Are you struggling to make time for yourself? Too busy and stressed to relax? Most of us know we need time out to relax and recharge the batteries but finding the time can be difficult. Relaxation has many benefits for the mind and the body but often people feel they are ‘too busy’ to spend time doing relaxation exercises.
Learning relaxation skills is an important part of any program to improve general health and wellbeing. Regular practice will reduce stress on the body and mind, allowing it time to heal and recover from the daily stresses of life. This helps to prevent the build up of tension and make it easier to cope when problems and tension does occur.
The feeling of being relaxed is similar to feeling slightly drowsy. Some people feel that their body is heavy and others report a feeling of lightness. Deep relaxation is a state of being free of muscle tension and a slowing down of the mind. As you come out of a relaxed state you will feel refreshed and alert.
Relaxation methods have many positive effects on the body including:
1. Slowing the heart rate
2. Slowing the breathing rate
3. Lowering blood pressure
4. Reducing tension in the muscles
5. Decreased need for oxygen while relaxed
6. Slowing down of thoughts, not the absence of thoughts
7. Feeling of calmness and peacefulness
There are many health benefits which come from using relaxation techniques on a regular basis. These include:
1. Lower blood pressure
2. Reduced headaches, general aches and pains
3. Feeling of increased alertness
4. Improvement in concentration
5. Reduced feelings of anxiety and panic
6. Better control of anger outbursts and irritability
7. Better pain management
8. Less emotional reactivity to problems
9. Improved study skills
10. Feeling more in control
11. Better able to cope with stressful situations
12. Improved immune system functioning
People of all ages can benefit from learning relaxation. Many people feel they must be doing something active for it to have a health benefit and relaxation does not appear to be "doing" anything. However while the body is in a relaxed state there is a lot of work going on that is essential to good health. If you are trying to improve health or recover from illness be sure to include relaxation skills in your daily routine to get maximum improvement.
The body is not designed to be active and in a state of tension all day. The mind is not designed to be working at a rapid pace and trying to process information all day either. By taking time out to put your body and mind in a state of relaxation you will improve your ability to cope with stress, think clearly and feel in control of stressful situations. Learning relaxation is easy with the use of relaxation audios. Just set aside some time each day where you can listen to the audio without interruption. Relaxation is an inexpensive preventative health method that has many positive effects. It is one of the foundations of any good health program.
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