Good afternoon. Having mastered the step how to learn to relax, you will find out the most effective techniques relaxation. This step, like each of the steps in the framework, will be divided into theory and practice.

After you become familiar with the theory, you will be able to undergo practice and for seven days, every day, master various ways relaxation. You complete the practice on your own, simply by reading my course and following the recommendations from it.

If you are finished executing practical recommendations given in the previous steps, I hope you have gained some insight into the development of willpower and awareness. These skills will help you greatly as you complete this step. And if you started studying my self-development plan from this step, then it’s okay, finish it, and then proceed to the previous ones, if you wish.

As theoretical basis, underlying this step, I will present the main conclusions from all the articles on relaxation that are presented on my blog. So you can think of this step as a stand-alone article that summarizes all the others, and it will summarize all the information that will help you learn to relax.

The ability to independently relax is an important skill.

In our stressful life, the ability to independently relax is strategic important skill. But, unfortunately, not everyone has this skill and therefore resort to alcohol and all sorts of sedatives and without this they cannot relieve tension. These people are convinced that the stressful environment around them is to blame for their tension, and that, under such circumstances, it is impossible to relax without aids. But that's not true. The amount of stress received per day depends not only on the external environment, but also on your sensitivity to stress, ability to maintain a relaxed internal state amid the external bustle. Therefore, it is important not only to be able to relax during rest, but also to be calm during the day, letting in as little stress and negativity as possible. And the less tension we get, the easier it will be for us to relax later.

Many people forget about this and, having tried several relaxation techniques, they fail because the tension is too great. Therefore, here we will learn not only relaxation techniques, but also how to maintain a relaxed state throughout the day.

If you get used to relaxing with the help of alcohol, then your body gradually loses its ability to withstand stress. This happens, firstly, due to the fact that alcohol destroys nervous system, and, secondly, because, having become accustomed to doping, to an easy and quick means of relief, you lose the ability to independently bring yourself to calm state and when you don't drink, your anxiety levels increase.

It is important to be able to suppress nervousness in yourself and extinguish accumulated tension. Tense and nervous man is like a car moving at high speed, which is very difficult to control: one careless effort directed at the steering wheel, and the car begins to move from side to side, losing its balance. When you are nervous, it is difficult for you to control yourself and everything does not go at all the way you want it to: you lose your thoughts, make unnecessary movements, speak very quickly, and stammer. In general, you “skid” in every possible way when turning.

A relaxed person drives at a reasonable speed, which allows him to deftly maneuver around obstacles without missing a single traffic light or warning. When you are relaxed, everything works out better for you, the way you want. In addition, a relaxed body, like a slow car, uses much less energy than a body that is constantly stressed. And if you are relaxed all day, then the rest of your strength and good mood remains in the evening.

“The slower you go, the further you will go,” it says folk wisdom. The less tense you are and the more relaxed you are, the less you get sick and, accordingly, the longer you live, since many diseases are associated with the state of the nervous system.

How to achieve such relaxation? The following articles will help you with this. You can familiarize yourself with them or read the conclusions from them, which I will give below. The conclusions will concern only theory; we will deal with practice in the next part of this step. If you are eager to learn about the basic relaxation techniques, go straight to practice, it is presented below in the article, especially since I outlined the main theoretical conclusions in this step.

Theory

Elective

If the reason you cannot relax is constant nervous haste, impulsiveness, constantly distracted attention, difficulty sitting in one place for a long time, then I recommend reading this article.

If you are nervous a lot, then I advise you to read this article, as nervousness creates tension.

Conclusions from the theory

• Stress is your internal reaction to what is happening. And how strong this reaction is depends on you.
• Nervousness and inability to relax only interfere with life.
• Stress and fatigue are easier to prevent than to prevent!
• The fact that you can’t relax without alcohol and other drugs is a lie.
• Alcohol is one of the most harmful and dangerous drugs. It has a destructive effect on the body. This is far from the most suitable means of relaxation.

Practice. We master relaxation techniques.

The practice, as usual, will be divided into days and should be done gradually. Every few days we will master one of the relaxation techniques. In addition, there will be daily tips to help you relax as you go through your day. The goal of the practice is to try various relaxation techniques yourself and make sure that our body can relax on its own, you just need to set yourself up correctly. The program is designed to help you gradually learn to relax, its schedule will help you control yourself, following the plan I have established. This is much more effective than doing things haphazardly.

But if you don't want to follow the plan, then you can get a lot from here useful information about ways of relaxation. But still, I recommend conducting an experiment on yourself and studying according to a schedule, this will also help you live an unusual week for you and add variety to your life.

During the practice of this step (7 days), completely eliminate alcohol consumption. If you smoke, then reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke daily by at least 1.5 times, or better yet, by 2 times.

Day 1-3. Mastering diaphragmatic breathing

Let's start with very effective methodology relaxation. This breathing occurs through the rise and fall of the diaphragm, an internal organ that separates top part torso and lower. Unlike chest breathing, when you breathe from the diaphragm, it is your belly that moves down and up, not your chest. This breathing allows you to effectively saturate your tissues with oxygen, it provokes a faster release of toxins and helps you relax.

When you are tense, you breathe through your chest at a fast pace, but to relax you need to take deep and slow rhythmic inhalations and exhalations (perhaps this is the reason why a smoker relaxes, inhaling and exhaling smoke - it’s all about breathing.).

How to learn diaphragmatic breathing? Very simple. Sit down or take a seat supine position. Back straight, look ahead. Place one hand on your chest, the other on your stomach. Breathe. If you use diaphragmatic breathing, your chest should remain in place and your belly should move up and down. In this case, there is no need to forcefully protrude and compress the stomach through muscular effort: tension abdominal cavity must occur due to air expanding the lungs, lowering the diaphragm. The abdominal muscles should be relaxed.

Inhale and exhale as deeply as possible, the duration of which should be equal to each other. You can watch a stopwatch or measure these time intervals by heartbeats. It is not necessary to hold your breath between inhalation and exhalation. Do not be distracted by extraneous thoughts: relaxation also occurs due to the fact that you fix all your attention on your breathing.

Diaphragmatic breathing may not work at first, but it comes with practice. Do this exercise for 3 - 5 minutes. 2-3 times a day, but not immediately after meals. After completing the exercise, pay attention to how you feel, you feel calmer, don’t you? Can you breathe like this before important meeting, in a traffic jam, at work (or after it), when you need to get your head and nerves in order and relax.

More difficult option exercises, this is breathing with a compressed glottis. You need to tense your throat in a special way so that the air enters and leaves you through narrow gap, then when you inhale and exhale, the sound “xxxxxxx” appears. Thus, the difference in pressure between the air outside and the air inside increases, and the oxygen that fills the stomach begins to put more pressure on its walls. This happens more effective massage internal organs and saturation of tissues with oxygen. This type of breathing is used in yoga. You can try it after you have mastered the basic skills of breathing with your diaphragm.

Additional exercises

From this day on, try to take breaks from work every day (3 - 4 times a day for 10 minutes). During your break, walk around and move around if you have a sedentary job (basically, do an activity completely different from your job). If possible, it is better to go outside and breathe. Think about something else. During a break, you cannot look at the monitor. Get used to taking breaks from work, try to do this always, in the future, and not just while doing the practice from this step.

Train yourself to never rush, even if you are late. Make this a rule for yourself. Haste has a very bad effect on your nervous well-being and is very tiring. When you rush, you actually don't achieve results much faster than if you take your time. You may even lose because you lose focus and composure as a result of rushing.

On one of these three days, take a long walk alone. During this, try to clear your mind of thoughts about current day, think about something abstract. Look around more, pay attention to what is happening around you and do not become isolated in thoughts about yourself and your experiences. As soon as you catch yourself thinking about today's problems, calmly stop it. Discipline your thinking, it will help you a lot in life.

And I hope you haven't forgotten about meditation? If you haven't read the previous steps, study this step along with it and add meditation to your daily practice.

Day 4. Yoga relaxation techniques

On the fourth day, after reading these materials, try another relaxation technique, while continuing to practice diaphragmatic breathing 2-3 times a day.

In the evening, lie down on the bed (or on a rug, “foam”, on the floor), on your back. Turn your arms palms up, spread them slightly so that the angle between your arm and torso is thirty degrees. Close your eyes, nothing extraneous sounds should not distract you. If you want to relax with music, then it should be very smooth music for relaxation (ambient, calm ethnic music). Begin to slowly stop your attention in turn on each part of the body from the crown to the toes and relax it: crown, eyebrows, mouth, throat, shoulder, left hand: humerus, elbow, forearm, wrist, palm, fingers (you can stop at each separately) again palm, forearm, elbow, humerus, shoulders, right arm: humerus... And so on we reach the toes. Then we try to relax the whole body.

Observe your thoughts as an outside observer; they should not carry you away. If your attention “floats,” gently bring it back. There is no need to try to stop thoughts and experiences at all costs; your goal is to relax. Just like with meditation. The more you force yourself to relax and not think about anything, the worse you will get at it. Your will should rest, you do not need to direct it to relaxation. In this state you have no will, no desires, no intentions... You just calmly observe.

Spend five to twenty minutes in this position, as long as you need. Come out of it smoothly: while continuing to lie and without opening your eyes, move your toes, then your fingers. Slowly roll onto your side and, helping yourself with your hands, sit down (this is so as not to make sudden muscle efforts). Open your eyes. Assess your condition, compare it with what it was before the practice. Now you feel much more relaxed.

This exercise is also used in yoga to achieve complete relaxation after physical activity. Its principle is that relaxation of the body entails peace of mind.

Now you know how to do this and from now on you use this practice every time you need to relax. You can sometimes replace meditation with it.

Day 5: Go for an easy run

On this day, go for a short run in the evening. What everyone can do. You should be a little tired. Assess your condition after physical activity. You should feel pleasantly tired in your body. At the same time, nervous fatigue should disappear, and your mood and general well-being should be better than it was before. It’s not just that I advise you to evaluate your condition every time. It is important to establish a connection in your brain between meditation, exercise, relaxation techniques and well-being.

When you want to drink alcohol or smoke, you are drawn not to the bottle and cigarette, as such, but to those states (relaxation, satisfaction, calm, good mood) that you achieve with these things. Having a formed connection in your head between the feeling of pleasure (or lack of displeasure) and certain drugs is one of the factors of addiction. The goal of this step is to make sure that you associate pleasure and relaxation with something useful, and not with drugs that are destructive to the body. And awareness of the effect of relaxation techniques, assessment of one’s condition, help to better consolidate necessary connections in your brain.

This way it will be easier for you to do all this, you will want to do it, as you will have a desire to feel better.

Day 6. Relax with music

In the evening or afternoon, listen to an album or collection of some relaxing music. At the same time, you should not do anything, but only listen. For many people, quietly listening to music is a rather difficult task, since they are used to listening to music “in the background” (while driving in the car, doing work). And in the absence of others external stimuli This process will seem very boring to them, they will want to interrupt it or do something in parallel. You must ignore this urge. We listen for 40 minutes to an hour, before that we don’t get up. Let's relax. But we remember that we should not force ourselves to enter into relaxation and worry about the fact that we cannot do it. Everything happens by itself.

Day 7. Final exercises

On the last day of your internship, take an hour-long walk or run that is within your ability. Take a mental recap of your last week. Ask yourself, what new things have you learned? What have you learned? Are you able to somehow relax on your own? You should not expect significant progress in just a week, but, in any case, you should feel the acquisition of at least some relaxation skills and feel the effects of the techniques described in this step.

Results

The purpose of this step was not just to list various techniques relaxation. You should have tried to do them yourself in order to make sure that independent relaxation is possible without auxiliary drugs. And the main thing is that this awareness is fixed within the patterns of your thinking. The purpose of this step is to teach through a live example, and not just to provide information about what relaxation techniques are.

I hope you own experience realized that there are a lot of effective, healthy ways of relaxation. And I hope even more that you will continue to implement this new knowledge in your life and not stop when you complete your practice. Good luck to you! Wait for new steps to come out.

Ours is excessive active life With constant voltage and stress can lead to serious problems with health. Every person needs periodic relaxation and rest. Unfortunately, in most cases this concept is inextricably linked with a lot of spending money and alcohol. It’s worth thinking about how you can relax in simple home conditions, without huge costs and the use of substances harmful to the body.

How to relax without alcohol

For many people, alcohol seems to be the only effective solution any psychological problem. Indeed, its effect on the brain allows you to calm down for a while. However, after its effect wears off, our brain suffers from a lack of concentration and activity. As a result, the next day we are even more tired.

If you are serious about your own health, then you will think about how to learn to relax using available and completely harmless means. If you turn on your imagination, it turns out that there are a huge number of activities that allow you to relax psychologically or physically.

If finances allow, you can go to a massage parlor or swimming pool. If you want to calm down and take a break from daily activities without... extra costs, then you can put on sportswear and sneakers and make a small circle in the yard. This will not only put your thoughts in order, but will also help keep your body in shape.

If you don’t want to go outside, you can think about how to effectively relax at home and turn to yoga classes for this. It is attractive because after performing fairly simple but physically demanding actions, it is time to meditate to pleasant music. This allows you to relax your whole body and free your brain from extraneous obsessive thoughts.

It is worth citing a few more methods on how to relax without alcohol in your own home:

• Reading jokes and funny stories;
• Watching a light television show;
• Listening to your favorite music;
• Cooking delicious food;
• House cleaning;
• Taking a shower or bath;
• Sports, yoga, gymnastics;
• Massage;
• Playing a guitar, synthesizer or other instrument;
• Computer games;
• Board games;
• Solving crossword puzzles.

In fact, there are over 200 ways to learn how to relax after a hard day at work. At the same time, it is not at all necessary to go to the store for beer or wine.

Relaxing your mind and body before sex

If you live with a loved one, then one of the ways to relax can be having sex. However, according to psychologists, very few people know how to really relax during this activity and get maximum pleasure from it. It's interesting to think about what this is connected with and how to relax during sex in order to get an influx of energy the next day.

First, remember that sex is not easy. physical exercise for two. Sex is the union of bodies and two minds, it is a physical expression of love. In many religions, sex has a special ritual significance. So why not find out how to learn to relax during this already enjoyable activity. After all, the kisses and hugs of a loved one magically relieve all the fatigue and tension that has accumulated throughout the day.

In order to get maximum pleasure and sex itself does not seem boring, you should prepare in advance. To get it out of my head intrusive thoughts about the past day, you can take a shower or enjoy a fragrant bath with oils and foam. This will clear your body and mind. Moreover, it is very important for any woman to always look beautiful. And it’s very difficult to relax before sex, knowing that you look tired and not particularly attractive.

You cannot ignore the environment. Dimmed light, a soft bed and erotic lingerie will allow you to quickly calm down and forget about oppressive problems. In addition, such an environment will add additional excitement for both partners.

If annoying thoughts about problems and daily affairs, it is worth giving in to sexual dreams and fantasies. Our brain is designed in such a way that even mental experiences and imaginations of sexual scenes allow us to obtain some pleasure. This is why it is important to pay Special attention the question of how to relax as much as possible before sex with your loved one.

7 ways to relax before bed

If you have trouble sleeping, suffer from insomnia or have nightmares, you should reconsider your evening activities. For example, watching mystical films or thrillers does not allow us to relax during sleep, as our brain tries to digest the information received. And if the film left a lot of vivid impressions, then insomnia and further lack of sleep are guaranteed.

Therefore, it is worth thinking about how to learn to relax in the evening and how to properly prepare for bed. After all, the restoration of strength the next day depends on healthy dreams. If the night is not a success, then in the morning you will feel an irresistible apathy and, as a result, a strong decrease in productivity and mood.

if you have favorite hobby or a hobby, then the time to pay attention to it is in the evening before bed.

Here are some things you can do to help you quickly calm down and clear your mind:

• Reading your favorite books;
• Listening to classical music;
• Watching cartoons;
• Walk outside;
• Embroidery or knitting;
• Collecting puzzles;
• Drawing.

All of these activities are suitable for use at home, where you can put on your favorite soft pajamas and completely devote yourself to what you like most.

When you turn off the lights and lie down in a soft bed, but still cannot fall asleep, try to prepare yourself psychologically for sweet and joyful dreams. To do this, you can introduce meditation and complete relaxation of the body into practice. It's very easy to learn how to do it.

To do this, just use the following step-by-step instructions:

• Lie down and close your eyes;
• Take a comfortable position and allow your muscles to completely relax;
• Even out your breathing, it should be even and deep;
• Pay attention to your left leg, feel how every cell of it relaxes from the toes to the thigh;
• Do the same with the right leg, arms, stomach, chest and neck;
• Pay special attention to relaxing your head;
• When the body is completely relaxed, imagine as vividly as possible how you leave it lying on the bed, and yourself, being weightless, go up;
• Imagine what your house, city, country looks like from above;
• Mentally go to the ocean and visualize flying over its surface;
• Try to hear its noise and feel the touch of water.

Such visualizations will help you quickly calm down and relieve nervous tension. When you try to clearly imagine a picture of a city or water, try to hear the sound of the surf or feel the touch of water, then your brain simply cannot be distracted by understanding the problems. Therefore, meditation as a way is an excellent solution to quickly relax before bed.

Have people ever told you that you are too stressed? Have you ever felt like you couldn't relax even though everyone around you was having fun and fooling around? Would you sometimes like to understand what they joke about? If so, it's time to put on your sweatpants, put your worries aside and learn to relax! If you want to know how to go from a nail-biting neurasthenic girl to a carefree girl who doesn't care about anything else except sunsets, then, for starters, see Point 1

Steps

Change your priorities

Accept the fact that you cannot control everything. One of the many reasons people can't relax is because they try to control every situation. They try to predict exactly what will happen and when. They try to imagine when they achieve something how their best friend/boss/parents will react to it, they believe that they know what they need to do to achieve their goal. Unfortunately, life works differently. It is filled with surprises, both good and bad. If you want to relax, you will have to learn to expect the unexpected.

• You need to go towards this in small steps. One way is to start by learning to think about possible options developments of events. Let's say you're waiting for a promotion. Instead of thinking about getting it, think about other scenarios and how you will react to them - perhaps you will get a promotion soon or you will be told that you need to work better and harder to get it. Whatever happens, you will be less nervous if you are prepared for such an “unexpected” situation.
• There are things you can't prepare for in advance. Perhaps you and your friend are on the way to a romantic vacation and your car breaks down. Yes it's bad, but sometimes you need to be able to laugh at things you can't control.
• Stop being a micro-planner. If you obsessively plan every 15 minutes of your day, then you are guaranteed to be upset when things don't go as you planned.

1. Get away from unrealistic standards. This is another reason why you won't be able to relax. You might think that everyone will behave well 24/7. You think that your teacher, friends, boss, or anyone else in your life can constantly read your mind. You may think that the world will give you everything you deserve. Well then you will have to learn to recognize the imperfection of the world around you; if you want to determine how everyone around you will behave, then you should play SIMS.

   • Once you stop expecting people to behave the way you want, you will be pleasantly surprised when they exceed your expectations.
   • People are not perfect. Sometimes they will be rude, insensitive and not quite mentally prepared. And that's okay. And here we come back to “letting go of control” - let go of your high expectations and you are guaranteed to relax.
   • This also means moving away from impossible standards for yourself. If you expect yourself to be a CEO/Oscar-winning star/bestselling author before you reach the age of 25, then you are doomed to be stressed and disappointed when it doesn't happen.

2. . Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Constantly stressed people get nervous when something they planned doesn't go according to their plan because of a small or small thing they did. big mistake. You must learn to take mistakes as lessons, and not beat yourself up for not doing something as well as you could. Errors are an integral part of our lives and life wouldn't be fun if we all performed tasks assigned to us like robots. If you made a mistake, think about what you learned from the experience and what you would do differently in the future and how you would apply that knowledge.

   • People who cannot relax are so fixated on their perfection that they feel like big losers if they make a mistake somewhere.

3. Learn to let things happen. A person who doesn't know how to relax pays attention to all the little things that other people do wrong and every little character flaw in the people around them. Sure, Kate got drunk at your birthday party, your lab partner didn't do some of his work, that's bad, but how much energy are you going to spend on your desire to change other people's behavior? The answer is not at all. Learn to take a deep breath and accept the fact that the world is full by different people and move on.

   • If someone is being really annoying and it's driving you crazy, go to the bathroom, take a breath, and learn to ignore it. The worst thing you can do is tell everyone within a 25 mile radius how much someone's behavior annoys you; talking about it will only make you look even more stressed and ruin your mood.
   • Try to think on the merits of things. Will Bill's antics or Mallory's big mouth still annoy you in 12 hours? If yes, then why not stop worrying about it now?

4. Be realistic in expecting something in certain situations. This will also help you relax a little. Before you encounter life situation, imagine what possible scenarios could happen that are contrary to your expectations, and it will be easier for you to survive what happened. Let's say you're throwing yourself a birthday party. IN best case scenario: everyone will come and it will be the coolest party ever, people will talk about it for years, etc. But most likely: some things will go wrong. Perhaps the people who were supposed to come will not be able to make it, some guests will find that five shots of tequila is too much and will fall on your bookshelf and you breakdown it will look bad. The more options you have in your head, the more chances that you won't be so upset if something doesn't go as you planned.

   • This is not to say that you shouldn't think positively and expect the best. But if you are aware of your options, you will raise less noise and you won’t worry if something not entirely good happens.

5. Don't be too serious about yourself. This is another trait shared by people who do not know how to relax. You may have difficulty recognizing crisis situations, understanding when someone is just teasing you, or even being aware of your phobias, because you think that you are too serious, busy person who cannot be distracted by such things as your own shortcomings. Make a list of your flaws and learn to laugh at them! It is better to understand your weaknesses yourself than to have someone else point them out.

   • The key is to not be so sensitive. If you cry over every little thing that is said about you, the people around you will also not be able to relax. You don't want to become that person who doesn't let everyone have a little fun, do you?

6. Look at everything from the outside. Another method of learning to relax is to understand where all these annoying people are taken. So, Masha got drunk at your birthday party and tried to flirt with your lamp. It may be annoying, but don't forget that her boyfriend dumped her last week and she hasn't been herself ever since. Mark may not have completed his part of the project on time, but don't forget that he is caring for his sick mother and is in difficult situation. People are people, and if you think about the reasons why they did not behave as you would like, perhaps you would perceive their behavior with more understanding.

   • This does not mean that you can always find a reason for an excuse bad behavior. But more often than not, if you dig a little deeper, you will find an explanation. And this is how people who cannot relax should live.

   Let's act

   1. Have fun without thinking. You can have fun sometimes and still consider yourself smart and serious. Go bowling. Play charades. Get drunk sometimes and giggle with your girlfriends. Try on funny costumes. Run on the beach. Do something that requires 0% of your brain activity. It's nice. Let all worries and ambitions go away and live in the moment. By living one day at a time and not being serious, you will feel much happier and ultimately relaxed.

      • Be spontaneous. You don't have to plan when to have fun. If you're hanging out with friends and don't feel like talking about your stocks on the stock market, then have fun!
      • Do something completely new. Take salsa lessons, go to a comedy show, or have fun putting temporary tattoos on your friends' faces. If it’s the act of a fifth grader, even better!

   2. Learn to accept jokes. This is the key to relaxation. If someone teases you, makes fun of you, or makes fun of something you say, learn to laugh at it too - or at least respond in kind! If you can't take jokes your way all the time, even if they are harmless, then you will have a reputation for being boring and there will be no opportunity for others to have fun around you. Laugh at yourself, agree with the joke and take it back. If the joke was truly meant to offend you, then you have every right to be offended, but usually people are just trying to keep you on your toes a little and show you that no one is perfect!

      Break the rules. This doesn't mean you have to break into someone's car or steal an iPod. This means that you must stop following the rules so strictly that when you see someone breaking them, you go crazy. This means that you yourself must violate them a little, if you have such an opportunity. Skip school or work if it helps you achieve desired result. Don't complete every task perfectly. Sometimes it’s very nice to do something not the way everyone wants you to do 100% of the time, but in your own way.

      • And if you're on holiday with friends who are behaving a little irresponsibly - drinking more than they should, speeding or being rude at the car service window - then of course you're the right person to say: "Stop it, guys!" you can let them do it and make sure nothing bad happens.

   3. Take a break. Sometimes you need to take a break while working to truly relax. If you feel like you're stressed out during work, school or even while having fun with friends, then you need to take some time to cool down, go outside, look at funny cat pictures or do anything that will help you feel again. feeling fine. There is nothing wrong with taking a break while working, it does not indicate your weakness. If taking a break while working helps you relieve stress, go for it!

      • If you are a Type A person, you think that you can't take a half hour break until the job is done, but if you are realistic, after a half hour break and rest, you can probably do that job better and with more ease and with much better results. results.

   4. Rest. The reason you can't relax may be chronic fatigue which you don't even know about. If you are rested and full of energy and have a positive attitude for the whole day, then even the simplest test will not upset you. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep daily and try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every night and every morning. Limit the amount of caffeine you consume after lunch so you don't feel jittery when it's time to go to bed. These minor changes can greatly influence the way you see the world.

      • If you're really feeling frazzled in the middle of the day, don't underestimate the power of a quick 15-20 minute nap to reset your system.

   5. Go outside. Even if you just go outside for some air or take a walk for at least 20 minutes every day, it will make you feel more relaxed, more peaceful, and in harmony with the world around you. Make sure you get outside at least 2-3 times a day, especially if you work from home or are going to be indoors most time. You'll be surprised how much more relaxed and calm you'll be just being outside, and how much less irritated you'll be. various kinds troubles

      Spend time with relaxed people. It is very important. If you want to truly be relaxed and not obsessed with being perfect, you need to spend time with people who are a little more relaxed than you. They don't necessarily have to be guitar-playing hippies, but people who are less uptight and pay less attention to the little details in life, and who can be unpredictable, leaning back in their chair if they feel like it. These people will get close to you and you will feel relaxed very quickly.

      • And if you look at it from the other side, if you communicate with people who are even more obsessed with you good grades, ideal career, etc., you are simply doomed to become even more stressed than you already are.

   6. Unload your life. While cleaning out your closet or organizing your desk may not seem like the path to relaxation, you will find that if you feel more organized and in control, you will feel more relaxed. You may find it very difficult to relax if you can't find something in your closet, or because you keep losing important documents, or simply because your life is too busy. So, take a little time (at least 30 minutes a day) and start organizing the space around you, you will be surprised that you will feel much lighter.

   7. Exercise. By exercising, you will release excess steam, your body will receive positive attitude, and will also give you energy for the whole day. Make it a goal to exercise every day for at least 30 minutes, whether running, biking, rock climbing, or swimming, you will find that you will be able to burn off a lot of negative, pent-up energy. For a little laugh while you burn calories, exercise with a friend.

      • If you're stressed all the time, you may feel like you don't have time for things like exercise. But if you tweak your daily routine a little, you'll see what you can find right time for mind and body.

7. Look, maybe you need to radically change your life in order to relax. Perhaps your job is draining you of all your energy. vital energy. Perhaps your three best girlfriends are nervous pussycats who turned you into a nervous one for no reason. Perhaps you are trying too hard to do everything exactly as your parents want and you feel like you have too little room for your desires. If changing your attitude and changing small details is not helping you, stop and analyze what other big life changes you need to make on the path to your happiness.

   • Create a list of everything that makes you feel unhappy and stresses you out. If you see that they all have the same source and see a pattern, it may be time to commit important move. It may be scary to do, but in the end it will make you happy!

One of the most common methods of psychotherapy today is muscle relaxation.

Its action is aimed at reducing the level of stress on the body, which directly depends on the dysfunction of the neuromuscular system.

A person must be able to differentiate between tension and relaxation, and also be able to manage them. You can learn this at any time.

As a result of complete relaxation, it is possible to master universal remedy, capable of coping with almost all diseases of the nervous system caused by constant stress. You can recover from insomnia, hypertension, headaches, persistent feelings of anxiety and prevent the development of a number of other diseases.

Effective Muscle Relaxation: Progressive Neuromuscular Relaxation Method

First, the patient should visit a doctor and consult with him. It will help identify any contraindications for this type of procedure. Deviations such as neurological disorders, insufficient training or muscle damage, and bone tissue pathology are possible.

The place for exercise should be comfortable, quiet and dark, which will allow you to completely relax and concentrate your attention on the processes occurring in the body. Nothing should hinder a person's movements.

It is best to wear loose clothing and perform exercises without shoes or accessories, such as glasses. The patient's body must have stable support (this does not apply to the neck and head area) so that he cannot fall asleep during the session.

Each person should recognize the difference between spontaneously occurring muscle spasms and directed muscle tension.

• In the first case, they occur in the joints and ligaments. painful sensations, accompanied by unpleasant spontaneous muscle tremors. Excessive stress leads to this state.
• In the second case, only a slightly unpleasant feeling of compression occurs in the tensed muscle, nothing more.

During the exercise, the patient should never hold his breath. It should be normal or consist of inhaling at the moment of muscle tension and exhaling at the moment of relaxation.

First of all, you should pay attention to the muscles of the lower parts of the body, and lastly to the facial area. Repeated tension of the muscles of the organs is unacceptable.

Even before the start of the relaxation session, you should give yourself a clear goal of consistently relaxing every muscle in your body. This will allow you to achieve the most effective result.

How to achieve complete body relaxation

Lean back a little and find a comfortable position. Get rid of clothing, shoes and accessories that restrict movement. Close your eyes. Concentrate on your breathing, it should be correct and calm. Feel how your lungs fill with air, pausing for 30 seconds when inhaling.

Let's consider relaxing the body, or rather each part of it separately.

• Rib cage

Take a deep breath, hold your breath, relax and exhale. Try to empty your lungs completely and restore your normal breathing pattern. As you inhale, some tension should arise in the chest area, and as you exhale, complete muscle relaxation should occur. Repeat the exercise several times in a row, resting for 5-10 seconds.

• Feet and legs

Both feet should be in contact with the floor with their entire surface. Stand on your toes, stay in this position for a while and relax. You should lower yourself onto your heels smoothly, without making sudden movements. If there is a slight tension in the back of the calf muscles, then the exercise is performed correctly. At the moment of relaxation, a slight tingling sensation and a rush of warmth may appear.

To strengthen the opposite muscle group, stand on your heels while raising your toes as high as possible. A few seconds of tension and relaxation again. After these steps in lower parts The legs should feel heavy. After each exercise you should take a break of 20 seconds.

• Hips and abdomen

Straighten your legs, lift them and stay in this position. The calves should be relaxed. After some time, gently lower your feet to the floor. At the same time, the thigh muscles should feel some tension.

• Hands

Clench both hands into fists, hold them in this state and relax. This exercise is good for those who write or type a lot and often. You can spread your fingers different sides, hold them in this state and also relax them. A feeling of warmth or slight tingling should appear in the area of ​​the hands and forearms. Between exercises you should pause for 20 seconds.

• Face

Smile as broadly as possible, hold it there and relax. Do the same with pursed lips. Pay attention to your eyes. Close your eyes tightly, raise your eyebrows, then relax. Pause between exercises 15 seconds.

Thus, it is achieved complete body relaxation .

When muscle relaxation has been achieved, you can move to the wakefulness stage. Count from 1 to 10, focusing on yourself and the world around you. Open your eyes and feel cheerful, energized and fresh.

How to learn to relax

A person’s health is greatly influenced by his psychological state - the statement “all diseases come from nerves!” actually not that far from the truth. Troubles at work, an overabundance of information, often negative, and personal problems “drive” our nervous system into a state that is unusual for it – stress.

We swallow pills for headaches, drink all kinds of sedatives and sleeping pills, but the head continues to hurt, and insomnia wears down the soul. Nerves are tense, and sometimes a trifle is enough for a breakdown to occur.

The state of our body, including mental health, largely depends on the state of our muscles. All muscles of our body are divided into smooth and striated. Smooth muscles, which include the muscles of the blood vessels, respiratory tract, intestines, glands, etc., work outside of our consciousness, and we cannot control it. But we can influence the striated (skeletal) muscles with the help of our consciousness, bringing them into a state of tension or relaxation, i.e. can influence muscle tone.

When under stress (or fear), our muscles involuntarily tense. This is very harmful to health, and the ability to relax at the right moment allows us to get rid of stress or other unnecessary conditions. Let's consider the simplest complex relaxation exercises.

Relaxation technique

Managing the tone of your muscles, which means controlling yourself when necessary, is very difficult, but having mastered relaxation technique, you can easily cope with this task. First of all, you need to learn completely relax , i.e. learn to release all the muscles in your body from tension.

Achieving complete relaxation can sometimes be difficult. Having relaxed the muscles in one area, we immediately notice that another group of muscles is tense. But you shouldn’t be upset - a little patience, and everything will work out. At the beginning of any relaxation session, it is advisable to take a comfortable position, since very often your mood or well-being depends on its position. Next, you need to distract yourself from all problems and alternately focus your attention on different parts of your body, freeing them from muscle tension. In this case, you need to mentally set the intention to relax each area. For example, we mentally repeat:

• hands are completely relaxed;
• legs are completely relaxed;
• every muscle in my body is at rest, etc.

Any other similar formulations aimed at relaxing this area will also work. It is advisable to cover as many areas of your body as possible, freeing them from tension. The main thing is to release the tension in all muscles and “catch” the feeling of complete relaxation.

You can make light, barely noticeable muscle movements, which will make it easier to relax a certain muscle group. Persistence in mastery relaxation technique very soon it will bear fruit, and gradually you will learn to relax in any environment. It’s a good idea to use this method on the eve of an important event, when nerves are usually tense to the limit.

You can relieve tension from any one part of the body, for example the face. Controlling the tone of the facial muscles will help you concentrate when deciding difficult task or revive mental activity. The great Stanislavski used relaxation techniques when working with actors.

Relaxation before bed

Relaxation immediately before bed helps to cope with insomnia, as well as tune into the necessary state. First of all, you need to calm down. Then, directing your attention to your arms and legs, use the following mental settings:

• my left hand feels heavy, like a sponge soaked in water;
• left hand becomes severe;
• the hand is heavy;
• she is filled with lead;
• the left hand is relaxed and warm.

We use the same mental formulations for right hand. Similarly, we create a feeling of heaviness in the left and right legs. Next we mentally repeat:

• the whole body is relaxed, warm;
• my breathing is smooth and clear;
• the heart beats rhythmically and calmly.

This method of relaxation, as a rule, works flawlessly after just a few days. In the first days, when you can’t fall asleep right away, you will have to repeat all the settings several times, but over time, there will be more than once. than enough.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the relaxation methods discussed will give you the opportunity to improve your well-being, achieve good self-control and allow you to control yourself when necessary! Your health is in your hands!