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I’d like to share a little secret about relaxation techniques for athletes (or health-minded people that workout) and anyone that wants to feel more focused, calm, healthy and peaceful.

But first, let’s define relaxation techniques, or more specifically, meditation. To begin, it’s not necessary to be a Zen master to learn meditation. Anyone can jump-in at any time and start meditating. You should put any expectations aside; do not try to force the outcome; don’t try to over-analyze “what meditation is”; and in general, just turn-off the brain and be in the moment. When meditating it is not necessary to blank out your mind or chase thoughts away. You’ll learn that as you progress with meditation, your mind will become quieter. Sit comfortably, with your spine reasonably straight. You can rest against a chair, a wall or headboard. Your hands can rest comfortably at your side or on your lap. Your legs can also be in any comfortable position (crossing them or any complicated pretzel position is not necessary). Overall, allow your body to sit comfortably so your body-mind-spirit can be open to relax.

There are different types of meditations that you can use in your daily practice. Here are a few:

* Mindfulness - A process focusing on physical sensations and being present of the moment. It is being attentive to the sensory information entering your mind through your five senses. Beneficial to athletes, people in body pain or someone with a health challenge, dieters and overall for body awareness.

* Visualization - This process creates in the mind specific places or situations, such as a green forest or the calming waves of the ocean. This can be used for goal setting or for quieting the mind.

* Breath mediation - A process focusing on the rhythm of breathing.

* Walking meditation - This Zen Buddhist form of meditation focuses on the sensation of the feet against the ground. Some people have discovered its benefits without realizing it was meditative. Pacing back and forth can be very calming on the mind.

This next meditation I strongly recommend learning first. In fact, I do a “sandwich” - I start with grounding then one of the meditations listed above and end my meditation practice with grounding.

Grounding - This process is being fully present mentally and emotionally and will help you feel more centered and focused. Practicing grounding will put you in control of your environment and focus your energies in your daily routine. Anyone learning meditation for the first time will gain great benefits by practicing grounding on a daily basis.

The Tree Meditation is the simplest exercise to feel more relaxed and energized. Yes, you can actually experience both of these at the same time! Familiarize yourself with this meditation by reading it two or three times and then begin. If you want, you can set a timer for ten minutes.

* Close your eyes and breathe in calmly. Each breath, imagine sipping air with a straw.

* Breathe in — slow — and relaxed.

* Imagine a beautiful, majestic tree. As you think of this tree, breathing in more relaxed, imagine YOU are the tree. With each calming breath your spine lengthens. See your body as the trunk of the tree; and as you continue breathing down from your head to your spine, down to your hips —continue breathing down, feeling more relaxed and calm; down your legs — your feet —supporting you like the trunk of the tree.

* As you continue breathing, imagine healthy strong roots extending from the bottom of your feet. Your roots extend deep into Mother Earth, anchoring your body. You’re healthy-whole-and complete; fully supported as you breathe deep into the earth. You are a beautiful tree; you feel strong, solid and fully grounded where you are.

* Continue relaxing and breathing. When you are ready, come back to the present — alert, confident and fully energized.

The last type of meditation is Transcendental. This is a specific type of meditation that must be learned from a certified teacher of the Transcendental Meditation program. Introduced in the late 1950s, this meditation focuses on a mantra (a sound, word or phrase that is repeated over and over, either aloud, as a chant or silently).

Studies of relaxation techniques have shown overall improvements of the body-mind connection for athletes and many health benefits for individuals. Taking the time to meditate and quiet our mind gives us the time to pause in our daily lives. It is the greatest power we hold, to be in the moment, alive and aware of our surroundings and our body. Relaxation gives us time to better organize our day, focus our energy and work more efficiently.

Start your meditation practice in the morning for ten to fifteen minutes. Many of the types of meditations - Grounding, Mindfulness, Visualization, Breath, Walking or Transcendental - can be done at home, work or out-and-about. There are hundreds of meditations to match the needs of the individual or to meet a specific purpose. You can find meditations online, in books, on CD and by taking a class. Over time you will have increased self-esteem and self-confidence; greater creativity; a greater ability to problem solve; and a more calming effect on your surroundings and the people you interact with.

Copyright 2005 Wayne McDonald

Wayne McDonald is the author of “Relax Into Health” - a comprehensive guide to completely relax your body in five minutes. He is the founder of http://www.HolisticWebDirectory.com - an on-line health directory of complementary health care professionals. For more health articles, signup for the monthly Health Newsletter. Send an email to submit-ezine@aweber.com

Have you ever imagined what you would have been able to achieve if you have acted on every ideas that come to you? Have you ever imagined what your life would have become if ACTION had been your watchword earlier? Have you ever imagined the kind of state you could have been now if you have been a person of action?

There are so many times we have an idea that would have changed our lives, can your remember? There are so many times we have seen somebody do some things and wonder: “I have thought of that before.” There are so many times we have felt we could do some things but somehow, we couldn’t or wouldn’t.

Action is a wonderful word we all need to get used to. You never can tell where you will get to or what you will have without acting on your inner longings. The whole development we have in the world today wouldn’t have been possible if those who conceived the ideas didn’t stand up to act. If they had decided to wish those things come to pass and NEVER bother acting, I’m sure we would still have been in the stone age.

The truth of the matter is that there are no substitutes for action. Prayer, fasting, wishing and day dreaming are NEVER going to displace action in our lives. Prayers have the part they play in our lives, but they are no substitute for action. The earlier we understand this, the better for us all. If you ever want to achieve anything meaningful with your life, you need to get up and ACT! Nothing will fall on your laps if you are not willing to stand up and go get it. If things just fall from heaven, the whole world would have been filled with lazy people who will just wake up and pray that things happen to them on their bed.

In the last two months, I have had several encounters with this powerful word. I couldn’t just believed all one can do when you decide to act. It has always been ringing in my brains where ever I go. If you are to emulate me, you won’t believe all that will be happening in your life immediately you decide to act on your dreams or any idea that you have.

If you think action is not important in our lives, when you wake up tomorrow, just stay on your bed and begin to pray that food will prepare itself and it will automatically walk up to you while still in bed. Do this for one hour and spice it up with tongues and see what happens. I’m sure hunger will descend heavily on you that nobody will teach you to stop wasting your time and get up.

If you don’t get your food by this means, why do you think something Big, a miracle or whatever, will just happen to you by just sitting down on your butt? Why do you think you will be able to achieve anything important with your life by just wishing and hoping. How many times have you thought of that lucky break happening to you which never does?

I want you to know this, NOTHING will ever happen to you if you don’t act. Get up, sop WISHING and start doing something! That is all you need to live a meaningful life. You have wished enough, prayed enough, fasted enough, you have even shared your vision(s) enough.
. Please add any form of action to your life. No matter how little it is, you will still know you have done something at the end of the day. When you act consistently, on your ideas, you will be surprised at the power you will have at your disposal. You will also feel good about yourself.

What is that thing that has been distracting you from acting, let it be a thing of the past TODAY!

This is to your success as a person of ACTION!

Adebola Oni

Adebola Oni is the Author of “The Lessons Of Life”. So many lives have been touched by his newsletter, Life Lessons Digest. You can have a copy delivered to you every week by visiting his website: The Lessons Of Life