August 15 was World Relaxation Day and we want to highlight the importance of relaxation for good physical and mental health. Relaxation is more important today than ever, as we live in a day-to-day life characterized by overwork, rushing, stress, the need for immediacy and excessive demands, and self-demands. The result is the inability to relax, leading to anxiety, depression and musculoskeletal problems, among others.
The frenetic pace of today’s world has led us to believe that productivity is synonymous with not resting. And nothing could be further from the truth because relaxation is essential for the mind and body to rest and thus be productive in the different activities and tasks so that the time spent in relaxation will be well spent in that the results will be better and more satisfactory.
Relaxation should be applied in our daily life and not wait for the body to chronic discomfort. It should be applied at any time and in almost any situation, but it is especially important in situations in which we have symptoms of stress, problems falling asleep, anxiety or we are going through a stage of loss or grief.
BENEFITS OF RELAXATION
The main benefits of relaxation and why it is really important to loosen the muscle tone and dissipate the head, are the following:
- Helps to disconnect from worries
- Improves concentration
- Promotes the breaking of negative thoughts
- Helps digestion
- Prevents aging
- Eliminates muscle tension
- Relieves headaches
- Helps to fall asleep
- Avoids unnecessary conflicts
- Improves productivity
- Reduces emotional tensions
- Helps lower heart rate
- Helps lower blood pressure
- Decreases respiratory rate
- Increases creativity
- Helps develop the confidence to solve problems
- Improves mood
WAYS TO RELAX
Currently there are many relaxation techniques that help to achieve this state and that are easy to apply. Among them we find:
Relaxation based on breathing: it consists of performing diaphragmatic breathing in an upward lying position. Place one hand on the chest and the other on the stomach above the navel. Breathe in trying to get the air to the lower part of the lungs. Then we exhale the air little by little, trying to let the stomach hand go down first, and then the hand on the chest.
Progressive muscle relaxation: this technique consists of tensing and relaxing each of the muscle groups, noticing the difference between one state and another. The main muscle groups to be worked are the forehead, eyes, nose, tongue, jaw, lips, neck, legs, arms, legs, back, chest, belly, and waist.
Relaxation in imagination: to perform this technique you must think of an image that helps you relax. A landscape, a moment that you remember that causes you well-being and calm, you can even help yourself with a song.
Mindfulness: the practice of mindfulness is very broad. It consists of different exercises to calm the body and mind with the breath, observing our thoughts without judging. It is a very complete technique that teaches us to recognize the thoughts and emotions that shape our life experience.
Other techniques: massage, tai chi, yoga, music therapy, aromatherapy, etc.
In addition to relaxation techniques, it is positive to apply a series of strategies to complement them. Some of them are:
- Thinking positively
- Learn to see situations with humor
- Solve everything that worries us
- Time management and prioritization
- Exercising regularly
- Eating a healthy diet
- Physical exercise
- Getting a good night’s sleep
- Spending time in nature
- Create a good support network