Robin Carnes

Robin Carnes teaches at the week-long Significant Others Support Group offered through Deployment Health Clinical Center (DHCC), a component center of Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. The group encourages the use of mind-body practices including iRest, breathing practices and Qi Gong, to help relax and promote mental and physical health.

Military significant others who face unique challenges may find relief from complementary practices they can do in the comfort of their own homes to manage stress.

These practices, tested by participants in our Significant Others Support Group, can help people become more aware of their bodies, manage their moods, have greater mental focus and problem-solve, even when there’s a lot going on. Most importantly, many group participants continue these practices at home well after graduating the DHCC program.

iRest, breathing practices and Qi Gong are three simple, easy-to-learn, self-care practices that most anyone can do in just a few minutes.

iRest

iRest, formerly called integrative restoration, is a voice-guided deep relaxation and meditation practice. It’s particularly suited for military families because it helps develop mental focus on the present, which helps people resist the urge to revisit traumatic events or worry about possible future ones.

It’s best to be comfortable when you practice this technique and follow the audio directions the best you can. If your body feels like it falls to sleep during the practice, don't worry, the instructions speak to a part of you that is always awake and aware.

For more information about iRest and how to get a voice-guided session, check out www.irest.us. There are also free iRest recordings available to the military community at www.givebackyoga.org – just write to info@givebackyoga.org and ask for a free iRest CD. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) also has a guideline for meditation.

Breathing practices

Similar to iRest, breathing practices activate a person’s relaxation response. These practices lower blood pressure and heart rate, relax muscles and lead to sounder sleep, decreased anxiety, less pain, improved immune function and better concentration. No matter what kind of breathing practice you attempt, try to inhale and exhale smoothly and slowly. When breathing is even and smooth, the mind is even and smooth. Breathing practices can include abdominal diaphragmatic breathing, ocean sounding breath (Ujayi), alternate nostril breathing, three-part breath and bee breath.

The National Center for Telehealth and Technology, a DCoE component center, developed a mobile app called Breathe2Relax for the iPhone that guides diaphragmatic breathing exercise. You can record your stress level and use hands-on exercises to help with mood and anxiety management.

Qi Gong

The Ancient Chinese discipline of Qi Gong increases the flow of life energy in your body to produce better health and vitality. Qi = energy, Gong = work.

Qi Gong should be practiced with focused attention on yourself and your body. It's not effective if you practice movements while watching TV or thinking about something else. NCCAM offers an instructional overview video on Qi Gong for beginners.

Practicing these therapies is empowering in the sense that you learn to influence your own nervous system and well-being in powerful ways. These therapies help you understand how your body and mind work together and help you proactively improve your own health.

For more information on all of these therapies, visit NCCAM, which recently held a Twitter chat Oct. 18 about complementary and alternative medicine.

Check out Carnes’ work with military significant others at the DHCC’s Significant Others Support Group.