Four Basic Elements of Arthritis

A Quiet Environment: Turn off not only itemal stimuli but also distractions.

An Object to Dwell Upon or a Mental device: For example repeating a word or sound like the word one, gazing at a symbol like a flower, or concentrating on a feeling, such as peace.

A Passive Attitude: This is the most essential factor. It is an emptying of all thoughts and distractions from your mind. Thoughts, imagery, and feeling may drift into awareness-don’t concentrate on them, but allow them to pass on.

A Comfortable Position: You should be comfortable enough to remain in the same position for 20 minutes.

Technique for Eliciting the Relaxation Response

Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
Close your eye
Deeply relax all your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face. Keep them relaxed.
Breathe in through your nose. Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out through your mouth, say the word one silently to yourself. Try to empty all thoughts from your mind, concentrate on one.
Continue for 10 to 20 minutes-you may open your eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed. Do not stand up for a few minutes.
Do not worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them, and return to repeating one.
Practice once or twice daily, but ideally not within two hours after any meal, since digestive processes seem to interfere with elicitation of relaxation responses.

You may have noticed that this exercise is very much like meditation. In fact, meditation has provided the principles of the relaxation response. There is no need to spend a lot of money to learn to meditate. You now know all the steps.