The Science of Canoeing By Richard Cox

It is simple to learn to breathe correctly. Expand the stomach as well as the chest. Check up like this: put your
hand on the top of your chest and the other on your stomach. Breathe out first, then as you breathe in, your lower
hand will rise first if you are doing it correctly. Anxiety itself can lead to incorrect breathing, and learning to
counteract this by proper breathing also counteracts the build-up of anxiety. As a temporary measure, if your
breathing becomes irregular, faster and more shallow during an anxious moment, simply breathe into cupped
hands enclosing nose and mouth. This will get your breathing back to normal.
Cue-Controlled Relaxation
Cue words such as 'calm' or 'serene' or 'relax' are words which, as they become associated with the body feelings
of relaxation, will eventually, of their own accord, become cues for relaxation. That is, if you say the cue to
yourself it will immediately trigger off feelings of relaxation. In order to associate the cue word in this way of
relaxation, use it when you practise in the following manner: after each relaxation session, when you are feeling
relaxed, breathe deeply, but not too deeply, and in the correct manner as described above. Do this twenty times,
each time you breathe out saying your chosen word (e.g. 'calm'). Repeat this for five weeks after each session of
relaxation. Use the same key word each time you practise.
Combining Muscle Groups
When you have learnt to relax using the above method you can start to learn to relax more quickly. However, do
not attempt the quick relaxation before you have learnt to fully relax each of the sixteen muscles mentioned
above.
You can learn to relax more quickly than previously by the method of combining muscle groups. You can start
by combining the muscles in Major Group 1, tensing both biceps and both hands at the same time. You then
relax for thirty-six seconds. Repeat the tension and relaxation, only tensing for a few seconds. Check that all the
muscles in the hands and arms are relaxed. If any muscle group, say the right biceps, is still tense, briefly tense it
and then relax it, as you have been doing when practising the muscle group individually. Practise this muscle
until it has fully relaxed and then go back to practising the whole Major Group. After you have learnt Major
Group 1, carry on with Major Group 2 and so on. Practise this method of combining muscle groups for a couple
of weeks.
Relaxing without Tension
Do not start this until you are confident you can relax your muscles by combining muscle groups. Then you can
gradually fade out the tension part of the exercise by gradually tensing the muscles less and less each time you
practise, until eventually you do not tense them at all. When you can achieve relaxation quickly without tensing,
you can unobtrusively practise this skill at any time of the day. You can also practise relaxing those muscles you
are not using, even when you are doing something active, such as walking, talking, driving (but do not relax too
deeply when driving!). It is at this stage when you are learning to become even more relaxed in your day-to-day
activities, so it is important to practise several times a day, naturally at first in those situations which do not
normally make you anxious.