Still feeling tired during the Spring Festival holiday?
Many people will not stop answering the phone during the holidays, dealing with work information in the WeChat group, and being overwhelmed by work. These work pressures can lead to pessimism, feeling that the future is full of uncertainty, that one's own happiness is declining, and that one is insecure.
Therefore, we need some scientific skills to relax our body and mind.
Today, Common Sense Jun will share with you 3 relaxation techniques, all from Eve Adamson, a famous contemporary pressure management expert in the United States.
Enjoy the following:
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Author: Eve Adamson
Source: Common Sense of Management (ID: Guanlidechangshi) excerpt from The Complete Book of Decompression, published by China Machine Press
For a long time, different cultures around the world have bred different relaxation techniques:
Some use meditation, some study breathing, some study specific movements;
Some work quickly, some take time;
Some require more physical strength but relax the spirit;
Some are more brain-burning but relaxing.
If you know it all, you can choose the right relaxation technique for your situation.
I'll talk about some of that next. Many techniques are not deliberately used to relax, relaxation is only an additive effect (such as yoga and some types of meditation).
01
Body scans
Body scans are very popular and can do a great job of helping you relax after work and calm down after stressful events. Practicing body scans every day can reduce tension in the body and activate the brain's perception of the body.
You can do your own body scans, or you can have others say it out loud or point out various parts of your body to guide you when you should relax which part. You can also record the guide quotes from the body scan yourself and put them to yourself.
Different people do body scans in different ways. Some people like to let every part of the body tense up and then completely relax; others like to relax by imagination without actually causing the muscles to contract.
You can imagine breaths flowing in and out of various parts of the body, exhaling pressure from one part at a time. There are a few ways you can try to see which one you prefer.
If you want to record the guide words of the body scan yourself, then you can record these below. Read and record the following text (or find someone with a particularly soothing voice to record it for you).
Don't forget to pause when mentioning each body part and give yourself some time to focus on relaxing and relieving stress. When the guide word tells you to pause, don't pronounce the word "pause", but pause for 5 to 10 seconds, or longer.
1. Lie comfortably flat on a stable plane. Feel your shoulders, the middle of your back, your waist, and your hips all fall flat. Relax your upper arms, lower arms, palms, thighs, calves and feet. Spread your feet out and separate them from each other. Relax your neck and let your head weight fall completely on the flat surface. breathe deeply. (Pause)
2. Feel your feet, are they relaxed? Find tension in your feet and relax. Release all tension and bondage from the soles of your feet. Don't forget to keep breathing. (Pause)
3. Feel the muscles in the calves, from the ankles to the knees. Are your calves relaxed? Find tension in your ankles and relax. Find tension in your calves and relax. Find tension on the tibia and relax. Find tension in your knees and relax. Release all tension and bondage from the soles of your feet. Hold your breath. (Pause)
4. Now, focus your attention on the upper part of the leg and feel the muscles on the front of the thigh, the back of the thigh, the base of the thigh, and the hip joint. Find the tension, release the tension on the front of the thighs, release the tension on the back of the thighs, release them with your breath. Relax the hips so that they sink and cling to the flat surface. Release the tension in the hip joint and breathe deeply. (Pause)
5. Feel the muscles in your lower abdomen and buttocks. Feel how tense the muscle is and release it. Let the muscles relax completely and release all the tension. breathe. (Pause)
6. Now, focus your attention on the muscles of your stomach. You may have been stretching these muscles all day, now relax, completely relax, relax the muscles in the abdomen. Take a deep breath and exhale all the tension. (Pause)
7. Feel the muscles on both sides of the body, extending to the upper back. Feel your shoulder blades, ribs, chest and upper spine. Let go of the tension and exhale the tension. (Pause)
8. Focus your attention on your shoulders and neck and feel all the pressure and tension that remains there that makes the shoulder and neck muscles tense. Slowly loosen up and take a few long deep breaths. Completely relax your shoulders and neck. (Pause)
9. Feel the deltoids, biceps and triceps muscles of the upper arm, find out the pressure and tension hidden there, and relax. Relax your upper arms and breathe. (Pause)
10. Feel your elbow joints, the muscles of your lower arms, your wrists, palms, and every finger. Imagine having an aura that radiates warmth, starting at the top of your arm and moving down, from elbows and forearms to wrists, palms, and every finger, relieving all your tension. (Pause)
11. Now feel the muscles of the head, feel your scalp, facial muscles, cheeks and chin. Release the tension of the scalp, as well as your temples, around your ears, forehead, around your eyes, your cheeks, jaw, and mouth. Slowly release, relax, and keep breathing. (Pause)
12. Now imagine having an aura that radiates warmth, slowly moving around your body from bottom to top, starting with your toes, moving towards the top of your head, and then slowly moving down again. As the aura moves and scans, any place where there is tension dissipates as it is illuminated. You feel warm, completely relaxed, surrounded by a sense of well-being. (long pause)
13. Lie down for a few more minutes and fully experience the feeling of complete relaxation. When you're done, lie down on your side slowly, and then sit up slowly. (Pause)
02
Exhale the stress response
There is a simplest relaxation technique, as simple as breathing. In fact, it is just inhalation and exhalation.
Many people are used to shallow breathing, or chest breathing, which does make you breathe faster, which is needed in emergencies, but shallow breathing does not suck the airflow deep into the lungs like deep breathing. Several slow, deliberate deep breaths (abdominal breathing) can block the attack of pressure.
In addition, deep breathing helps the lungs to expel more air, which is very important for the lungs to get the most out of them.
When it comes to deep breathing, people tend to take a large breath of air and let the chest cavity rise and fall and expand. In fact, when breathing deeply, the air flow will enter the deeper parts of the human body, and the stomach and abdomen should rise and fall with it, while the chest, especially the shoulders, should not rise and fall.
When taking a deep breath, exhalation is the key. As long as you have done a deep exhalation, the inhalation will occur naturally.
The easiest way to retrain yourself to breathe deeply is to lie down comfortably, with one hand on your lower abdomen and the other on your chest, and continue as follows:
1. Start with normal breathing. Consciously observe your breathing, but don't try to control it. Which hand rises and falls more? Is it the one on the chest or the one on the abdomen?
2. Now try to slowly exhale all of your breath and make a "whirring" sound.
When you feel like you've exhaled every breath, press your lungs and squeeze out the last bit of air. As you exhale, feel the hand on your lower abdomen sinking, getting lower and lower until you feel as if there is no air in your body.
3. After a deep exhale, you will naturally begin to inhale deeply, but do not exert yourself and let your body inhale air naturally.
Don't suck air into your chest, let your body inhale on its own. After inhaling enough air, keep your chest and shoulders still, and consciously observe how the hands placed on your abdomen rise again as the breath enters your body.
4. Exhale again, exhale slowly and thoroughly as much as possible, feeling the hand on the lower abdomen sink.
5. Repeat 10 deep breaths.
Once you've mastered the feeling of deep breathing, you can try it from lying down to sitting. Again, focus your attention on the exhalation.
There is a good breathing exercise that silences people: silently measure the breathing time so that the exhalation time is twice as long as the inhalation time.
When you feel nervous, try this exercise (in case you regret words and deeds):
1. Slowly inhale air through your nose and count to 5 to fill your body from head to toe. Keep your shoulders and chest from moving, and feel the expansion of your abdomen and back.
2. Slowly exhale air with your mouth, pout slightly, make a "whirring" sound, and slowly count 10 times. Do not move your shoulders and chest and feel your abdomen and back begin to contract.
3. Repeat several times until you feel calm.
You'll also read more about breathing meditation in chapter 8. To use the breath, this is one of the most simple relaxation tools that can be used anytime and anywhere.
03
The power of imagery
Imagery is very simple and fun and can help you relax immediately.
Feeling stressed? nervous? No hope? Then go on vacation.
Going to the airport? No. Right at your desk, close your eyes, relax, breathe, and use your imagination to draw where you want to go the most.
Do you remember your imagination? When you're a child, imagination allows you to fly like a bird in one day, take heavy steps like an elephant, save the world from disaster, go to the wild, jump off the plane in a parachute, go to a country built entirely of candy... Remember that? Isn't that interesting?
It's a little rusty in a long time, but your imagination is still in your head. It's time to take it out, dust it off, and use it for stress management!
You probably wouldn't think of yourself as Superman (and of course you can, why not), but you can imagine yourself strolling on secluded sand in the afterglow of the setting sun, with tropical breezes blowing across the turquoise sea.
Maybe you prefer to warm up in front of the fireplace in the woodland hut with someone you love (even if that person hasn't yet appeared)?
Of course, you can also imagine stepping into the Far East, seeing the rainforest, and hiking on Alaska's glaciers, which will evoke your inner peace.
You may also prefer the desert, or the colorful world of candy (who can resist the temptation of a dream paradise made of candy).
Let yourself daydream! Think of this as time for personal recharge. It's fun, it's completely legal, and it's a ready-to-use way to reduce stress. Isn't that what the holidays really mean?
About the Author: Eve Adamson, a well-known contemporary Stress Management Expert in the United States, a professional writer in the field of holistic health care, teaches at Cockwood Community College in Iowa. The stress management techniques and methods she summarized have been praised by the American Management Association, the American Mental Health Association, and the American Stress Association, and have been warmly welcomed by the majority of professionals in the United States.
This article was first published as "Common Sense of Management" (ID: Guanlidechangshi), excerpted from The Complete Book of Decompression, published by China Machine Press. Please contact us for authorization.