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24 Powerful Relaxation Techniques
By Todd | November 1, 2007
Implementing an effective routine for “relaxing” is the key to dealing with stress and anxiety in your life. Here are 24 of the most powerful (and unique) exercises you can begin trying today:
1. Take a Cold Shower
It may not be relaxing while you are doing it, but taking a cold shower is a fantastic way to calm the body and mind. After a chilly rinse, you tend to feel at peace and serene and is a great activity before bed time. I recommend doing this at least once a week!
2. Go Fishing
Fishing is one of the best ways to relax the body and mind. First off, you are sitting in or near water, which is the most soothing substance to mankind. Second, it usually takes place in a quiet and calming setting. Third, if you fish with some good friends then you experience a wonderful trifecta of relaxation that is hard to get elsewhere!
3. Plan a Vacation
Having things to look forward to sooths the mind and stimulates a positive mental outlook. Constantly planning vacations, weekend getaways, or even a night out with friends can do wonders for your personal well-being.
4. Go For a Long Drive
But make sure to do it on a traffic-free area, with no specific destination in mind. Constant traffic causes undue stress for many of us, and it is great practice to get out on the open road, listen to some great music and just drive for the FUN of it!
5. Light Incense
Very few of us pay close attention to how our sense of smell affects mood, and we can stimulate great feelings of relaxation by incorporating wonderful smells in our life. Incense can be extremely therapeutic, and if you have a fireplace I highly recommend lighting it up a few times a month and enjoy the calming smell!
6. Go For An Early Morning Hike
The sounds, smells and sights of nature instill a calming and peaceful feeling within all of us. In the next week, get up early and go for a long hike and just feel the uninhibited presence of natural beauty all around you. This is relaxation experience in its finest form.
7. Take 10 Deep Breaths
Breathing is the king of all relaxation techniques! When you want to relax, take a huge inhale through the nose, hold it for a count of 7, and then release ALL the air through the nostrils. Do this 10 times in a row and you will be in a totally different state!
8. Go For a Really Exerting Run
Pushing your cardiovascular rhythm to its limits is a great way to relax. You may not feel this way as you are doing it, but after a long run you will feel tension-free and crisp. Remember, the sweat you are losing contains toxins and stress! If you can’t run, do something that is safely exerting for YOU.
9. Buy Yourself Something
So long as your choice of purchase is within reason, treat yourself to a new clothing item, ipod, car or whatever you truly desire. This can do wonders to relieve stress and I highly recommend you do this guilt-free. Realize that you deserve it!
10. Pay Your Bills a Few Days Early
Instead of stressing about bills, and thinking about all the money going out the door at the end of the month, intentionally pay your bills a week or two early! This will help you will generate feelings of accomplishment and freedom, and will also relax you when the normal time comes to write checks.
11. Have Your Favorite Dessert– Guilt Free!
That’s right—a few times a month treat yourself to the sweet craving you constantly deny yourself. Realize that consistent denial causes tension, and allowing yourself indulgences, within reason, is a great tool for relaxation.
12. Curl Up With a Really Good Book
For me, nothing is more relaxing than sitting in my home on a rainy Friday night and curling up with a really good book. Implementing this activity in your life is a true MUST for instilling calmness.
13. Try a Sauna Or Take a Steam
Spending time in either one of these treatment centers drains your body of toxins and deodorizes the organs and skin. You will feel SO good afterward and I recommend jumping in a Sauna or a Steam room at least once a week.
14. Book an Aromatherapy Massage
Massage HAS to be a staple of any relaxation routine, and adding scented oils and creams stimulates calmness in a wider range of senses. Try and get a professional massage at least once every 6 weeks to literally rub out stress, and if you have someone in your life that you can trade massages with even better!
15. Buy a Foot Massage Machine
Similarly, investing in one of those contraptions that massages the feet is an excellent way to add relaxation into your life. Our lowest appendages feel the daily grind more than any other body part, at least physically, and massaging them every day is a great idea.
16. Go For a Walk In The Rain
When it rains, we have become entrained to whip out our umbrellas and hurry indoors. Next time, try letting go of this knee-jerk reaction and take a freeing walk amid the showers. Don’t worry about your clothes (you can deal with it later) and just enjoy the freshness of rain on your body.
17. Go To a Comedy Club
Laughing until tears are streaming down your face is a terrific way to relax your 5 senses and restore balance in the body. Find a really good comedy club and frequent it a few times a month and start seeing the stress-relieving benefits of laughter!
18. Sit In Silence For One Day
Pick a day in the next two weeks where you can shut off your phone, turn off your email and literally sit in silence (and solitude) for 24 straight hours. Sound daunting? It can be at first, but integrating this practice into your life quiets the never ending chatterbox in your head.
19. Stare At a Candle For 15 Minutes
Lighting a candle and staring at is a wonderful relaxation technique. As you try this, commit yourself to focusing ALL of your attention on the flickering beauty. After some practice you may experience moments of crisp awareness and heightened clarity, which are the ultimate feelings of serentiy!
20. Go Star Gazing
State at them with great purpose. Contemplate that what you are really staring at is the past; meaning the star you are observing is really a sparkle from a distant age (given it takes millions of light years to get here)! When you are done, bring yourself back to earth, where you are, your situation, and your life. This will relax you.
21. Invest in Really Comfortable Furniture
Relaxation is about treating your body well ALL the time. We sit in furniture for so much of our life that it is imperative to invest in kinds that make you feel really good. If you drive a lot, but a comfortable seat cushion for your car. If you work in an office, make sure your chair molds nicely to your body. This is relaxation through the prevention of stress!
22. Drink Soothing Tea
A nice calming hot cup of tea is an elixir of relaxation. Certain teas also have a myriad of other health benefits, including being high in antioxidants. Great options are chamomile and green tea.
23. Invest in a Posturpedic Pillow
We spend anywhere from 25-35% of our lives sleeping, and it is critical to make this time as effective as possible. Posturpedic pillows are expensive, but worth it. They mold to your head and shoulders and insure proper alignment of the back as you slumber. The results: increased energy, better focus, and a more relaxed attitude!
24. Go See a Mindless Movie
Sitting in the dark, eating some buttery popcorn and laughing at ridiculously obvious jokes is a wonderful way to relax and get out of your own head for a few hours. I recommend doing this at least once a month, and you know the movies I am talking about (anything with Ben Stiller in it will do the trick)!
This list is a follow-up to an article published a few weeks ago on We The Change called 25 Ways to Pamper Your Body and Increase Vitality.
In my opinion, this list of relaxation techniques is even more important for creating a fulfilling and meaningful life. Let me know what you think!
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Topics: Other Personal Growth, Productivity, Alternative and Holistic Healing, Physical Activity, Nutrition, Health |
As always great tips! Thanks for reminding me about incense. I haven’t used it for years. The mindless movie suggestion is right on!
Posted by: ZHereford on November 1st, 2007 at 9:45 amSome good ideas… I have to tell you I first read the light in “Light Incense” as the opposite of heavy, rather than what you do with a flame. Made me laugh for a second when I realized it.
Posted by: Jason on November 1st, 2007 at 11:39 amlol Jason…I might make that more clear!
Posted by: Todd on November 1st, 2007 at 11:49 amThanks for the great comments Z and J!
Thanks again for the tips. Very true. For the vacation, I 100% agree. My girlfriend and I planned a 2-week trip earlier this year, and it was great. It was also great planning and looking forward to the trip. Gave us something to look forward to in the worst part of the year (in my opinion, mid January through late March). I hadn’t been on a long trip in a while. People tell me I came back a different person.
Posted by: Ian on November 1st, 2007 at 2:20 pmIan, Jason and Zorka– THANKS for the great and insightful comments! Jason, I may consider changing that now
Posted by: Todd on November 1st, 2007 at 3:33 pmNumber 2 is especially great. Nothing like murdering some fish to really put your mind at ease. Gee, thanks for the helpful tips. I know I’M going to sleep better tonight, how about everyone else??
Posted by: VeggieGirl on November 1st, 2007 at 3:58 pmEEK! I’m sorry if that offended you Veggie Girl…If it helps when I go fishing I throw the fish back in the water! I was really going for the overall experience of fishing, not the “murdering” aspect. Again…sorry!
Posted by: Todd on November 1st, 2007 at 4:02 pmI’m big on 4, 5, 6, & 8. I use them regularly. The idea of taking a cold shower is difficult for me. I am perpetually cold, and living in Colorado means that it’s hard to get warm some days. That said, I may have to get up the courage to try it.
Great ideas.
Posted by: bluskygirl on November 1st, 2007 at 7:09 pmBlusky– adding in cold showers can actually WARM you up. It sounds wrong….but it is very true….try it out!
Posted by: Todd on November 1st, 2007 at 8:06 pmOur Slow Manifesto advises taking long baths, and doing just about everything slowly. You might want to add these.
Posted by: Christopher on November 5th, 2007 at 11:10 amThanks Christopher– I will DEF check out your website, as I love the concept of slowing things down a LOT!
Posted by: Todd on November 5th, 2007 at 11:34 amI’m not sure I could see myself fishing but I could definitely go for a vacation and a massage. Thanks for the great tips.
Cheers,
Posted by: Roby on November 5th, 2007 at 12:35 pmRoby
THANKS Roby– great to have you on here as well!
Posted by: Todd on November 5th, 2007 at 1:31 pmtodd
Hi there…Man i just love your blog, keep the cool posts comin..holy Sunday
Posted by: Brandy Norwood on November 25th, 2007 at 7:13 pm[…] Better quality. I sleep less than I did 2 years ago, but I generally find it easier to wake up. One major reason for this is my quality of sleep is much better (although I am conveniently forgetting the first few months after our son was born). Apart from avoiding the things I mentioned earlier, I usually wear a sleep mask to make things completely dark. Kathryn has nicknamed me Zorro because of this, but it is worth it. Also, I might even look at getting myself a posturpedic pillow (as suggested awhile back by my friend Todd in 24 Powerful Relaxation Techniques). […]
Posted by: Mind Over Mattress: How to Wake Earlier When All You Want to Do is Sleep » I will change your life . com on March 4th, 2008 at 10:34 am[…] Better quality. I sleep less than I did 2 years ago, but I generally find it easier to wake up. One major reason for this is my quality of sleep is much better (although I am conveniently forgetting the first few months after our son was born). Apart from avoiding the things I mentioned earlier, I usually wear a sleep mask to make things completely dark. Kathryn has nicknamed me Zorro because of this, but it is worth it. Also, I might even look at getting myself a posturpedic pillow (as suggested awhile back by my friend Todd in 24 Powerful Relaxation Techniques). […]
Posted by: How to Wake Early on December 21st, 2008 at 5:02 pmwhen I am trying to relax, I lose myself in a favorite craft project, that usually seems to do the trick for me
Posted by: sapphiren on October 23rd, 2009 at 4:27 amI love too have a at home spa day every once in awhile. I like having the day to myself to take a long bath and a nap right after then just sitting in bed all day just watching Tv.
Posted by: Heather on March 3rd, 2010 at 10:23 pm