g., 10 minute) periods of complete relaxation, though this may be difficult to achieve in a busy work environment. If they are working in an office, then the opportunity to move around may be helpful. Frequent stress-inducing deadlines are likely to be unhelpful, as will conflict at work. Patients are their own best guide. They are the best people to advise on work related modifications that will help their recovery.
At home:
Patients with Fibromyalgia benefit from a variety of activities over the course of the day. Patients are encouraged to engage in optimal physical activity, relaxation and doing things that create enjoyment. Patients are encouraged not to be static for long periods of time.
Patients are encouraged to listen to their bodies when their bodies provide signals. Frequent change of positive activity is key to potential improvement rather than just prolonged rest. Patients are their own best guide. Prolonged stress should be avoided, and patients should be encouraged to enjoy life as much as possible.
Body reprogramming has been developed through a collaboration between Plymouth NHS Hospitals Trust, Plymouth University and the patients themselves.
Relaxation
Videos
Watch Professor Ceci Chan’s gentle qigong and tai chi exercises
Audio
Listen to our audio guided relaxation
01 Introduction
Show / hide transcript
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:39:07
Hello. I'm Michael Hyland. Welcome to Relaxation Techniques for Body Reprograming. Nowadays, many people feel stressed. They feel stressed because we have busy lives, we are rushing around doing one thing and another. We don't get time to relax. Relaxation, however, is very important because relaxation is needed for the body to maintain its equilibrium. Relaxation helps our wellbeing and it also helps our physical health.
00:00:39:09 - 00:01:05:18
Relaxation counteracts the effect of stress. I'm going to show you different ways you can use to relax. All these different ways have been recommended by one person or another. But frankly, they're all equivalent in the sense that they all help you relax. You can't say that one is better than the other. But one thing which is very important is that some people find it easier to relax with one technique and some people with another.
00:01:05:20 - 00:01:31:12
And the important thing is that you choose a technique or indeed techniques that you feel comfortable with. The technique which you feel comfortable with is the technique which is best for you. And at the end you'll be able to choose the technique which you'd like to practice. By practicing regularly, you'll gradually counteract the effect of stress and hopefully feel happier and have better health.
02 Counting
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:33:19
Counting. This technique involves counting a very simple technique where you count one, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five. Over and over again in your head, you do it in your mind. You don't count it out loud. And you do it with your eyes closed. Now you can do it at any speed you like, but don't do it too fast.
00:00:33:23 - 00:00:57:03
But otherwise choose to speed you like. And when you do it, just relax and focus on those numbers. You will find after a while that your mind wanders. But that doesn't matter. Once you've noticed your mind wandering, bring it back to the counting. Close your eyes and just count. One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five.
00:00:57:09 - 00:01:48:10
Over and over again. Ready. Now sit comfortably or lie down, whichever you're doing, and close your eyes and start counting in your head, now.
This is the end of the recording. I do hope that you have found it helpful.
03 Word repetition
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:38:11
Word repetition. In this technique, you repeat a word over and over again. It's usual to have a nonsense word, a word which is not used in everyday language such as Kerplunk. But you can make up your own word, a word which is unique to you, and you use it only when you're using this relaxation technique. What you should do is to repeat this word in your mind with your eyes closed.
00:00:38:13 - 00:01:03:22
When you do this, you'll find that your mind wanders. But don't worry. When you've noticed that your mind wanders. Bring it back to repeating the word kerplunk, kerplunk, kerplunk. And you can do it at any speed you like. But don't do it too fast. So, are you ready? Close your eyes. Sit comfortably in your chair and start repeating the word,
00:01:04:01 - 00:01:38:11
Kerplunk, Kerplunk, Kerplunk. Ready? Start now.
00:01:38:13 - 00:01:44:01
This is the end of the recording. I do hope that you have found it helpful.
04 Positive emotion
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:32:12
Positive emotion. The purpose of this technique is view to have a very positive emotional experience and generate that positive emotional experience yourself. So in this technique, what I'd like you to do is to imagine a ball of yellow light floating above you and filling you with rays of love and happiness. Just imagine those rays of love and happiness coming in to you and warming you and making you feel happy.
00:00:32:14 - 00:01:03:07
Generate the feeling of happiness. Sometimes people use the word silent laughter. Just feel as though you're just filled with happiness, love, kindness. Now, close your eyes. Picture that ball of light and just feel the rays coming in to you. Just feel it coming in. Feel the warmth and happiness. I would like you to do this just for a few seconds while you get the experience of this lovely feeling of warmth and light coming in to you, try it now.
00:01:03:07 - 00:01:39:09
Now, this is the end of the recording. I do hope that you have found it helpful.
05 Progressive relaxation
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:35:16
Progressive relaxation. Find a comfortable position. You might like to lie on the floor with your hands beside you, palms down, or you might like to sit in a comfortable chair. Whatever it is, it must be somewhere where you can feel very comfortable and you can be completely relaxed. Now focus your mind on your right hand. Feel your right hand.
00:00:35:18 - 00:01:01:23
Feel that is becoming very relaxed. Feel the fingers becoming relaxed. Your right hand is heavy. Feel that it's heavy and that it's falling downwards. And now get that feeling of heaviness traveling up your right arm. Feel your right arm heavy and relaxed. All your right arm is completely heavy and relaxed. Just feel the weight of your right arm.
00:01:02:00 - 00:01:31:12
Now focus your mind on your left hand. Feel the fingers becoming relaxed. Feel the whole hand becoming relaxed. Now feel that heaviness, that relaxation. Traveling up your arm, your whole arm is becoming relaxed. Your arm is relaxed. Now try to focus on your right hand and your right left hand and your right arm and your left arm altogether.
00:01:31:14 - 00:02:10:09
Feel the whole of it becoming relaxed, now feeling that relaxation, traveling up into your neck, feel your head becoming very heavy. Your head is sinking backwards and downwards. Feel your head becoming heavy. Sinking downwards, downwards, downwards your neck and your head relaxed. The whole of your top body is now relaxed. Feel your whole of your top body, heavy, sinking downwards. Now focus your mind on your right foot.
00:02:10:11 - 00:02:37:20
Think about your right foot. Feel your right foot becoming relaxed and now your calf muscles becoming relaxed. Feel that relaxation in your calf muscles. Feel that relaxation traveling up beyond your knee, now your whole leg is heavy. The whole leg is sinking down. Your right leg is sinking downwards. Feel the weight of your right leg. Your right leg is very heavy.
00:02:37:22 - 00:03:05:17
Now focus your mind on your left foot. Your left foot is becoming very relaxed. Feel the relaxation now gain up your calf. Your calf is relaxed, but relaxation is traveling beyond your calf, up past the knee. And now your whole leg. The whole of the left leg is very heavy. Feel the left leg sinking downwards. Now, I want you to imagine your whole body is floating.
00:03:05:19 - 00:04:11:08
Floating. Your whole body is floating and you're sinking downwards. You're completely relaxed. Feel your whole body become very relaxed. Floating, floating, sinking downwards. You're now very relaxed indeed. Listen to what's going on around you. Listen, as I start speaking to the sounds in the room, just focus your mind on being present or where you are. Just focus your mind on the wonderful feeling of your body being relaxed.
00:04:11:10 - 00:04:16:21
This is the end of the recording. I do hope that you have found it helpful.
06 Thinking of a nice place
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:07:18
Thinking of a nice place.
00:00:07:20 - 00:00:30:16
Imagine that you're somewhere which is very relaxing, somewhere you've been before. You find very relaxing and comfortable. A place which makes you feel happy. It might be in the countryside. It might be at the seaside. Just think about a memory. A memory that you can take from your own personal past where you were happy in a particular situation.
00:00:30:18 - 00:00:56:07
Now, for this relaxation technique, all you do is to close your eyes and think about that situation where you were relaxed before. If it was in the seaside, then listen to the waves. It's in the countryside. Look around you and see all the trees or the fields and listen to the wind. Whatever it is. Try and visualize that experience that you had before, which made you happy and relaxed.
00:00:56:13 - 00:01:25:12
Visualize it as strongly as you can. So for this technique, you choose whatever makes you relaxed based on your prior experience. It has to be a real experience. You've had somewhere where you feel felt happy, somewhere where you felt relaxed. So think about that now. Think of your memory and close your eyes. Bring it up and imagine it.
00:01:52:14 - 00:01:58:00
This is the end of the recording. I do hope that you have found it helpful.
07 Breath watching
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:29:22
Breath watching. This technique is called breath watching because all you do is you focus on your breathing. You close your eyes and notice how you breathe in and out automatically. You make no effort to change your breathing. You just watch it happening. You just focus on what your body is doing automatically. A very simple technique. Just focus on your breathing.
00:00:29:24 - 00:00:55:00
So close your eyes. Sit comfortably in the chair and just focus on your breathing. Now, again, remember that sometimes your mind will wonder. You'll find that you're not focusing on your breathing. If this happens, don't worry. Just bring your mind back. Focusing on the breathing again. Ready, close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. Breathe. Naturally. Now.
00:01:25:11 - 00:01:30:23
This is the end of the recording. I do hope that you have found it helpful.
08 Relaxing music
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Here is some relaxing music
09 On a beach
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:06:00
Imagine yourself on the beach listening to the sound of the waves.
00:00:07:00 - 00:04:33:15
This is the end of the recording. I do hope that you have found it helpful.
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