First Field Dressing First Field Dressing - SBT | Page 8

Part 1b
Relaxation Exercises (Continued)
This next Relaxation Exercise is used in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and is very effective at calming the mind.
We shall call it Awareness Relaxation Exercise.
Awareness Relaxation Exercise
Firstly, like before sit or lie in a comfortable position. Set aside 15-20 mins with no interruptions or distractions.
Relax yourself to the best of your ability. Let yourself go very loose and close your eyes.
Breathing
begin to focus on the air coming in and going out of your mouth and nose. Breath in through the nose, feel the
coolness of the air as it is drawn in through the nostrils. Feel your lungs fill with air, feel how your chest rises as
you do so and then exhale through the mouth. Notice how the air is warmer as it passes through your mouth.
Feel the tingling on your lips as the air passes over them. Repeat a few times.
Arms
Now turn your attention to your arms. Think about the weight of them, do they feel heavy or light? Draw your
thought pattern from your shoulder down to your elbow, imagining the muscle as you go down. Is it tense or
loose. Then imagine you moving down your forearm. Feel the hairs tingle as you slowly move down and then
finally through your hand down to your fingers. Are they tingling? What do they feel like. Now repeat this
process with the other arm.
Chest and Torso
Now focus on your chest, feel it rise and fall with your breath, feel the calming rhythm and then draw you focus
down to your tummy muscles. Are they tight or loose? Can you feel it move in time with your breathing.
Hearing
Now we can focus our attention to what we can hear. Can you hear your breath? Listen to the rhythm? Its
slowness should be nice and calming. Now bring your hearing to your movements. Can you hear yourself
moving where you sit? Maybe your foot moving or your arm making contact with the chair. Focus now on any
noise within the room. Listen for a clock ticking or the wind blowing against a window, water passing through
heating pipes etc. Now bring your attention to noises you can hear outside of the room. People talking, cars
driving or machines being operated, the sounds of footsteps. Just let your mind wander around listening to all
the noises but not thinking too hard about any of them. Now bring your attention back into your room listening
out for your own room noises and just stay there for a few moments and let your mind wander about the room.
And Out……
Now slowly bring your attention back to yourself, feel the refreshing feeling of calmness wash over you and
slowly open your eyes. Take a few moments to orientate yourself with your surroundings and slowly move your
hands, feet and head about to wake your muscles up.
N.B. The above exercise is best practiced in the beginning with someone else telling you the above so you can
focus your attention completely on the techniques. With practice you should be able to do this completely on
your own.