How to learn to relax: techniques, methods and methods of quick relaxation

Every day we are bombarded with a huge number of tasks and worries, problems that need to be resolved, obstacles that need to be overcome. All this creates a powerful stream of stress on the psyche, consciousness and even the body. But finding time to rest is not always possible and not everyone can do it, especially since we often think that for this we need to have at least a couple of free hours or even the whole day. In fact, for a completely complete and high-quality rest, a short break of 10-15 minutes, spent wisely and wisely, may be enough.

The main condition for quick and effective rest is a conscious desire to relax and recuperate. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re a teacher or a student, run a business or throw boxes in a warehouse, spend all day driving or sit for hours at a computer - if you really want a quick break (or want to learn how to do it), you’re already halfway there. this goal. All that remains is to find a technique or technique that suits you that would allow you to do this. In this article we have collected several options.

Why am I always tense

Tension can be spontaneous (an hour-long workout in the gym), followed by calm quickly enough, or cumulative. It is the last option that is most difficult for a person. It consists of:

• Physical fatigue - lack of sleep, working on your feet or at the computer, constant chores, due to which there is no time to sit down.
• Stress, psychological pressures, conflict situations - they appear everywhere when there is no harmony within and with the environment.
• Ecology and rhythm of life - the space around us is very depressing and provides a gloomy background.

If you only feel tension in the body that does not go away, then the reason is your inability to hear it.

Switching attention

This technique is good for short-term pain, such as an earache, or if you need to wait for pain medication to take effect.

We are all a little hypnotists. But if not everyone can inspire something to others, then everyone can influence themselves.

Try to freeze your pain. Sit down, close your eyes, mentally focus on the painful place. Rub the area with something cold, such as a piece of ice or a damp cloth. Now fix your attention not on the pain, but on the feeling of cold, and the pain will subside. The fact is that our psyche is designed in such a way that at a certain moment in time we can experience only one feeling, and which of the sensations you focus on at a particular moment is largely a matter of choice.

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Relaxation and Relaxation Techniques

If it is a skill, then it can be learned. Different techniques are required in different situations - some are appropriate at home after work, others can be used during a lunch break.

Quick ways

They are suitable for moments when you need to switch to something, throw off the burden of negative thoughts and experiences. For example, before going to a business meeting, you should temporarily disconnect from current work problems.

Quick relaxation techniques:

• Find the cause of stress and mentally push it aside. Awareness is the first and main step towards calm.
• Do some exercise. Many large companies have both a recreation area and a gym. Because sports activities relieve psychological fatigue.
• Several inhalations and exhalations, accompanied by raising and lowering your arms. Breathing is an excellent indicator of stress; with anxiety and nervous tension, it becomes more frequent; it is necessary to force it back to normal.
• Compression of the body in the fetal position. Press your head to your knees and clasp your legs with your hands, freeze for 10 minutes, experiencing conscious tension. Then, exhaling, open your palms and straighten up. This technique will allow you to get rid of internal locks.

How to relax your body and remove tensions

The muscles contract involuntarily and do not return to normal. This physical reaction of the body indicates psychological problems. You may not notice the “muscle shell” for a long time until the muscles begin to ache. If clamped:

• Mouth. Indicates a need for protection and resentment. You need to take the fetal position and make sucking movements.
• Neck. This means that there is fear, as well as control over speech. It is necessary to make several yawns in the morning and in the evening - large, into all the lungs.
• Breast. Speaks of restrained emotions. Try lying crosswise on the bed with your feet on the floor. Place a cushion under your back and take deep breaths.
• Diaphragm. Most likely, you are afraid of something. You can remove the clamp by making static turns of the body to the sides and holding them for a minute.

How to learn to completely relax your body from tension

You need to give small loads to each muscle group:

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• Bends – for the neck and shoulders, lower back, arms, calves and thighs.
• Pull up - for the back.
• Turns to the right and left - for the oblique abdominal muscles.
• Squats are for the legs.

It helps to relax energetic dance for 5-7 minutes. You can also sign up for swimming - water reduces resistance, so the muscles receive moderate, comprehensive development, but without overexertion. If you come home after training, a warm bath with aromatic oils or a contrast shower will work well.

Exercise for the brain

If you work mentally or study, you need to periodically clear your thoughts of worries. You can do it like this:

• using water procedures;
• through aromatherapy;
• drink tea with herbs - chamomile, thyme, linden;
• You can go for a massage or acupressure your body while applying milk or cream to the skin.

How to relax yourself after stress

First, you need to understand the cause of the condition, remove this factor from the environment along with secondary irritants - calls, noise from the street, the TV on. After this, you can do one of the following:

• take a walk in the forest/park, if the weather cooperates;
• play with your pet;
• watch a good movie or enjoy music;
• do yoga or stretching, Pilates - something slow, with elements of meditation;
• take a bath;
• meet good friends, lovers, share problems.

What to do if there is tension in your relationship with your spouse

Discord in the family always begins with misunderstanding, so the main trump card is a heart-to-heart conversation. Perhaps the problem lies in the presence of complexes - you are embarrassed by your appearance, afraid to express your opinion, or do not feel loved.

I recommend being together more often in places where you feel most comfortable - on joint walks, picnics, at your parents’ house. Even a room in an apartment matters, where it is easier and more free for you to speak, there are more ways to open up. A prerequisite is a conversation, gradually explain the problem to him, find a joint solution.

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SPA and other treatments that will help restore balance

A warm bath or shower effectively relaxes both the body and the nervous system, so it is recommended to resort to this procedure at least once a day. Essential oils will help enhance the effect (add 2-3 drops to water):

• lavender, providing 100% relaxation;
• pine needles, which have a tonic and healing effect;
• citrus fruits (orange, lemon, bergamot and others), which improve mood and strengthen the nervous system;
• geranium, which alleviates hormonal imbalances and psychological stress;
• mint, with which you can quickly return your psycho-emotional state to normal.

As part of general strengthening of the body, be sure to use light physical activity. The ideal solution is swimming, dancing, yoga or Pilates, which allows you to restore tone to the skin, elasticity to the muscles, and calm to the nervous system. If you don’t have time for sports, then replace it with short walking or cycling walks in the fresh air.

Effective techniques

There are many types of methods, among which auto-training, meditation (especially good for those who practice yoga), and listening to music of a certain direction are especially popular. I made a selection of 6 techniques. To complete them, you need 15 minutes and complete privacy in comfortable conditions: order, silence, comfortable temperature, fresh air (you need to ventilate the room), absence of irritants.

Respiratory

It involves controlling the breath as the most important force guiding our body and mind. To do this you need:

• lie down in a comfortable position;
• close your eyes and concentrate on inhaling and exhaling through your nose;
• feel the coolness of the air;
• hold your breath for a while;
• exhale and feel the warmth.

This combination should be repeated 30-50 times. At the same time, you cannot think about extraneous things, only about enriching the body with oxygen. This exercise can be done anywhere, even while sitting. At the same time, the heart rate decreases, the nerves gradually return to order.

Relaxation technique progressive muscle relaxation

It is based on the opinion that if you tense each individual muscle in turn, then the whole body will come to calm in just 5-10 minutes. To do this, you need to move one muscle at a time - the neck (turns), the abs (twisting), the arms (raising small dumbbells).

Calming Visualization

Our subconscious “I” does not distinguish between real events. Therefore, you need to visualize images that bring peace. You need to act like this:

• Sit or lie down in a comfortable position and close your eyes.
• Normalize your breathing if it is lost.
• Imagine a place where you like to be, hold this picture, feel all the sensations (smells, tactile touches, sounds) that you experience there.
• Use maximum detail.
• Gradually return to reality, mentally recalling the furnishings of the room, focusing on real feelings.
• Open your eyes.

Relaxation and relaxation technique: “entering the alpha state”

Our brain works as a wave generator, and its activity can be at 4 levels, where:

• β – active work;
• α – state of rest;
• θ – meditation or hypnotic influence;
• δ – sleep.

The task of technology is to switch to frequencies from 8 to 14 Hz. This can be done according to the algorithm:

• lie down more comfortably;
• count from 3 to 1, mentally pronouncing these numbers;
• list the values ​​from 10 to 1, thinking in the phrases “I calm down”, “I relax”, “I sink deeper into calm”, “I am calm”, etc., at ten say “I am in alpha”.

This is similar to self-hypnosis and requires repeated repetition to learn how to dive deeper at each stage.

How to relax well when you have neurosis

This condition is accompanied by panic, fears, irritability, as well as depressive thoughts and a general negative attitude. Autogenic training helps a lot, during which a person, for a short time, but every day, inspires himself with correct, positive thoughts. Basic recommendations:

• mantras should not have a negative particle “not”;
• they must have simple language;
• During the exercise, development should occur - from the easiest to the more complex.

Examples of self-hypnosis: “I am happy,” “I am calm,” “I respond well to any situation.”

According to Jacobson

According to his theory, it is necessary to tense and then release tension from the muscles - this method of relaxation should be used not only for physical fatigue, but also for psychological fatigue. Thoughts need to be concentrated on sensations.

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Receptor stimulation as a way to quickly relax and calm down

Nerve receptors are our body’s connection with the outside world, designed to inform us about a possible threat to life in order to preserve it. Irritation of temperature, pain, and olfactory receptors on an instinctive level signals the brain about potential danger: “It’s hot! You could get burned!”, “It’s cold, you’ll freeze!”, “Pungent smell! Possibly poison! And all brain activity is mobilized to recognize the reality of the threat and the ability to neutralize it.

It is on this mechanism that the method of distraction and relaxation associated with stimulation of nerve receptors is based. It is good because it is applicable both in cases of chronic stress and in acute stressful situations and is implemented through the following procedures:

• Contrast showers and hardening procedures irritate cold receptors;
• Bath, lying in a hot bath as a way to relax, affects heat receptors;
• Massage procedures, incl. and self-massage stimulate tactile and muscle-joint sensitivity;
• Reading books is a monotonous stimulation of visual receptors, the lulling effect of which is well known.

For chronic stress, any activity associated with constant long-term exposure to some type of sensitivity is suitable. It is important not to try to act consciously, forcing yourself not to think about the situation that provokes tension. Activation of the brain centers that respond to external influences will itself extinguish the excitement in thoughts and give long-awaited relaxation.

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In acute stressful situations, the impact should be stronger, but short-lived. Pouring cold water and slapping the cheeks to irritate pain receptors instantly removes all foci of activity in the brain and even stops hysterical attacks.

Recommendations for relaxation

Regardless of which method you choose, follow some tips.

Simple exercises

Normal breathing actions and physical movements can be done for 1-2 minutes in any place - at work, at home, in line at the store. Take a break from your computer or phone right now, close your eyes, take a deep breath as you raise your arms, and exhale as you quickly lower them. Feel how the fatigue leaves you with the air, all the tension falls off your shoulders. Now stretch your hands, elbow joints and shoulders with rotational movements, twist your back from side to side, shake your limbs. In these couple of minutes you will already feel light.

Food

Part of the heaviness in the stomach is the cause of the general drowned state. Adviсe:

• do not eat at night;
• avoid large amounts of fatty foods;
• give preference not to buns and chocolates, but to fruits;
• drink more clean water.

How to calm down easily

If you feel excitement (anxiety, fear, resentment), then your breathing and heartbeat quicken. The first thing you need to do is stay alone with yourself and normalize them with the help of deep breaths, short holds and exhalations.

Where does internal tension come from?

What happens to our energy reserves if we are not in a dense forest, but in the workplace, and the cause of stress is not a tiger, but a boss (subordinate, colleague)? In this case, it is impossible to simply turn and run away. Scalping is also excluded.

And for thousands of years now, the old physiological mechanisms have been running idle, and the adrenaline is almost spilling out of you. Very often you do not have the opportunity to help yourself through active physical exercise, for example, chopping wood or playing tennis. At best, you will sit with a colleague over a cup of coffee and cry into his vest.

This is also a certain form of relaxation. Especially if a colleague shows solidarity with you. However, in this way you are only suppressing the increased activity of the sympathetic nerves, and this is sorely lacking.

However, there are people who are immune to various kinds of anxiety and stress, who are able to maintain peace of mind and a good psychological attitude even in situations assessed by others as extreme.

But the opposite reaction is more common. People either suffer or resort to some simple and accessible remedy that can supposedly bring relief. Often we are talking about drugs that, if taken regularly, pose a health hazard, such as alcohol, coffee, various medications, large doses of vitamins and God knows what else.

can be recommended as effective and harmless methods . However, in a number of social situations all this is unacceptable.

How to relax: 9 sensible tips

1. Give up cigarettes and alcohol as stress relievers.
2. Brew soothing teas with healing aromatic herbs - chamomile, lemon balm, thyme. It is better to buy natural ones at the pharmacy than to buy tea bags with flavors.
3. Use aroma oils - in aroma lamps, when taking a bath, for massage.
4. Avoid people and situations that make you nervous. No matter what it is - communication with your mother-in-law or the sound of a leaking faucet, fix it.
5. Change your activity - if you have been sitting at the computer for a long time, get up and walk, if, on the contrary, you have worked a lot physically, read a chapter of a book or a newspaper article.
6. You are more in contact with nature and animals. If you can’t visit zoos or go out of town, plant a few homemade flowers and get a kitten.
7. Make it a spa day with a massage, jacuzzi and chocolate wrap.
8. Unleash your creativity - now there are a lot of handicraft products, clay modeling courses, as well as intuitive drawing lessons, find a hobby you like.
9. Sign up for my consultation and I will help you find tensions and psychological internal conflicts, together we will find solutions without the use of antidepressants and sedatives.

What happens to the body during moments of stress?

In moments of stress, the human body prepares for long-term work and begins to use not all resources, but to save them. That is why everything falls out of hand, concentration disappears - there is simply no energy supply for the brain. The condition can be compared to starvation. With a rapid transition to minimal nutrition, the body begins to actively store calories because it is preparing for a period of hunger.