Evening star., 1961-01-19
BY WILLIAM HAMMACK
North American Newspaper Alliance

60 era, hurried and harried.
If you are tense. wound up as
tight as the string on a hot
ukulele, you are killing your
self as surely as you would II
you jammed . loaded pistol
against yoVr temple and
pulled the trigger.
But you may prolong your
life-and have more fun out
Of living, to .boot-f you
heed the words Of Q rugged.
compassionate man who has
helped thousands with his
program Of exercise coupled
with relaxation and paced
living. .;ss' !.
Joseph Aloysius Kennedy
no relation to the Presi-
dent-elect-a retired chief
warrant officer of the q. s..
Navy Hospital Corps. now IS
and director of the health
club at the Atlanta Jewish
Community Center, is the
author ofa best-selling book,
Relax and Live"
Mr.. Kennedy has con-
Quoted "sleep clinics" and
has lectured extensively on
how to beckon the sandman.
After a businessman had
trailed him around on five
speaking tours, the executive
told him, I'm determined
to learn your secret, but con-
found 1t, I always go to sleep
before you've finished Q
speech"
Mr.. Kennedy grinned. MY
friend" he said, "you may
not know it, but you've
already learned what you
call my secret"
Actually there Is no
mystery about his secret. I"
he says. ITO 60 to sleep.
merely relax" he advises.
Don't try to relax-if you
do, you're defeating your
purpose. Relaxation Is the
absence Of ) effort. Passive
relaxation is notdso much to
be learned as to be relearned.
Ever notice q little baby in
his crib? He's relaxed. When
you are completely passively
relaxed. you are asleep.
His Eormula
my formula for relaxation
consists Of just three steps:
one. you must recognize your
tension and learn to reduce
1t by the simple method Of
stopping what you're doing
to cause it.: two. slow down
your breathing cycle. and
three. blank out mental
images.
Briefly. here's how I
instruct people to relax: I
tell them to lie down. or sit
easy in q chair. Then I
direct their attention to the
forehead. and tell them to
frown-thiS Is tension in the
forehead. I tell them to loosen
the brow muscles-thiS Is
relaxation. Then I instruct
them to tighten up and relax.
in turn. the arms. chest.
stomach, thighs, legs and feet.
jaw. neck, head and shoul-
ders.
ITO lower your breathing
cycle. start inhaling smoothly
and gently-ab b d min q 4
breathing rather than high
chest breathing-slowirig the
respirations little by little.
"A normal adult breathes
in and out 18 to 20 times a
minute: try to lower your
rate to 10 to IA. BY slowing
your breathing. you cut down
on your oxygen intake which
slows down body functions.
ITO completely relax, you
must blot all imagery from
your mind. You can turn
off the light by remembering
something black. Remember
black velvet drapes, a black
board, a string Of coal cars
filled with black Jumps. Best
Of all is to remember a little
back period at the end Of
q sentence.
"You don't do anything to
relax. Relaxation comes when
you stop trying. I use the
term passive relaxation but
you can relax while you work
or play. as well. I call this
form Of taking it easy
rhythmic relaxation when
you contract only the muscles
needed to perform the job.
"A person at a typewriter
should relax his or her legs
and lower body muscles. He
should sit heavy in the chair,
resting legs and feet. No
matter what your occupation
is, or what yoa do for recrea-
ton, you never use all your
muscles all the time. Relax
the ones you don't need to
call on at the moment. When
I was an athletic coach,
from time to time I'd see
young men come along whose
bodies seemed to be able to
think for themselves. These
young athletes did the right
things at the right times,
and I am convinced that the
explanation Of their prowess
was rhythmic relaxation. We
call this the change of pace.
Mr.. Kennedy himself was
E an iron mana boxer,
wrestler, fencer. swimmer,
all-round gymnast an d
tumbler. At one time he was
considered the strongest man
in the Navy. In 1928 he