Relaxation

Relaxation is the state of being free from tension, anxiety, and stress. Relaxation can be achieved through things such as meditation or progressive muscle relaxation. In order to achieve good results from doing relaxation techniques, there are certain things that you should do before you start relaxing which will help you to achieve what you ultimately want to achieve, feeling relaxed and calm.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU RELAX?

Your heart rate slows down
Your breathing becomes slower and deeper
Your blood pressure drops or stabilizes
Your muscles relax

WHY IS RELAXATION IMPORTANT?

Relaxation is an important part of maintaining your health and well-being. Learning how to properly relax will help you when having to deal with life’s stresses. There are many health benefits that come along with being able to relax. Relaxing regularly reduces your stress levels, boosts your immune system and has an immediate effect on your energy levels and productivity. Relaxation is essential when trying to maintain good mental and physical well-being.

BENEFITS OF REGULAR RELAXATION.

Relaxing protects your heart - sudden and intense periods of stress can trigger a big rush of adrenalin in the body which can be so intense that it can cause the body to not be able to function properly. In extreme cases, this can result in things such as heart failure or heart-attack like symptoms such as chest pain, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue.

Relaxing boosts your memory - sometimes when we are anxious or feeling overwhelmed with many different things, it can be easy to forget things that we were supposed to remember. This could be because we are feeling overwhelmed with lots of thoughts going through our minds and our brain can’t retain all that information at once so it just blanks out some of it.

A decrease in anxiety, depression and, insomnia When someone is depressed, a lot of the way they look at life is negative. Learning to relax and just go along with things that happen in life will help with this. Relaxation also helps with anxiety as you can learn techniques that help you to relax when feeling anxious. Anxiety and depression can both contribute to insomnia, by using relaxation to improve your anxiety or depression, this will ultimately improve insomnia as well.

A sense of calmness and confidence - if we are feeling overwhelmed, we can often feel as though we cannot do things. Relaxing your body and mind will help to bring a sense of calmness into your mind which will ultimately help you to think differently towards a situation you might feel worried about.

Improved coping abilities - relaxation is an easy way to reduce stress and anxiety, when we are relaxed it is much easier to cope with anything that life throws at us rather than feeling overwhelmed about what could possibly happen in your life.

HOW TO INCORPORATE RELAXATION INTO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE.

Relaxing daily is important for both your physical and mental health. When people talk about relaxation, it can often seem like it is something that we just can’t fit into our busy lives. There is always a way that we can give ourselves time to just relax.

Relaxation doesn’t always have to be a time when you are sitting alone in a room trying to focus on your breathing. There are other ways to achieve relaxation but at the end of the day, it’s what works for you. What works for one person may not always work for another. Some people may choose to sit in a room, completely alone and just do something that they enjoy, for example listening to music or drawing. For others it will be different, some people will choose to get out of the house and do something outside. This is another good way to ultimately achieve what you are wanting to; feeling calm and relaxed. Simply going for a walk or run around the block or going for a swim at the pool will be just what some people need in order to feel relaxed and reduce stress.

TECHNIQUES TO RELAX.

Before you start relaxing, find a quiet space to sit in with no distractions so you can fully focus on how you’re feeling. Lie down or sit comfortably.

Breathing technique:

Be careful when you are trying to do breathing to relax. Breathing too quickly and deeply may cause you to feel dizzy, faint or can make you more anxious. Slow, regular breaths are important when you are trying to control anxious thoughts and feelings.

Place your hand on your chest and your other hand over your stomach. Take a slow, normal breath in through your nose. While you are breathing in, watch your stomach moving, your stomach should move more than your chest should while you are doing this exercise. Breathe out slowly through your mouth. Repeat this process 10 times.

Visualisation exercise:

Create a good spot in your mind that will help you to relax. This spot can be real or imaginary but it is important that this place is somewhere that you feel calm, safe and happy. This place that you create in your mind should be a place where you can go back to whenever you need to relax.

When you imagine this place, you should use your senses to make it feel as real as possible. What does it look like, smell like, feel like? Continue taking deep, slow breaths while doing your visualization.

WHEN ARE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES BENEFICIAL?

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, you may find relaxation techniques offer relief from any of these things;

Racing heart, faster heartbeat
Shallow breathing, quicker breathing
Butterflies in your stomach
Light-headed
Restlessness
Uncontrollable thoughts
Tenseness of muscles
Feeling stressed, busy mind
Feeling anxious

HELPFUL RESOURCES.

Calm app - this is the number one app for meditation and sleep

Mindshift - this is specifically for anxiety

Headspace - meditation

Smiling Mind - meditation

ReachOut Breathe - helps to manage anxiety through breathing exercises