The relaxation response is a state of physical and emotional calm…it is the opposite of, and serves to counteract, the fight-or-flight response (often a reaction to panic, worry, or fear). It can be a desirable state to engage, for example when one feels overly stressed, angry, anxious, or even afraid. It also happens to be a reliable self-care practice as well, one that promotes balance and, when needed, a revitalizing “re-boot.”

This exercise builds on Breath Count – but can certainly be used in conjunction with either Abdominal Breathing or Box Breathing – in that it provides a way “to measure” the extent of one’s effort to relax while also keeping the practice (i.e., as a “calming tool”) useful and effective. It involves a second kind of counting, one to measure the duration of each full breath you take. The longer an overall inhale/exhale takes is an indication of a lower heart rate and a more relaxed state of being – i.e., the relaxation response.

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Getting started:

1. Sit up and get comfortable – this can be done on a chair with your feet grounded on the floor; or sitting up cross-legged on the floor, usually on a mat with a cushion.
2. Close your eyes and say silently, “Okay, let’s relax…” and bring your focus to the breath; simply concentrate on the inhale/exhale, the air coming in through your nose and then leaving the body, or the rise and fall of your chest and stomach.
3. When you’re ready, begin a breath-count; start with “0” on the inhale, “1” on exhale, “2-3” etc up to “8-9”. Continue your count with “10” on the next inhale, and “0” on the exhale, proceeding with “1-2”, “3-4” etc. Ending this “rep” with “9-10”, you can continue with “0-1” on another rep…
4. Stay with the breath-counting until a single inhale/exhale has slowed to taking at least 3 to 5 seconds…

Perform a Breath-Length Count (BLC)…

1. When you feel you’re ready, try now a Breath-Length Count (BLC) to get a measure of your relaxation response; this means start a new kind of count to gauge the duration of a complete inhale/exhale. To do this, begin at the start of an inhale and count silently “One-thousand 1, one-thousand 2, one-thousand 3, etc” and continue counting through the entire inhale AND exhale. Then, at the start of the next inhale, begin again at “One-thousand 1” and complete the count. Repeat this for a number of breaths until you have a firm idea of [and we’ll call it here] your “baseline BLC.”
2. Now go back to doing some more breath-counting reps – or [!] engage in either Abdominal Breathing (AB) or Box Breathing[4] (BB) for a period of breathing (you decide how long).
3. When you’ve completed some more breath-count reps or some amount of AB or BB, perform another BLC to check in on your state of relaxation. As your BLC value increases so should your sense of calm and relaxation improve.  That is the Relaxation Response…

Concluding…

1. End with a breath-count or two, thus keeping your focus on the breath; then take a moment to notice the physical sensations of how less tense you likely are.
2. Smile to yourself (this actually has neurological benefits!)…and take in a slightly deeper breath. Gently open your eyes, bring your awareness back to your present space, and when ready, step more calmly into the rest of your day…

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*  “The Relaxation Response” is a term, now in common usage and taken from the book The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson, M.D., 1975, that refers to (put simply) an overall state of being relatively free from tension and anxiety, and feeling a greater sense of calm, tranquility, and peacefulness.