How often do you take time to relax properly? To take time to focus inward and focus on yourself. There are many relaxation tools and techniques you can use to calm your mind and reduce tension in your body. These take a just few minutes and can make a big difference.
Simple visualisation exercise
This quick exercise involves using your imagination to help you focus your mind and find a greater sense of peace and calm. Simply find a quiet room and somewhere comfortable to sit.
In your mind think of an ideal spot to relax. This can be somewhere real or imaginary. It really doesn’t matter just so long as it is somewhere you find calming, comfortable, safe and relaxed. It could be your perfect garden, a peaceful beach, or just a really comfortable chair in your house. It should be a place you would want to return to whenever you feel the need to relax.
Once you have that place in your mind, close your eyes and breath slowly in through your nose. Become aware of your breathing.
Take some time to really imagine that place in as much detail as you can. Use all your senses to make it real. See yourself in that place, think of what you can see when you are there, what sounds are there, is it warm or cool, are there any smells, is there anything to touch? How does it feel?
Hold on to those thoughts as long as it feels pleasant and comfortable. Practice this as regularly as often and you will find you can go back to that place, and access those feelings of relaxation, quickly and easily!
Quick muscle relaxation
This technique helps you to quickly recognise and reduce muscle tension. It can be quick and easy to relieve tension in any part of your body just by focusing on that area and tensing then relaxing each muscle in turn.
Find a quiet room and somewhere comfortable to sit. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth (perhaps using one of the techniques below). Now make a fist, squeeze your hand really tightly and hold this for a few seconds. Notice the tension in your hand. Then slowly open your fingers and notice the difference – feel the tension leaving. Your hand is much lighter and relaxed.
Then focus on other parts of your body, perhaps your shoulders, legs, calves etc. Simply tense that area for a few moments, then release, and notice the difference. Do a full scan of your body. However if have any physical injuries or conditions that may cause muscle pain, don’t tense the muscle in that area.
Breathing techniques
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