Relaxing – a technique to calm your mind and body (or both) and make you feel at peace. Sadly, in today’s hectic times, stressors such as work and never-ending responsibilities make us forget the importance and requirement of relaxing in our lives.
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Why Our Body and Mind Need to Relax
An overwhelming routine daily will ultimately result in breakdown – health issues, psychological suffering, exhaustion, and a compromised quality of life. Physical and mental relaxation is extremely important in maintaining balance in your life. It is a healthy coping mechanism and also a reward after a particular stressful day. It helps dissolve feelings of anxiousness, confusion, fear, worry and vulnerability.
You might not notice, but your body reacts to relaxing. For example, your muscles tend to become more flexible and less tight when you unwind. Similarly, your mind becomes more attentive and alert after you relax for a bit. Taking a little time out daily to sit and calm your nerves can do wonders for your overall health and well-being.
Getting Started
Probably the greatest obstacle to relaxing is slowing down and temporarily breaking free from our daily hectic routines. So, getting started has to begin with realizing and accepting that you need to steal time from your responsibilities to relax. Tell yourself that you’re doing something healthy and worthwhile, and once your mind and body are calm, you will be able to focus and perform better.
Best 3 Ways to Relax Your Mind and Body
Since it is widely accepted that the mind and body are connected, most relaxation techniques are designed to benefit both. Choosing a technique depends entirely on your personal preferences.
But remember, the easier and quicker the technique, the better – here are three that you can easily slip into your daily routine.
1. Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises are easy and efficient ways to calm your stressed body and mind, and can be practiced anywhere and anytime. A simple search on Google will reveal many different techniques varying in time and complexity, but the simplest and most basic method is this:
· Sit or lay down in a quiet and preferably unaccompanied place (e.g. your bed or a peaceful area in your home)
· Place one hand on your belly
· Breathe in slowly, counting from one to three as you inhale
· Breathe out, counting from one to three as you exhale
· Feel your belly rise and fall as you breathe inhale and exhale slowly
· Repeat five times, or until you start to feel relaxed
2. Keeping a Journal
Most people find it to be extremely therapeutic to write down their thoughts. When feeling overwhelmed with stressful feelings, take a time out and write them down in a safe book or journal. You could also keep a virtual journal using apps on your smartphone. Simply focus on expressing yourself freely and releasing all your pent-up stresses and worries; once it’s written, it’s out of your system.
3. Connecting with Nature
This is probably one of the most ignored yet effective method for relaxing the mind and body. Spend some time surrounded by nature, away from all the hustle and bustle, and you will feel a sense of calm and serenity in no time. You can take a walk, or simply sit and gaze and breathe in the fresh air. And for those working in big cities away from nature, simply looking at images of greenery has been proven to have stress-reducing and calming effects.
Conclusion
If you feel relaxation exercises are not reducing your stress, seek the help of one of our personal health coaches at Happiness Coach. They’ll help you find and implement a treatment plan appropriate to your needs.
