Relax Within ~ Jan R. Markle

Jan offers classes and seminars in stress management, pain management, creativity, power-napping, workplace stress and alertness and other related topics. Classes and seminars are held in San Anselmo, San Rafael or Kentfield, in Marin County, California.

Seminars usually last four hours and are presented at the workplace on weekdays or in San Rafael and nearby towns on Saturdays.

A typical class meets once a week for four weeks, from 7-9 PM on Tuesday or Thursday evenings.

Email info@relaxwithin.com for more information on fees, to register or to receive the latest class and seminar schedule.

The following topics are offered as seminars or in extended format as a four-week class:

Get Control of Stress and Your Life

Most of us are unaware of the physiological changes that occur in the body during stress. When stress is perceived in the outside world, the body creates the intense "fight or flight" response, physical changes to enable vigorous movement to counter an expected physical danger. During prolonged stress that is not dissipated by exercise or relaxation, this level of functioning results in damage to body tissues and can lead to health problems such as headaches, arthritis, heart disease, high blood pressure, insomnia, chronic pain, ulcers, irritable bowel, TMJ and anxiety.

Biofeedback, relaxation and meditation can teach you to become more aware of how the body functions during stress and help you to regain control over body symptoms of stress. Gaining control over your body results in feeling more in control of your life.

This four hour seminar covers the physiology of stress, physical signs of stress, stress and health, personal stresses, cognitive stress (stress due to thoughts), and simple, powerful methods to cope with stress.

A biofeedback demonstration of the mind-body link will be presented. Participants will experience guided relaxation exercises in progressive relaxation, body awareness, mantra and breath meditation and guided imagery with the goal of learning to evoke the relaxation response at will.

Goals of the seminar:
1. Understand how stress affects the body
2. Discover body symptoms that indicate you are stressed
3. Learn what stress is and recognize situations that stress you.
4. Discover which thoughts contribute to your stress.
5. Experience deep physical relaxation
6. Learn stress management coping methods to minimize the physiological effects of stress

Accessing Your Creative Inner Self

If you're creatively blocked or have difficulty accessing your creative ideas, most probably stress, in the form of a change, an event, or a stressful thought, is the cause. Stress mobilizes us to deal with dangers in the outside world and blocks us from accessing our deeper inner self, the source of our creativity.

The act of creating itself causes anxieties. Don't let inability to recognize or deal with these stresses and feelings cause you to block on your creating.

Learn how stress and relaxation affect the creative process and affect your ability to access your creative inner self. Learn how to cope with the anxieties that occur at each stage of creativity. Learn relaxation, imagery, meditation, affirmations and self hypnosis to not only assuage these feelings but to focus and develop your creative endeavor. Access your creative inner self by choice not luck.

Goals of the seminar:
1. learn the stages underlying the creative process
2. learn the relationship between stress and blocking, relaxation and creating
3. identify anxieties associated with specific stages and methods to cope with each
4. learn methods of relaxation, meditation, imagery and self hypnosis to focus and develop a creation.
5. feel inspired and encouraged to create, despite possible anxiety

Coping with Chronic Pain

If you suffer from chronic pain, you may not realize the influence that stress has on your ability to tolerate pain. During stress, tight muscles from the fight-or-flight response aggravate chronic pain.

Learn techniques of stress management, guided progressive relaxation, meditation and imagery to help you cope with pain. A biofeedback demonstration of the mind-body link will be presented

Goals of the seminar:
1. Learn the new theories of pain
2. Learn to recognize early signs of increasing pain
3. Learn relaxation, imagery and meditation techniques you can use to cope with pain
4. Learn to recognize cognitive influences underlying the pain experience
5. Improve your sleep
6. Learn quick methods of relaxing to use to cope with flare-ups

Looking forward to seeing you at my next class.

Jan Markle, M.A., B.C.I.A.C., is a Certified Biofeedback Therapist in Kentfield, CA. With over sixteen years experience, she has worked as a Senior Biofeedback Therapist for Kentfield Rehabilitation Hospital in the Pain Treatment Center and the Fibromyalgia Clinic, she has taught Meditation for Chronic Pain Management and Stress Management at Kaiser Hospital and has consulted on Stress Management for corporations.