How can we not let ourselves be invaded by stress, the real enemy of our health? How can we stop saying “I just can’t relax, I’m in too much of a hurry, I have too many things to do”? Good news, you can learn to relax! It involves small relaxation exercises and new habits to be gradually integrated into your daily life. And once you’ve learned how to relax, this mechanism becomes part of your procedural memory and becomes something you can’t lose. Like riding a bike! Explore the benefits of relaxing activities on your psyche and your health, as well as the meditation and breathing exercises that will restore your serenity. Relax your mind now with Yogilab

Chronic stress is one of the worst enemies of our health

By stimulating the production of cortisol, called the “stress hormone”, chronic stress weakens the immune system over time, depletes the adrenal glands, aggravates existing diseases, and promotes numerous metabolic disorders, such as ulcers, the onset of allergic diseases, diabetes, the accumulation of abdominal fat, osteoporosis, premature aging of cells, arthritis, and so on.

The natural benefits of relaxation

It is amusing to note that modern man has progressively lost his natural ability to relax. Animals, on the other hand, know how to immerse themselves in a state of relaxation when they need to save energy and optimize their recovery phases.

This state of relaxation corresponds to a complete muscular relaxation, associated with a deeply emotional, physiological, and psychological calm. In addition to helping the body manage chronic pain, such as back pain or neuralgia, this total relaxation allows the body to change its usual response to stress, choosing to let go or calmly accept events rather than fleeing or fighting. The resulting decrease in cortisol reduces the risk of accelerated aging, the development of chronic inflammatory diseases, and other health problems mentioned above.

Chilling does not make you lazy

For those of you who are short-term performance lovers, last-minute champions, doped up on stress hormones, and who, let’s face it, fear that you will lose efficiency and responsiveness if you relax, you can expect the exact opposite. While stress may push you to maximize your productivity or performance within a set time frame, you may become so addicted to stress chemicals that you can’t function without them. And now you know what that costs your health. By regaining control of your emotions and reactions, different ways to relax promote better control over unexpected events, as well as overall increased performance.

Breathing exercises for everyone

You don’t have to commit to an hour of deep meditation every day or twist yourself into a yoga routine. Simply focusing on your breathing for five minutes, becoming aware of the air flowing in and out of your lungs and the soothing swelling of your abdomen will help you regain your composure. When pressure builds up, isolate yourself for a few minutes and breathe deeply, trying to inflate the belly rather than the chest. You will emerge from your little session calmer and ready to face the storm.

Back to basics with belly breathing

Abdominal breathing, also called belly breathing, is very beneficial in the fight against stress. The technique is very simple and consists of breathing with the belly, and not with the chest, as is too often done. This is the natural way babies breathe. Watch a newborn breathe: its belly rises and falls. This slow, deep breathing also allows the diaphragm to function properly, which is an essential muscle that is too often neglected.

Conscious breathing

Breathing is such a reflex that we are often barely conscious of it. However, the simple fact of becoming aware of this phenomenon allows us to refocus on ourselves and improve our concentration. We are more anchored in the present moment, and our energy is less scattered. To practice this conscious breathing, it is very simple: close your eyes and focus on your breath without trying to control or modify it. Take the time to study it. What is its rhythm? Where does it come from (belly, chest, throat)? Then enjoy the relaxation that gradually sets in.

Contraction-relaxation breathing

This method involves visualizing the emotion to be expelled (for example, anger) by blocking the breath, then expelling it out of the body by breathing out. To practice it, close your eyes, breathe in slowly through your nose, block the air for 3 seconds while visualizing the emotion, and then expel the air by blowing out through your mouth. Wait a few seconds and repeat the exercise if necessary. You can practice this method at any time of the day!

Practice self-massage

No need to be two people to enjoy the benefits of a massage! You don’t have time to go to a spa or you can’ t find a massage therapist? Self-massage will change your life. What better way to recharge your batteries than to give yourself a gentle massage?

Close your eyes, calm your breathing, and gently massage your temples in small circles. It’s the skin that moves, not your fingertips, which maintain continuous contact with your head. Feel the relaxation that settles in, the loosening of your eyelids, your forehead, the gradual warming of your fingers. Variation: do the same by placing your fingertips on the solar plexus and making small circles. You will gradually feel your diaphragm and your abdomen relax, along with your peaceful belly breathing. Coupled with breathing exercises, self-massage will keep stress and anxiety away. Improve the feeling of relaxation and the fluidity of your gestures by using essential oils.

The benefits of self-massage

Take a break from your activities, close your eyes and try to feel the contracted or painful areas. Massaging them will bring you a feeling of well-being, both physically and psychologically. The benefits of self-massage are the same as for the massage but are available on demand: Improvement of sleep, digestion, blood, and lymphatic circulation, but also of increased attention and reduced fatigue. A few minutes are enough to release tension and give you precious moments to yourself.

Relax your shoulders and neck

Bad posture, stress, exhaustion… all this ends up weighing on your neck and creating tension in your shoulders. To get rid of them, sit or lie down comfortably. Warm up your hands by rubbing them together, then place your right elbow in your left hand. Massage your left trapezius by stretching it from the base of the neck to the shoulder, then massage firmly with your fingers from the tip of the shoulder to the base of the neck. Do the same on the other side. Continue by firmly pinching your neck on both sides of your cervical vertebrae, and go up several times by carrying out regular pressures until the sub-occipital hollow, and insist more lengthily once arrived at the top. Repeat several times. Finish by raising your shoulders as high as possible, count to 10, and then release completely. Repeat as soon as you feel a stiffness in your neck or shoulders, at the end of a long meeting or a tense day.

Relax your face

Relax your facial features with a few simple gestures. Always remember to warm up your hands before you start. Place your fingertips on either side of your chin, and move them up to your ears in small circles. Repeat, moving up one step each time: from the corners of the mouth, then the nostrils, then the point between the eyebrows, until you reach the hairline. Keep your eyes closed for a few minutes, and enjoy the relaxing effect of the facial self-massage.

Constantly solicited but rarely pampered, our hands deserve to be taken care of. Whether you work in a manual job or type all day long on a computer keyboard, massaging them regularly during the day will keep away the risks of tendonitis and other chronic inflammations. The question is: how do you massage your hands with your own hands? Start by crossing your hands, palms up, and gently stretching your fingers first up, then down, without cracking them. Then firmly massage between your thumb and forefinger the hollow between each of the fingers of the opposite hand, before kneading each of your fingers from the base to the nail between the thumb and fingers of the opposite hand.

Use the power of essential oils

Some essential oils, such as lavender, Roman chamomile, and sweet orange, act on the nervous system and promote a state of relaxation. When you come home after a hard day, turn on your diffuser and soak up the soothing scent of the essential oil of your choice. If you are prone to sudden pressure rises during the day, pour a few drops of essential oil on a cloth handkerchief that you will pull from your pocket when needed to restore your calm with a few deep scented breaths.

Practice a regular physical activity

Sport is essential to our physiological balance and is a pillar of our well-being. It stimulates the production of endorphins, the hormones that are responsible for putting us in a state of pleasant bliss. Thirty minutes of walking every day are the minimum required to feel good and to help the body to evacuate tensions, the idea being to manage to move an hour twice a week. Before buying a gym membership, start by getting into the habit of ending your daily commute by walking instead of driving, you’ll see that you’ll quickly get the hang of it.

The Buddha is said to have imparted 8400 methods to teach how to relax your mind and free it from suffering. With his guidance, Buddhists have reaped the unlimited benefits of meditation for centuries. It is one of the most powerful relaxation techniques for anxiety. Relaxation and release of tension, increased resistance to stress, improved concentration and memory, better sleep, increased emotional stability, and vital energy are just a few of the benefits that have been verified by science for years. Any person seeking to improve the quality of their life gains the opportunity for joy and fulfillment through meditation. With practice, we can discover how to solve everyday problems, free ourselves from nagging thoughts, be happier, full of compassion, and recognize the unlimited potential of our own minds.

Relaxation comes from within

Meditation has a lot to offer, especially the Buddhist version with its compassionate approach. It’s not about trying to change your own thoughts, it’s about realizing that we are already good people and we are whole. We are not missing anything, no matter what we think about our lives. Meditation calms our minds. It frees us from pessimistic helplessness and the belief that we would be happier if we just changed this little something in our lives. It teaches us to take responsibility for our own thoughts and feelings. As a result of regular practice, we stop taking on the role of the victim, and we don’t put the responsibility for what we feel on other people or external forces. We begin to see the world as exciting, full of possibilities and change. This is all possible by simply observing what is going on in the mind.

What meditation is not?

Before embarking on the path of this relaxation technique, it’s worth dispelling a few myths. Many people mistakenly believe that meditation is about blocking out thoughts and emotions. If this were possible, such an action would only achieve peace amongst dead people. In reality, it is impossible to stop ourselves from thinking, which is our natural human attribute. It is also wrong to imagine meditation as sitting for hours in the lotus position with the spine straight as a stick. The difficulty in persevering for even a few minutes is due to the hunched posture we develop when we spend time in front of a computer or television. However, a few minutes of meditation every day can significantly improve the condition of our spine, hips, and shoulders. Not to mention the mental benefits of relaxation meditation.

The correct body posture in meditation

It’s about creating a solid foundation for working with the mind and finding a balance between tension and relaxation. If you find the crossed-legged position difficult, you can sit in a kneeling position or on a chair with your feet evenly placed on the floor. Your hands should rest comfortably on your thighs or below your navel. The chest should remain open to facilitate breathing. Without humping them, the shoulders, neck, jaw, and throat should be relaxed. The eyes can be open, but closing them promotes focus.

You need to be patient

Individuals who begin a practice must face their own impatience. Everyone has to go through a stage where they get distracted by physical discomfort, noise, or current personal problems and conflicts with people. This process doesn’t mean we’re failing at meditation. We’re just starting to become aware of more and more thoughts and feelings that we didn’t recognize before. Despite moments of calm, it is likely that we will not be able to avoid a certain level of frustration. We need this negative experience in order to better understand ourselves and the nature of our own minds.

The challenges of meditation – exhaustion, anxiety and fear

The beginning of your meditation journey may involve exhaustion, anxiety, or fear. If you put too much effort into keeping track of every thought, your mind will quickly become tired and dull. Watching your emotional states can also cause anxiety. Your own thoughts can be irritating and upsetting. You may also become frightened when you are unable to grasp your own thoughts because they will fly away too quickly. The essence of meditation is to let go of all expectations about its effects. The hardest and yet simplest lesson to learn from the experience of meditation is that calmness, openness, and relaxation are natural properties of our mind, and we don’t have to do anything to achieve them. To calm and relax the mind we have to let go of anxious states, just as we have let them come. Just as in proper posture, it’s about finding a balance between relaxation and tension.

Difficult encounters with unpleasant thoughts

Observing thoughts associated with unpleasant situations such as arguments or betrayals is extremely difficult. It is easy to follow memories filled with strong emotions such as anger, rage, jealousy, or fear. The best way to work with such thoughts is to look at them from a distance. Bad thoughts can slowly float away from us, and their power begins to fade. By working with the poison that floods our minds, we become stronger. What repels and frightens us can make us stronger. On the other hand, if we try to deal with every conflict and negative thought we will become hyper-vigilant. This is why it is so important in meditation to develop understanding and compassion.

Coming back home to our natural, relaxed state

Through meditation, we begin to experience thoughts, emotions, and sensations without pain or guilt. We accept their appearance and disappearance with childlike innocence. Our hearts open up. We are better able to listen. We respond better to situations that once made us uncomfortable. We are more confident because we feel safe with ourselves. In short, relaxation becomes our new way of living.