Relaxation "Picture"

[dimitris33]

Ok, everyone is trying to bring his mind and his body at his perfect "picture" while relaxing or holding his breath..

I took a course recently regarding beathing and relaxation and the the instructor told us that music and other people are not allowed to exist in that picture..

Because in my entire life upto now I'm a continuous moving person (even at the beach when my wife and friends are relaxing i'm doing various things like playing ball, rackets, swimming, snorkeling, etc), in other words I CANNOT SIT DOWN.

So its quite difficult for me to find a "picture" to relax as when i bring my self in my mind sitting on a nice beach relaxing i dont feel good!! But when I think that i'm doing something like snorkeling or diving or kitesurfing instantly i'm thinking that this is not good for my relaxation and i'm again trying to stop doing things...

The rule no music no other people is correct?
The rule no action in my "picture" is correct?

Do I need a psychiatrist??????

Any good "pictures" to borrow??

 

[dimitris33]

something to add, big animals are also not allowed in "picture". Butterflies, etc are ok..

 

[podge]

For me music is the key, as I dive I can play note for note a piece of music in my mind and I find that I can relax a whole lot better for it.
Whether it’s right or wrong it works for me and that’s good enough (well good enough for me).

 

[bite ya]

I do sums....always end up with different answers though!! I find they keep me occupied and if i'm finding it hard to work out an answer i know i'm close to my limit! Time to come up!

 

[Alixir]

The rule no music no other people is correct?
The rule no action in my "picture" is correct?

Do I need a psychiatrist??????

Any good "pictures" to borrow??

Would it be a good idea to decide on your own rules, taking or leaving what you want from others' teachings?

I also listen to music 'inside my head'. If I try to picture, say, the yearly life cycle of a cherry tree or a jacaranda (gotta be cool colours), then all sorts of ideas start to pop into my head, and other people soon come into the frame.

Usually when I dive I don't think about anything apart from remaining relaxed and doing what I have to do. Pretty much the same for statics but here I find it helps to listen to music inside or outside my head : )

~ Alixir ~

 

[JennyWren]

I've never heard of any 'rules' for what to think about - just use whatever works for you. I try to think of things which make me happy...

 

[Kars]

I think one of the most important things is not to judge.
Considering and weighing anything really costs a lot of energy.

So just relax, do your self hypnosis thing, and just witness what comes up in your mind. If it's pleasing enjoy it, if it's annoying or hurting you can try the following to discard the 'bad' vibes for the moment.

Discarding a thought. There are probably more ways to do this, but I know only one, one that works fine for me. When you got the thought simply answer it by saying in your head "thanks for the .. thought, I'll deal with it later on. "
That night in bed you can reprocess these and all others that come up simply through an inner dialogue, and when a thought is to nagging, you can repeat above line, or some line that works for you.

In bed I frequently have 'creative storms' where I get inspiration and try to work things in my mind. That could keep me awake, so I do have to tell my mind to store the good thoughts and safe them for tomorrow because I now need the sleep!

 

[azapa]

music, kids, jokes, friends. If all goes well I'll be laughing quietly to my self or smiling at some point during the dive

 

[Wade]

I've been caught out with the same problem. I've played drums for years, marching, pipe drumming, kit drumming with bands etc. I've really struggled to find a "happy place" or "picture" and this anxiety showed greatly in my hold times.

My solution....
I started doing tables to a metronome set on about 40bpm and doing rudiments in my head (really slowly). I find that this is much more relaxing than stressing about trying to relax to something out of my comfort zone.

I also noticed that when I started doing my statics in the pool, I could clearly hear the metronome over my hear beat and tried to bring my heart beat in time with the metronome. No luck on that by the way, but if I make any breakthroughs......

Cheers!!

Wade

 

[Bill]

Funny you should mention a metronome. Whenever I do a tongue block, there is this beat in my ear. At first I thought it was my heart slowing but it has nothing to do with heart rate. The rate varies on a daily basis but is always in the 40 to 50 range until very late in a static when it slows down. Maybe I'm just a little crazier than most.

 

[Tall Paul]

I wouldn't be able to post the images that go through my mind on a static without breaking house rules ...

Don't think they do much to calm the heart rate though.

Paul.