monomer/program_peace · Datasets at Hugging Face

line stringlengths 1 117
breath stop clenching your diaphragm and allow yourself to let go of the suspense
Very few of us have lifethreatening challenges Most of the challenges we stress over are
far from life or death and do not depend on adrenaline or splitsecond timing Given our bodys
design and the nature of our modern challenges the best strategy by far is to develop a
relaxed lowenergy disposition Know that even when you are calm you can still be strong
quick and nimble Let this knowledge validate your confidence in relaxation
Relaxation Activity Stay Limp Until You Spring into Action
We tend to brace because we are preparing ourselves to spring into action We have a deep
inner fear that if we relax too much we will not be able to react in time when something bad
happens Ironically stress leads to startling trembling and excessive bracing all of which
interfere with our ability to produce effective physical responses With this in mind imagine
the scenarios below and envision your entire body remaining completely relaxed up until the
point at which you must react
You are an actor in a play waiting for your cue to come on stage
You are a professional basketball player leisurely dribbling down the court with just
three seconds before you will make a fast break toward the basket for a dunk
You watch your friend accidentally knock over a glass and you prepare to catch it in
midair
Someone is yelling at you and is about to strike at your face
You are a football player resting on the ground briefly between plays
You are sitting patiently in your bosss office waiting for them to start your annual
performance review
You are reclining with your phone on your chest The ringer is on high volume and
you are expecting an important phone call at some point in the next five minutes
Chapter Recognize Muscular Tension Dormancy
Dont think of resting as something you have to earn and never feel guilty for taking
downtime We are animals Breaks are not a reward they are a necessity
Bracing Is Submissive
Another reason we are afraid to let go of our bracing patterns is that we use them as
submissive displays During an encounter or confrontation the less dominant individual will
brace more It is a visible proclamation that exclaims Look Im wasting energy handicapping
myself during this encounter Dont attack me Im not looking to fight When we engage in
this social paralysis we strain many muscles and drastically restrict their range of motion The
more serious the situation the stiffer we become
Submissive people adopt tight symmetric stances often pinning their arms tightly to their
sides They minimize the amount of space that their bodies occupy by collapsing themselves
inward as much as possible and then freezing in place When you brace your muscles in this
way you submissively close yourself off from the world Dominant postures on the other hand
emerge naturally when bracing is at a minimum Once you stop bracing you take up space
Dominant people appear the least stifled in their body movements Their motions are fluid and
open This is why expanding your range of expressive movement will help you convey
dominance So will asymmetry openness and repose in your body and limb positions
Relaxed physical bearing and relaxed body language are highly characteristic of dominant
primates Dominant monkeys and apes are eventempered and collected while subordinate
animals are uptight and agitated Of course none of us want to think about dominance and
status when trying to relax Still it should be reassuring to know that your unbraced and
relaxed posture is the antithesis of inferiority in primates Whether you are at a party at work
or passing time with friends and family be the most carefree laidback slackmuscled monkey
you can be
Find Calm Through Corpse Pose
Another way to confront tension is through physical relaxation techniques An indispensable
one is corpse pose or shavasana Corpse pose is a recumbent yoga pose in which you lie on
your back and focus on the total relaxation of your muscles Although the name is a little
morbid it drives home the reality that you must embrace some aspects of death to truly rest
You must retire certain defensive muscular contractions that are intended to keep you alive
While lying down in shavasana focus on retiring all the defensive contractions that you use
while upright including those that keep you from falling while walking Most people take those
contractions to bed with them every night this is a chance to let them go
Relaxation Exercise Corpse Pose
Assume corpse pose lying on your back You can lie straight or with your arms out at
degree angles and your legs spread at about degrees Try your best to completely relax
every muscle Scan your entire body for muscular tension of any kind Become a fresh
cadaver with no trace of rigor mortis Become a carcass resting in peace Become a limp pool
of flesh
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
After the first two minutes of corpse pose you will feel your neck and lower back start to
writhe Focus closely on this tendency to twist about Try to remain still Notice the
discomfort that stillness creates in your muscles and how it makes you want to squirm toss
and turn By inhibiting your tendency to squirm you quell the bracing patterns Building
comfort with complete motionlessness will greatly enhance your composure
When began practicing it found corpse pose to be a chore was so restless that trying
to lie still was stressinducing Paced breathing changed my experience completely As you
confront individual pockets of tension the long slow breaths dismiss and discharge them one
after the other A week of practicing paced breathing while in corpse pose for just five minutes
a day is profoundly transformative A hot bath can do much to reduce muscle tension and
increase blood flow so use corpse pose while soaking Epsom salts aromatherapy candles
and a breath metronome may help believe that diaphragmatic breathing and corpse pose
similarly enhance cold body therapy also known as cryotherapy in which cold air ice packs
or ice baths are used to reduce pain and tension
There are numerous muscles in our bodies that we simply do not know how to relax Our
necks and hips are full of them We toil all day without giving these muscles even a few seconds
to regenerate Use corpse pose to provide that time At least three times per day lie down
wherever you happen to be and replenish Eventually work toward a walking corpse pose
and then imagine extending that same kind of utter relaxation to all your waking movements
Find Calm Through Relaxation Training and Unbracing
As we have discussed most people are entirely unaware of the tension they carry in their
muscles even though it causes them pain One way to develop awareness is by engaging in
bidirectional control Bidirectional control or increasing and then decreasing muscle tension is
used to treat many disorders that are made worse by bracing When you find a posture that
you brace within let it go then incrementally bring it back and let it go again The more familiar
you become with specific instances of bracing the better you will be at noticing them
interrupting them and bringing them to rest
When you first find and relax a particular bracing pattern you may notice yourself
breathing more shallowly This is because bracing gives us a false sense of protection and
security and when we interrupt it we feel naked and unguarded Rebracing the area puts us
back into our comfort zone The only way to circumvent this pattern of escape and relapse is to
practice unbracing while overriding distressed breathing with paced diaphragmatic breathing
The unbracing protocol below will guide you through the process
Unbracing Protocol
Recognize a pattern of tension that you brace within It might be in the face neck

breath stop clenching your diaphragm and allow yourself to let go of the suspense

Very few of us have lifethreatening challenges Most of the challenges we stress over are

far from life or death and do not depend on adrenaline or splitsecond timing Given our bodys

design and the nature of our modern challenges the best strategy by far is to develop a

relaxed lowenergy disposition Know that even when you are calm you can still be strong

quick and nimble Let this knowledge validate your confidence in relaxation

Relaxation Activity Stay Limp Until You Spring into Action

We tend to brace because we are preparing ourselves to spring into action We have a deep

inner fear that if we relax too much we will not be able to react in time when something bad

happens Ironically stress leads to startling trembling and excessive bracing all of which

interfere with our ability to produce effective physical responses With this in mind imagine

the scenarios below and envision your entire body remaining completely relaxed up until the

point at which you must react

You are an actor in a play waiting for your cue to come on stage

You are a professional basketball player leisurely dribbling down the court with just

three seconds before you will make a fast break toward the basket for a dunk

You watch your friend accidentally knock over a glass and you prepare to catch it in

midair

Someone is yelling at you and is about to strike at your face

You are a football player resting on the ground briefly between plays

You are sitting patiently in your bosss office waiting for them to start your annual

performance review

You are reclining with your phone on your chest The ringer is on high volume and

you are expecting an important phone call at some point in the next five minutes

Chapter Recognize Muscular Tension Dormancy

Dont think of resting as something you have to earn and never feel guilty for taking

downtime We are animals Breaks are not a reward they are a necessity

Bracing Is Submissive

Another reason we are afraid to let go of our bracing patterns is that we use them as

submissive displays During an encounter or confrontation the less dominant individual will

brace more It is a visible proclamation that exclaims Look Im wasting energy handicapping

myself during this encounter Dont attack me Im not looking to fight When we engage in

this social paralysis we strain many muscles and drastically restrict their range of motion The

more serious the situation the stiffer we become

Submissive people adopt tight symmetric stances often pinning their arms tightly to their

sides They minimize the amount of space that their bodies occupy by collapsing themselves

inward as much as possible and then freezing in place When you brace your muscles in this

way you submissively close yourself off from the world Dominant postures on the other hand

emerge naturally when bracing is at a minimum Once you stop bracing you take up space

Dominant people appear the least stifled in their body movements Their motions are fluid and

open This is why expanding your range of expressive movement will help you convey

dominance So will asymmetry openness and repose in your body and limb positions

Relaxed physical bearing and relaxed body language are highly characteristic of dominant

primates Dominant monkeys and apes are eventempered and collected while subordinate

animals are uptight and agitated Of course none of us want to think about dominance and

status when trying to relax Still it should be reassuring to know that your unbraced and

relaxed posture is the antithesis of inferiority in primates Whether you are at a party at work

or passing time with friends and family be the most carefree laidback slackmuscled monkey

you can be

Find Calm Through Corpse Pose

Another way to confront tension is through physical relaxation techniques An indispensable

one is corpse pose or shavasana Corpse pose is a recumbent yoga pose in which you lie on

your back and focus on the total relaxation of your muscles Although the name is a little

morbid it drives home the reality that you must embrace some aspects of death to truly rest

You must retire certain defensive muscular contractions that are intended to keep you alive

While lying down in shavasana focus on retiring all the defensive contractions that you use

while upright including those that keep you from falling while walking Most people take those

contractions to bed with them every night this is a chance to let them go

Relaxation Exercise Corpse Pose

Assume corpse pose lying on your back You can lie straight or with your arms out at

degree angles and your legs spread at about degrees Try your best to completely relax

every muscle Scan your entire body for muscular tension of any kind Become a fresh

cadaver with no trace of rigor mortis Become a carcass resting in peace Become a limp pool

of flesh

PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body

After the first two minutes of corpse pose you will feel your neck and lower back start to

writhe Focus closely on this tendency to twist about Try to remain still Notice the

discomfort that stillness creates in your muscles and how it makes you want to squirm toss

and turn By inhibiting your tendency to squirm you quell the bracing patterns Building

comfort with complete motionlessness will greatly enhance your composure

When began practicing it found corpse pose to be a chore was so restless that trying

to lie still was stressinducing Paced breathing changed my experience completely As you

confront individual pockets of tension the long slow breaths dismiss and discharge them one

after the other A week of practicing paced breathing while in corpse pose for just five minutes

a day is profoundly transformative A hot bath can do much to reduce muscle tension and

increase blood flow so use corpse pose while soaking Epsom salts aromatherapy candles

and a breath metronome may help believe that diaphragmatic breathing and corpse pose

similarly enhance cold body therapy also known as cryotherapy in which cold air ice packs

or ice baths are used to reduce pain and tension

There are numerous muscles in our bodies that we simply do not know how to relax Our

necks and hips are full of them We toil all day without giving these muscles even a few seconds

to regenerate Use corpse pose to provide that time At least three times per day lie down

wherever you happen to be and replenish Eventually work toward a walking corpse pose

and then imagine extending that same kind of utter relaxation to all your waking movements

Find Calm Through Relaxation Training and Unbracing

As we have discussed most people are entirely unaware of the tension they carry in their

muscles even though it causes them pain One way to develop awareness is by engaging in

bidirectional control Bidirectional control or increasing and then decreasing muscle tension is

used to treat many disorders that are made worse by bracing When you find a posture that

you brace within let it go then incrementally bring it back and let it go again The more familiar

you become with specific instances of bracing the better you will be at noticing them

interrupting them and bringing them to rest

When you first find and relax a particular bracing pattern you may notice yourself

breathing more shallowly This is because bracing gives us a false sense of protection and

security and when we interrupt it we feel naked and unguarded Rebracing the area puts us

back into our comfort zone The only way to circumvent this pattern of escape and relapse is to

practice unbracing while overriding distressed breathing with paced diaphragmatic breathing

The unbracing protocol below will guide you through the process

Unbracing Protocol

Recognize a pattern of tension that you brace within It might be in the face neck