Even when you are handling stress well, you need a breather. Time to renew and recharge ensures that you continue to manage stress in a healthy way. Here are some tips to help you take advantage of time to relax and release.
Most of us want to simply unwind after a hard day at work or a long day of handling stressful situations. Stress can come from many sources – deciding which bills to pay when money is short, medical issues, family demands – not just your job. You are working to meet these stressors head on but it can take a lot of wind out of your sails when you’re done.
Relaxation Techniques
The thing about relaxation is that we don’t get nearly enough of it. An ideal relaxing situation is one in which the stressor doesn’t figure – anywhere. You are not sitting down in an easy chair to mull over the events of the day. You are instead focusing on something more pleasant to recharge your batteries for future stress management.
- Go for a massage – There is nothing more relaxing then letting someone else do all the work for a change to make you happy. All you have to do is lie there, listen to soft music and let the tension in your body melt away.
- Take an uninterrupted hot bath – This is not the time for your spouse to sneak in for a romantic rendezvous. Dim the lights and light candles. Aromatherapy candles in relaxing scents like chamomile and lavender will also lighten the mood. Enjoy the warm water and wafting smells. You can even have a CD of earth sounds playing in the background (far away from the tub).
- Try yoga – Yoga has been practiced for centuries as a way of enhancing the mind-body connection. By concentrating on your breathing and your body movements, you can learn to control your body responses. It takes practice to get good, but even that frees your mind and helps you to relax.
- Watch a funny movie – Have you ever heard that laughter is the best medicine? Well, laughter releases endorphins in your body. Your dark mood lifts and you feel better – better able to cope with life and whatever was on your mind previously.
All of these things are great but they won’t help if you don’t set aside time to do them. Make a commitment right now to carve out time each day to relax. Pen it in just like you do everything else. Leave more time than you need in case one day you need all of that time to restore balance to your body.
Find a relaxation technique that pleases you and start there. You can add others for variety. Once you get started, you’ll look forward to those times with joy.