Overwork, lack of sleep, fatigue and seemingly harmless tension in everyday life. Each of us has ways to deal with them.
Some find relaxation in extreme sports, others seek relaxation during parties with a certain amount of alcohol, and still others spend huge amounts on relaxation treatments in professional salons.
But not everyone knows that the best cure for shaky nerves is simple breathing exercises and massage, which we can do for free and without leaving home. Here are some ways to learn how to easily and fun manage stress.
1. Saturate your body with oxygen to relax. Head to toe
Regardless of the place and situation in which you are, try a little "break away" and devote some time and attention to yourself. At the office desk, in the car, or at bedtime. If you have 15 minutes to spare, invest in eliminating tension throughout your body. Find a comfortable position (just lean back a little and slightly raise your legs), put on your headphones and turn on quiet and calm music so that no external sounds distract you.
Close your eyes and focus on tension, and then relaxation of each muscle group for two to three seconds. Start with your feet and toes, and then move your attention to your knees, hips, buttocks, chest, arms, shoulders, neck and eyes. Straining and relaxing your muscles, do not forget to breathe slowly. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. If you feel lightly dizzy, take a break.
2. Exercise 4-7-8. Banal method of overvoltage
This is another extremely simple exercise that does not require time, preparation, or special equipment. When you begin to learn this technique, sit or stand with your back straight and spread your legs slightly. Later, when the exercise becomes a habit, you can do it in any position.
Place the tip of the tongue in the middle of the sky immediately above the upper teeth and hold it there. Inhale the air through the nose and count to 4. Then hold the air in your lungs for 7 seconds. And finally, counting to 8, exhale air through the mouth around the tongue, thus making a whistle. Repeat exercise 4 times.
3. Massage of the arms and shoulders. A simple action that has a beneficial effect on the mind
Spend long hours at an office desk or computer? Take care of your arms and shoulders. It is not necessary to immediately contact a professional massage therapist. Enough of your own fingers and palms to give the body a moment of rest.
Choose a massage oil from the pharmacy assortment, such as almond. Take a small amount of it and begin with a massage of the top of the palm with your thumb, then gently go to the inside, massaging it with the fingers of the other hand. Massage your fingers, and then slowly head towards your shoulder. Remember that the movement should go from the palm up: in the direction of blood flow.
4. Facial massage. Pleasant relief and swelling reduction
Start the massage with the neck and the area of the lymphatic corners: massage them with your fingertips in a circular motion for a minute. Make wide circles, moving from the ears to the throat and up the jaw.
Remember that movements should be delicate, as the skin in these places is especially sensitive. Next, go to the cheeks and cheekbones: massage them along the jaw bones, next to the nostrils, around the mouth. Now it's the forehead's turn: massage it with wide circular movements, heading from the sides to the middle.
End a pleasant procedure with an eye massage. Place your fingers on the arches of the eyebrows, swipe them around the outer corners of the eyes, gently move under the eyes and finish in the inner corners. Thus, you will not only relax all the muscles of the face, but also reduce swelling.
5. Inhale and exhale: count to five. A simple exercise that gives an instant effect.
Stressful situations that cannot be avoided affect not only the mental state, but also, in the first place, affect the body. Under the influence of stress, the concentration of adrenaline increases, the heart rate accelerates, the pressure "jumps" and then we breathe more air. And all this is unconscious! To calm down, you should start by calming your breathing.
Find a comfortable and peaceful place. Sit on something soft so your hips are slightly higher than your knees (this helps the free flow of air) and straighten your back. Inhale slowly through the nose, counting to five, then exhale too for five seconds. Keep breathing like this for several minutes and try to focus only on time counting. Next time try increasing the time to six or seven seconds.
6. Breathe the diaphragm. The new scheme of "inhalation" of the body, which brings relief
If you know that you will soon have an exam, a difficult conversation with the boss or a stressful performance, take care of your balance and prepare your body for tension. Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. Then take a calm and deep breath through the nose, filling the diaphragm with air (and not the chest).
The goal of this method is to take six to ten deep and slow breaths per minute for 10 minutes every day. In this way, you will lower your heart rate and adjust your blood pressure. Do not be discouraged if the exercise is difficult to do at first. It’s just that your body is accustomed to improper breathing, and takes time to acquire new skills.
7. Self-massage of the shoulders with the ball. Relaxation for body and soul
The shoulders are one of the most stressful parts of our body: a sedentary lifestyle “loads” them more than prolonged standing. For an exercise that relaxes strained shoulders, some kind of ball is needed: rubber, tennis, and basketball are also suitable. Press it with your own back against the wall or floor, and move the body in a circular motion forward and backward, without losing the contact of the ball with the base. Remember that you need to change the "dislocation" of the massage ball in order to honor all segments of the spine.
8. A few minutes foot massage. The pacifying point above the "i"
Finishing your relaxing ritual, do not forget about the part of the body that connects you to the ground - about your legs. Start with the bone and massage with its thumbs the outer side, then go through the side of the foot to the toes. When massaging them, do not press hard on the sole and underside of the fingers.
Massage in a circular motion without losing contact with the skin. Squeeze each finger and gently pull it. Gently walk your fingers along the phalanges of the toes. Then gently pull the foot up and down. Finish the massage by gently stroking the skin.
