Relaxtion Techniques For a Better Holiday.
The holidays are upon us and it is now that time in our busy schedule when we have to relax. Check your Blackberry it says so. two weeks holiday for relaxing. The trouble is how do you switch off when your motor has been running at a million miles per hour all year. Physical exercise can be a quick, short term way to relax when you arrive at your destination. Swimming, running or cycling can be relaxing if you don't treat them as exercise that you have to do to excess.
Stress is a great thing in the short term, it is the fight or flight emergency system that gets the adrenalin pumping, diverts the blood away from the skin and into the muscles and brain, but it is important to understand the detrimental effects of stress on the body over the long term. One of the important issues is that it suppresses the immune system making it harder for your body to repair and protect its self. It also puts tension into your muscles so that they are less relaxed. Check yourself over to see which of your muscles are affected. Is your jaw rigid, shoulders, stomach or in really serious cases all three ? This sort of tension can make you tetchy so that you are constantly snappy with your partner friends and co-workers. Not a good space to be in.
The first thing you need to do is to change the way you think, get rid of the 'what if' way of looking at life. You are only winding yourself up and raising the stress levels. Stop worrying about things you cannot change, just let them go, forget them. If you cannot forget them, try either talking to a good friend or writing them down as a dairy or perhaps a letter that of course, you will not send.
One of the biggest antidotes to stress is laughter. Try to see the funny side of a situation or get yourself a collection of books, films or television shows that make you laugh and when things get too much, go to your library, chose something and laugh your stress away.
Apart from laughter, there are a number of strategies you can use to wind down and you will have to find the one that works best for you. This holiday will be the perfect time to try them out. They nearly all require a quiet place to go so try to get yourself an area to go to either at home or work but preferably both. Deep breathing is a good method to try and can be used in conjunction with some of the other methods as well. It can be done sitting or standing so you can do it anywhere. Breathe in slowly whilst holding one hand on your stomach. Hold on to your breath and then breathe out slowly, counting to ten and visualising the tension leaving the body. Repeat for about five minutes.
Another good visualisation technique is to sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and visualise yourself walking into a place where you feel relaxed. It could be a beautiful garden, a quiet beach or in the countryside. Imaging you feel the warm sun and a gentle breeze on your skin. Smell the scent of the flowers or new mown hay. Look at scenery and feel the textures, relaxing as you do. Give yourself at least fifteen or twenty minutes for this and don't worry if you are having other thoughts interrupting the flow. Just don't hang onto them, let them come and go on the gentle breeze you are feeling.
If this is not for you, try either sitting or lying down and whilst you do your slow breathing, go around your body and decide to relax your muscles. Start at your head and work your way down your body until you reach your feet.
Meditation is another good way to relax using your quiet place. Sit down and use your breathing to calm down. Concentrate on your breath, hearing it come in and go out. You can also use a sound or an image to concentrate on. Once again, just let any thoughts come and go without hanging on to them.
These strategies are not just for your holidays, they are things that you should incorporate into your everyday life so that your stress levels will reduce to at least manageable levels.
Finally, try to reduce your stress levels before you leave on holiday. Get everything ready at least two or three days before your departure date so that the travel arrangements are sorted out and confirmed, the packing is done and the house is sorted. It won't stop the stress and anxiety of travel but at least you will get a head start.
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