The 12 most effective relaxation techniques against anxiety

relaxation It is a matter that interests the most evolved societies of today’s world, becoming, in many cases, a necessity. It happens because anxiety is one of the most frequent mental health problems around the world.

There are many relaxation methods but what do we understand by relaxation? What relaxation techniques are the most efficient against anxiety? I tell you in this article.

In this article numerous relaxation techniques are proposed. The important thing, when choosing any of them, is that it is pleasant to do itas this will make it easier to practice regularly.

The human body has an innate ability to relax, so it will suffice to follow certain guidelines to enjoy the experience:

Practice in a quiet place, alone, without distractions electronic, not even background music: the body adapts to the rhythms of the music instead of finding its own.Try to practice at the same time every time you do it. If it can be regularly, better.Take off your shoes and wear clothes that do not constrict you. Practice before and not after eating. Avoid eating, smoking, or drinking while you exercise. Drink water, before starting, if you are thirsty. Sit in a chair or lie on the floor,If you fall asleep, don’t worry: you needed it and it is part of the process.When you finishclose your eyes and wait about 30 seconds or a minute and then get up slowly. It will help your metabolism recover.

BODY MIND SCHOOL

what is relaxation

We not only seek relaxation but general well-being, tranquility before the setbacks of life, the calm when everything around us moves, Temperance before the most diverse appetites, the placidity to be with ourselves the calm when we have done strenuous work, patience when we are in a hurry and are stuck in traffic. all these concepts They are part of what we understand by relaxation.

Hence the definition: Relaxation is using the necessary energy and only the necessary one to carry out a task, be it physical, mental or emotional, and when finishing it, recover as soon as possible.

From what they deduce two premises:

There are different degrees of relaxation, from the total that we need to fall asleep, to the stimulant necessary to pass an exam or an important appointment. Between these extremes, there is a range of forms, behaviors and relaxing attitudes that allow us to face the different problems of daily life with desire but calm, with vivacity but with temperance, with clarity of objectives but patients.Relaxation is proportional to the ability to adapt to our needs and those of the environmentand the fluidity with which we make this adjustment.

how to relax

It is important to learn to relax, but first we must cultivate the observation of our daily habits, understand the behaviors that unconsciously or consciously relax us, see where the tension that prevents us comes from and apply the teachings of nature and our body to daily life.

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Let’s start with the latter. Nature and our bodyas a reflection of it, perform billions of functions daily in a relaxed way, adapt like a glove to the needs of the environment or to those of the organism and they do it in two ways: giving and receiving information.

If we need to run, the cells of the lung will ask for air, while those of the muscles will ask for blood and those of the whole body will start up in a few seconds to satisfy the desire for speed. When the effort ends, they will send the information that allows the normal rhythm to be restored.

The cells of the body favor adaptation to our needs in a fluid flow of information, without tension, without asking for anything in return, with generosity, optimism and love for life. So we communicate constantly and dynamically every day exchanging light, strength, air, love, work, dreams, joys.

The relaxed attitude requires fluidity, so that the energy exchange and the possibility of replacing it when we require it are carried out optimally. We need to flow in the process of living.

Only flows who, like the body, is generous, gives and receives at the right moment, listens and speaks when it is his turn, collects information and transmits it in a timely manner, concentrates and expands in due time.

Whoever interrupts this process ends up stressed and, in some cases, sick. Stopping it is like stopping a river, its waters stagnate, it ceases to be a river and does not reach the sea, which is its destination. Or like wanting to stop breathing: in two minutes we would cease to exist.

We must, then, begin by being generous with ourselves and with what surrounds us, in order to be fluid and adjusted to our needs.

The more we give, the more we receivethe more generous, the more we flow and more easily we can adapt to changes that will bring life with the necessary attitude and relaxation.

Deliver and receive calmly and with joy, and joy and good humor will gradually preside over your daily work. They do not have to be very big things: greet and say goodbye with affection, give a smile, a compliment or a wish for well-being and do it from the heart. Listen to the sounds of the day, be it what your neighbor tells you or the silence when you come home from work.

Nothing makes you happier than being generous, and with generosity comes relaxation.

Relaxation techniques against anxiety

There is ways to promote relaxation, calm and peace in ourselves. Some are merely physicalothers involve forces mental and spiritualand most are directed to the totality of the human being.

1. Restful sleep

He everyday method of relaxation par excellencethe most practiced and restorative, is sleep.

Shakespeare said: “At the banquet of life, sleep is the best food.”

The lack of sleeping hours is harmful to us and to the environment. It produces bodily fragility, physical and mental exhaustion, and bad mood.

The latest research confirms that we are designed to sleep twice a day: once at night and once after eating.

Says Salvador Dali that the restful and necessary sleep at night is not only important to create the physical and mental calm with which we can face! the tasks of the day, but with it, problems are solved that we would be unable to solve when awake.

Some Suggestions for a restful and relaxing sleep:

Try not to accumulate stress during the day. Respect the natural and periodic rhythms of sleep, which are a little longer in winter than in summer. Sleep in a quiet, dark room with fresh air. Avoid electric blankets. Go to bed at a regular time. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, or other exciting drinks four hours before. Do not watch the news before going to bed. Instead meditate, pray or read poetry.

My grandmother was right, her five minute nap after eating was a great idea. dali goes further and proposesas one of the crucial moments in the development of his work, the afternoon nap, of short duration: the sleeper“a sleep without sleep… which is a rest that balances on the tense and invisible thread that separates sleep from wakefulness”.

To do this, sitting in an armchair, we can pick up a key with your thumb and forefinger, place a plate just below, and thus close your eyes, until you enter the hypnotic state and repairman from sleep.

When the key comes out on the plate we will wake up and we will meetphysically and mentally recovered to continue that work that we want to go perfectly. This state is extremely productive.

2. Breathing

Breathing is a reflection of all vital processes; If we listen to it and follow it, we integrate into the body, concentrate, tone up and reach other levels of perception.

Both physically and mentally, a deep, calm and silent breathing helps us to undertake any activity.

We propose an exercise that will relax you momentarily and help you in a moment of trouble.

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We kneel and sit on the calves, to place the trunk on the thighs and the forehead on the ground, or on the crossed hands.If in this position we open our knees forming an angle with the feet so that the belly fits, we will feel the breath in the entire abdominal area. Yeah we close our legswe will notice it in the coccyx, sacrum and lumbar vertebrae. Feel the air and its three momentswhich will begin to lengthen if you respect the pause.Return to the breath when your thoughts meet stranded in the rocks of the strain.

Conscious breathing is an optimistic phenomenon, an example of generosity and fluidity in our exchange with the world.

3. Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation

Is easy to learn and it can be done sittingwith which you can transport it as a tool to relax in your Workplace.

Progressive muscle relaxation has multiple variations. We propose the following:

lie on your back to the ground in a comfortable position. She tries to breathe softly but deeply. Feel your whole body.Start with the feet, put a little tension on them for about 5 seconds as you inhale and then release the tension as you exhale and go through all the musculature of the feet feeling how they weigh while you continue to breathe gently.Proceed in the same way going up the muscles of the front of the body until you get to the face. Then it goes down the entire back, stopping at each part of the body, tensing and relaxing the muscles.Finally stay still on the ground with your eyes closedfocused on your breathing, feeling the sensation of peace and the release of tensions.

4. Autogenic training

It requires more time and discipline than the previous one, but greater benefits can be obtained, since it not only acts on relaxation, but also, after a few months, allows you to overcome addictions (smoking, gambling), change unwanted behaviors and combat anxiety; It depends on the severity of the problem and the discipline with which the exercises are performed.

It is a process that requires previous teaching.in which we take responsibility for speaking to our body (first in parts and then as a whole) and suggest a series of sensations: heaviness, heat, placidity and tranquility.

We will feel each of them in an exercise that lasts 20 minutes, three times a day, for 20 dayswhich is how long it takes to change a habit.

Then body parts are added. that worry us: lungs, heart, stomach, head… for two weeks each.

Finally positive visualizations are practiced to eradicate a behavior.