Relaxation for Riders: Learn to Chill Out!

your best and how accurately you can produce it when you need to. In short if you are going to become good at your mental game then the skill of managing your own body is a must.
Exercise 1 Breathing Right
To begin sit comfortably in a chair or bed and place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest. Breathe normally. Now ask yourself these questions How fast is your breath? How fully are you breathing how far down does it go?
Now begin to breathe again this time focussing on dropping your breath low as if you are breathing through your feet. As you are inhaling it may be helpful to imagine that you are filling up three separate sections of your lungs. First concentrate on your abdomen making it expand with air.
Next fill the middle portion of your lungs by expanding the chest cavity and raising the rib cage and chest. Finally allow the upper portion to be filled and you will notice your upper chest expand and your shoulders raise slightly. When you feel full begin to exhale by pulling the abdomen in this is what pulls the diaphragm up and you should notice your shoulders drop as well as your upper chest as the air begins to leave your lungs. Make sure the exhalation is complete forcing all the air out and letting go of all muscular tension as you do. Say this silently to yourself on the exhale As I breathe out I let go of all the tension in my body.
Now ask yourself those two key questions again. Do you notice any difference? By simply practicing this exercise you will begin to notice that the difference becomes more dramatic. This will help you directly experience what it feels like to breathe correctly and increase your confidence in your ability to regulate your breath.
Exercise 2 Progressive Relaxation
Progressive relaxation involves alternately tensing and relaxing all the major muscle groups in your body one at a time. The idea behind progressive relaxation is that it will enable you to detect tension and the location of that tension in your body. In other words it can help you to become more aware of your body. Simply lay or sit down in a comfortable place and alternately tense and relax each major muscle group in your body your facial muscles neck shoulders chest arms hands buttocks thighs calves