How to Relax: Slow Down

 

Consciously decrease the pace at which you walk. Take up activities like Tai Chi or yoga to learn how to slow down. Sketch a picture. Lay on the grass. Sing in the shower. Do something that requires your full attention (like drawing, to the best of your ability, the flower next to you) so that you can slow down without even realizing it. When you fail to slow down, you similarily fail to develop perspective and form deeper ideas about yourself and those around you. Isn't that, ultimately, what the most successful people have?

How To Relax: Procrastination

 

It's inevitable. But tell yourself you'll spend just 5-15 minutes beginning that item you're putting off. You may actually get into a groove after a minute or two and end up finishing it. Ask yourself if you "have other things to do" simply becuase you're trying to avoid doing something altogether.

How to Relax: Reflect on Time Management

 

For a week, log your usage of time in a journal. Are you wasting ten or twenty minutes every few house engaging in truly trivial and unstimulating activities (for instance, Faceboo)? Look at all the things you do and see if you cdan delegate, give up, or stop when they are good enough. Through dissecting how you spend your time, you can see why you don't have time for yourself to begin with.

How to Relax: Consider WHY you need to relax.

 

I write for a magazine called Total Wellness at UCLA and we write about that: total wellness. Physically, emotionally, but not so much spiritually (we'll leave spirituality alone). The last article I wrote which should be in print in a month or so was about how and why you should be gentle with yourself and learn to relax. I am going to present the article bit by bit over the next week or so. Here's the first suggestion:

Appreciate the benefits of Relaxation: Relaxation lowers cortisol levels, the stress hormone that wreaks havoc to the body (impairs cognitive performance, raises blood pressure, lowers the immune system response when present in abnormal levels). Relax to reduce your risk of stress-related illnesses. Ultimately, you can get more done when you are working because you have rejuvinated your mind during your time of rest. So if you're someone who cannot stand to sit still or feel "unproductive" if you aren't doing something, remind yourself that you will be able to focus more easily on your work days if you take a day off a week. Just like when we work out, we need to take at least a day off a week in order to allow our muscles to repair themselves and give our cardiovascular systems some down time. It is the same with our brains and emotions. Allow yourself to power down once a week.