If you are busy person with tight schedules then you most likely are stressed and tired all the time. You are constantly tired which is affecting your sleeping patterns. What is the correct way out for you? Learn a few easy relaxation techniques which can improve and reduce your stress. It can remove your anxiety levels as well. Learning relaxation skills will improve your sleep patterns also. The only question here is that you should find time to practise relaxation techniques.
Most relaxation skills have key skills which are common to all of them. Learning them would be a cake walk if practised regularly. Relaxation techniques are one of the easiest to learn. For starters, here is what you can do:
Notice any signs of physical tension in your body
Feel your body. Look out for signs of tension. Look out for how your body reacts and feels during different times of the day. Check out how your breathing is. Do you take very deep breaths or are they shallow breaths. Look out for head aches and clenched jaws. Will you be able to describe how your body feels at any given point of time? Looking out for all these just takes a few minutes and this process is known as body scan. A Body scan can easily reveal if you have any built up tensions in your body.
However, it is best that signs of stress and tension be recognized early. This will not only help you combat it effectively, but help you ease your tensions quickly. But it must be kept in mind that each and every person has his or her own way of reacting to stresses. One way of recognizing stress early is by doing a body scan, as described above, several times a day.
Breath Control
Breath Control is a part and parcel of every relaxation technique. If you feel you are breathing fast during a body scan, learn to slow it down. An ideal cycle would be 10-12 breaths per minute. Use abdominal breathing and learn to breath deeply and slowly. In fact, slowing down your breathing is one of the best and fastest relaxation techniques. This is because it changes the concentration of oxygen in your body. It can also help in easing muscle tension. Yoga Exercises do incorporate a lot of effective breathing exercises which can be applied effectively.
It would be good if you start noticing the way you breathe. Is it plain, shallow breaths, or fast? Is your chest and throat feeling tight? Try changing your breath pattern and check if it has any effect on your level of tension. For starters, do not straight away take big deep breaths. You are sure to harm yourself by hyperventilating yourself or become light-headed which will increase your tension.
Slow you Mind
In these busy days, almost every one has their mind occupied with one or other issues. It could be just things to do, or a whole lot of tensions, or it could be just plain worry. Usually, people have serious trouble switching themselves off from the worry mode. One way to get out of this worry mode is by letting go of your thoughts. Also, during the regular body scan, try noticing when your mind is active and when it is calm. That way you are keeping track of how busy your mind is.
As with any other area, even the sphere of relaxation is subject to myths. Most people do think that relaxation means emptying your mind of thoughts. That is next to impossible. During relaxation you can't let go of your thoughts, but you should just let them float about without attempting to concentrate on them. It is akin to sitting at a bus station; buses come and go and there is no rule that you should climb every bus that comes your way.
The ideal ways to relax yourself is to start noticing for signals. Noticing for body tension, controlling your breathing, as well as slowing down your mind, are the very basics of relaxation techniques. As the adage goes, "Practise makes a man perfect". Practise more and you will be able to relax much more effectively in a much quicker time.
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