As a person in western society, I have been brought up with the mindset that I have to constantly go-go-go. If I wasn’t busy I was unproductive. I also started to adopt habits that masked my anxiety and desire to do what I wanted to do. I had thought in order to relax it was necessary to do what others’ thought was considered relaxing. In exchange, my thoughts turned to actions and I started “relaxing” like what society wanted me to: watching tv, spending time with family & friends, and sleeping. The result was that I never felt rested and restored unless I was truly doing what I wanted to do. My expectations of what I thought was considered relaxing by society was not what my body thought relaxing was. After my mindset changed, I discovered my true state of relaxation.
THE WAY TO RELAX
Think of a time when you felt the most relaxed; when you felt your energy was restored to the fullest level after doing a day of what you wanted to do. Name a feeling that comes to mind when you think of those moments. Here are three essential techniques that can help you to discover true relaxation:
Get out in nature.
There is something about nature that connects us back to ourselves. Whether it’s the ebb and flow of ocean waves, the serene landscape of a lake, the stars at night in the mountains or even just the park or your backyard. Go for a walk in the scene you decide to be in or sit somewhere outside without the sounds of cars and people walking by. As you’re in this space with nature, touch things, listen to the wind, feel the air around you.
Find stillness and your breath.
Stand or sit with feet planted on the ground, hands by your sides or on your heart center. If sitting, hands can be in your lap or on your knees. Maybe wiggle around a bit to get comfortable. Once you feel you are active but comfortable, close your eyes and notice your breath. Observe how your breath moves in and out of your nose and mouth. When you bring awareness to your breath, you bring awareness to the present moment. Imagine as you inhale, you are gathering up those thoughts and as you exhale, you are allowing these thoughts to escape from your body, just for the time being. You are slowly emptying your body and allowing your breath to take your attention.
Write without any filter.
Writing is a task that can be difficult for most of us… even for me a lot of the times. This exercise though will not be something for you to keep. It’s a way for you to release the thoughts that are going through your head without judgement from yourself and since we won’t have others read this, it’s not meant for others either. Start with filling a page every morning with a 10-15 minute time limit and then either throw away the page or just keep it in a journal that will be meant to be thrown away once filled.
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