The 5 Best Relaxation Techniques for Stress

To relax, you have to activate the body's natural relaxation response, and watching TV when you come home, lie down or sleep are not the best ways.

The Relaxation techniques for stress That I will explain to you are much more effective and with them you will have results. However, to start these exercises and their benefits, you will have to change some habits.

Some of the causes you may feel stressed about are:

• Work overload
• Bad environment in your company
• Workplace Harassment
• You do not yet control the tasks to be done in your job
• You do not have a job
• Bad relationship
• You have too many tasks to attend: children, home, work, family...

Even if you find it difficult now, it is necessary Fight stress With some method, since it has very negative consequences on your health in the short, medium and long term.

Something important about stress

Something that is often overlooked about stress is that it is necessary for life. You need it to survive, to learn, to achieve goals, For creativity . It would be convenient to feel some stress when:

• You have a difficult and important exam
• You have an important project to finish for your company
• You have no job or income
• There is any real physical danger

However, do not confuse stress at certain times With chronic stress . Neither does positive stress, which provides energy and activation, with negative stress, which causes over-activation.

The problem is when the stress is excessive and continuous; Interrupts the state of equilibrium of the nervous system and, therefore, it needs to return to balance.

It is clear that at present there is a great deal of stress in the population ( In this article you can see statistics ) And therefore it is convenient to learn certain techniques so that the nervous system returns to the state of equilibrium, producing a relaxation response.

A general concept you are interested in understanding is this: if you are relaxed, you can not be nervous at the same time. And this is one of the main goals of the techniques; Producing a state of relaxation that prevents the state of stress.

Negative Consequences of Stress

If you suffer stress for long periods of time, You can have negative consequences For physical and mental health in your social relationships and at work:

• Tachycardia
• Increased blood pressure
• Lack of initiative
• Impotence
• Acne
• Diabetes
• Demotivation
• Aggressiveness
• Low productivity
• Absenteeism

and many more.

Benefits of practicing relaxation techniques

If you practice them, the exercises and relaxation techniques that I will explain to you can have great benefits in your life such as:

• Reduce stress hormones in blood
• Increase the feeling of control
• Increase self-esteem
• Increase blood flow to muscles
• Reduce muscle tension
• Reduce chronic pain
• Higher sense of well-being
• Decrease fatigue
• Decrease heart rate
• Decrease blood pressure
• Reduce feelings of hatred and frustration

Choose the technique that suits you best

Depending on your way of being and your tendencies, you will agree one more technique or another:

• If you tend to become depressed, isolated or discouraged: techniques that promote energy in your nervous system , As the rhythmic exercise
• If you tend to be angry, excited, nervous or agitated: meditation, deep breathing
• If you tend to immobilize: Mindfulness , Progressive muscle relaxation Yoga

Here are the different techniques.

Techniques to relax

To learn the most important of these techniques, I recommend practicing at least 10 minutes a day.

If you can practice 20-60 minutes much better; The more you practice the more you advance. It is a physical skill that can be learned just like any other.

What I find most interesting about these techniques is that you can practice them practically anywhere, so it will be a great resource in your life.

1-Progressive muscle relaxation

It is convenient that you practice Muscle relaxation At least for 15 minutes a day.

It is about putting your muscles in tension to relax them then. That way, you will release tension from your body and relax your mind.

If you have a history of muscle spasms, back, muscle or injury problems, they can get worse by putting your muscles in tension, so consult a professional.

Step by Step:

1. Wear comfortable clothing, comfortable shoes and sit in a comfortable seat
2. Relax with a deep breath (the one commented on in meditation) and close your eyes
3. You can use relaxing music
4. When you are relaxed, focus your attention on your right forearm. How do you feel?
5. Straighten your right forearm, squeezing it tight. Holds up to 8-10 seconds
6. Relax your right forearm, focus on how tension is going and how you feel it, as you relax
7. Stay in that relaxed state for about 8 seconds, breathing deeply and slowly
8. Shifts attention to the left forearm and starts the sequence again

With practice, this technique will make you know when you are in tension and a way to relax it.

If you know when you are tense and when you are relaxed, you can recognize the first signs of tension and start the relaxation.

On the other hand, if you combine it with deep abdominal breathing, you can give better results.

At first, you can start practicing with all the body parts, if you have little time, you can relax only some parts and when you have a lot of practice, you can relax all at once.

Although I have set the example with the right forearm (because it is the part that I usually relax more), the most frequent sequence is:

1. Right foot
2. Left foot
3. Right calf
4. Left calf
5. Right thigh
6. Left thigh
7. Hips and Buttocks
8. Stomach
9. Chest
10. Back
11. Arm and right hand
12. Left arm and hand
13. Neck and shoulders
14. Expensive

2-Autogenous relaxation

Autogenic relaxation is a technique that is based on the sensations that arise in the body through the use of language.

Your goal is to achieve deep relaxation and reduce stress.

It consists of 6 exercises that make your body feel warm, heavy and relaxed. In each exercise you use the imagination and verbal cues to relax your body in a specific way.

Step by Step:

1. It begins with deep breathing, the exhalation being double the inhalation. For example: inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds.
2. Inhale, close your eyes and as you exhale repeat 6-8 times:"my right arm is getting heavier"and concentrate on that feeling
3. Repeat 6-8 times:"my right arm weighs more and more"(hands, arms, legs, back, neck, men, feet, thighs, legs)
4. Repeat 6-8 times:"my right arm is warm"(hands, arms, legs, back, neck, men, feet, thighs, legs)
5. Repeat 6-8 times:"my heart beats quietly and relaxed"
6. Repeat 6-8 times:"my breathing is getting more calm"
7. Repeat 6-8 times:"my stomach is getting warmer"
8. Repeat 6-8 times:"My front is cold"

Summary: heaviness-heat-heart-calm-breathing-warm stomach-cool front.

You can practice them alone or all in one session. My recommendation is that you practice and see which gives you better results.

3-Meditation

To meditate Just sit up straight in a comfortable seat, close your eyes and focus on saying - loudly or for you - a phrase or mantra such as"I'm cool,""I love myself"or"I'm at peace".

You can also put a hand on your stomach to synchronize your breathing with the phrases.

If you have any thought , Let it go alone, do not try to eliminate it.

Another way is to listen to your own breathing as you repeat the mantra.

An important part of meditation is deep breathing from the abdomen; Take a good amount of air in your lungs.

Normally, a stressed person will breathe only with the upper lungs, however, if oxygen reaches the bottom (abdominal breathing) you will receive more oxygen and you will feel more relaxed and less tense.

Step by Step:

1. Sit upright in a comfortable chair, putting one hand on your stomach and another on your chest
2. Breathe through your nose for 4 seconds slowly, so that the hand of your stomach rises and the hand on your chest rises very little
3. Hold the air for 4 seconds
4. Exhale through the mouth for 4 seconds slowly, expelling as much air as you can, while contracting the abdomen
5. The seconds that you comment are a proposal, make modifications until you feel totally comfortable. Practice is the key

4-Mindfulness + Meditation

The mindfulness It consists of being aware of what you are feeling in the present moment, both internally and externally.

Likewise, you will avoid all sorts of judgments, worries, guilt or thoughts about the past.

It can be applied to any activity of your daily life: work, eat, exercise, walk... In fact, ideally it is a way to live life.

You can practice it in your daily life or next to the meditation:

1. Find a quiet place, where you can relax without distractions or interruptions
2. Stand straight in a relaxed position without lying down
3. Find a point to focus your attention on. It can be internal (an image, place or feeling) or something external (phrases, object, word you repeat). You can close your eyes or focus on an external object
4. It adopts a non-critical attitude, without judging, living the present. Do not fight the thoughts that arise, turn your attention to the internal or external object

5-Visualization - Guided imagery

The visualization Is a technique somewhat different from the meditation with which you will have to use all your senses: sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste.

It is based on imagining a scene in which you will relax and let go of all feeling of tension.

Step by Step:

1. Find a quiet place and sit straight and comfortable
2. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a quiet place as vividly as you can.
3. Feel that you are in that place with all your senses: sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste.
4. Walk through the place, feeling the sensations; Colors, textures, smell, sound...
5. Spend time feeling every sense: first what you see, then what you are playing, then what you hear...
6. For example: look at the sea and how the waves break, listen to the birds, feel the wind or the sand, smell the flowers...
7. Feel those feelings and let any worry or thought flow. If you get distracted, go back to practice

Others

• Yoga: Satyanand, Hatha yoga and Power yoga
• Tai Chi

And what techniques do you practice? Which ones have you served? I am interested in your opinion. Thanks!