10 Ways to Relax Now

by Nick on July 19, 2009
in Body, Health, Meditation, Mind, Relax

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10 Ways to Relax Now

Everyone has had one of those days where it seems absolutely nothing goes right. Where you just want to scream at the top of your lungs or rip your hair out. To keep from going completely insane you have to find some way to relax.

You have got to calm down!

Often times it is extremely easy to do if you have some techniques in your repertoire that you can pull out and go to work. When done with positive intentions and with hope of actually calming down and centering yourself these techniques work very well.

So give some of these a shot and let me know if any of them work for you!

1. Laugh – Rent a funny movie or get online and read some jokes. When you start laughing the tension will just melt away. If you have any funny friends or coworkers, now would be a good time to give them a call or pay them a visit!

2. Get the blood flowing – Start dancing, go for a walk, do jumping jacks. Whatever you can do to get the blood flowing and the endorphins pumping will help to calm you down. I like to take a walk. I find that getting out in to nature really does bring back to rational.

3. Deep breathing – This is a personal favorite. Deep breathing is amazing and I’ll talk more about it when I get to meditation on this site. But take a few minutes to close your eyes and take some deep breaths. Inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 5, exhale for 10. This will no doubt relax you!

4. Listen to relaxation cds – So yeah this one is obvious. They are created to help you relax – and they really do work. Might want to combine this one with number 3 and you will be relaxed in no time!

5. Drink green tea – It is said that green tea has the opposite affect of coffee so instead of stimulating it calms. The calming factor is in an amino acid it contains called Theanine. Sit down and concentrate on drinking the tea and nothing else.

6. Get a massage – What better way is there to relieve tension then for someone to light some candles put on the relaxation cds from number 4 and go to work on the knots you have in your shoulders. Go often, even if you aren’t stressed at the moment get yourself regular massages, the benefits last much longer then you may realize.

7. Play with a pet – Although my retriever Lana can be just as aggravating as she can be soothing, when I’m stressing she is great to talk to. We could go out back and play catch with the football or play tug of war with the rope and I start to forget what I am stressed about. There is something reassuring about a pet’s unconditional love and devotion. And feels good to see them sooooo happy!

8. Take a long shower or bath – I wish I had a hot tub and I’m way too tall for the bathtub so I rely on the shower. Normally I’m rushing and am in and out of the shower during the week. So if I am really on edge at night or on the weekend, I love to take a nice long hot shower. This is so relaxing! I love it!

9. Take a nap – Not everyone has this luxury but if you have the time and your anxious or stressed out, try and take a power nap. You only need 20 or 30 minutes and you should walk up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated!

10. Write it down – I hope to speak about the power of journaling in a future job post but this can really help here. Take the anxious or stressed thoughts and write them down. Acknowledge them. Then let them go. Let them pass away and come back to the here and now. Come back to what’s really important.

I hope this helps you relax when you need to. These are a few of the ways that I like to calm myself down when life is just kicking my butt. If you have any additional ideas, I’d love to hear them. Just leave them in the comments!