How to relax properly

Tension and relaxation are the two poles of our being, its binary code. Due to the constant change of these two states, the heart beats, muscles contract, blood moves through the vessels. Activity naturally gives way to rest, wakefulness is replaced by sleep. Alternating cycles of activity and passivity are inherent in our nature, but the environment in which we live introduces disharmony into this rhythm.

“From the point of view of Eastern philosophy, the world around is oversaturated with active yang energy,” explains Elena Ulmasbayeva, head of the Yoga Practika network of yoga centers. – This is due to the abundance of technology, and with the peculiarities of architecture, and with the way of life. At night, for example, the body needs to move to the passive phase of the life cycle (yin energy), and this requires silence, the absence of light … But a brightly lit metropolis is full of activity, rapid movement, loud sounds. As the adherents of Ayurveda would say, noise, a lot of people, a constant change of impressions increase vata dosha, maintaining anxiety, tension, hyperactivity in us around the clock.

All active

Activity is always aimed at a high result, and this is a socially approved state, while passivity, on the contrary, is perceived negatively. “Well, something you completely relaxed”, “You can’t be so passive!” – such commonplace remarks are a vivid confirmation of this.

“Modern culture encourages activity and absolute control over oneself, over the situation, over circumstances,” Elena Ulmasbaeva confirms, “and the natural need for relaxation is not recognized as something vital. In our ideas, it rather hinders, slows down well-adjusted work, as if a person is a mechanism.

The tension that we constantly experience leads to all sorts of disorders – both of the physical body and of the soul.

Living in non-stop mode, we would sometimes be glad to have a rest, but even in a state of rest we cannot free ourselves from nervous and mental tension, stop the flow of thoughts even for a minute. What is happening to us? Why is it so hard to relax?

Why is it hard

In animals, the state of activity is naturally replaced by a phase of relaxation, and at this time their body is completely restored. Man is endowed with consciousness.

“We are able to analyze our experience and predict future developments,” says doctor Dmitry Shamenkov, a specialist in integrative medicine. – We are surrounded by many external stimuli, the speed of information transfer over the past hundred years has increased a million times. And this endless stream of news, including about natural disasters, wars, catastrophes, forces the mind to model endless scenarios, generalize, evaluate scenarios.”

However, the natural physiological reaction to the feeling of fear that we experience at these moments (to attack or run away) turns out to be unrealized. “This unlived reaction gets stuck in the body in the form of additional tension,” explains Dmitry Shamenkov. So we get used to a state of tension due to dangers that have nothing to do with us, and we are already afraid to “let go” of the situation, to weaken control.

The good news is that the experience of relaxation, like the experience of tension, is absorbed by the brain and fixed in the body. Therefore, it is so important to learn how to relax, to allow the body to recognize and remember these sensations, in order to subsequently resort to relaxation voluntarily, when we really need it.

How to learn it?

There are many different techniques to help you relax. “Popular yoga, tai chi, qigong include relaxation techniques,” explains Elena Ulmasbayeva. – By removing tension in our body with their help (more precisely, by “taking it out”), one can achieve complete physical relaxation. Which will certainly be followed by “rest of the mind”, psycho-emotional unloading.

When we can’t stop the running of thoughts in a circle in any way, we continue to scroll resentments and problems in our heads, sometimes it’s enough to relax our face – and mental stress will go away. Therefore, in relaxation poses, yoga pays special attention to relieving tension from the facial muscles, tongue, larynx, and eye muscles. That is why we feel such a “lightness in the head” after a good cosmetic massage.

Deep bodily relaxation is accompanied by the absence of thoughts, complete “silence of the mind.” “From the point of view of physiology, it is characterized by a change in the frequency of brain radiation,” explains Dmitry Shamenkov. “At this point, the body works in a mode in which the recovery processes are accelerated and become incredibly effective.”

Body and mind are inextricably linked. Experts are sure that bodily clamps directly indicate experiences that we are not aware of and not lived to the end.

“When mastering relaxation, you need to literally listen to the physiological processes in the body,” continues Dmitry Shamenkov. “Concentration on the immediate sensations of the body is healing for us. To achieve deep relaxation, you can use visualization techniques, self-hypnosis, meditation, breathing exercises, or spend several sessions in a sensory deprivation chamber.

Learning to relax means finding the key to your own “renewable energy source”, from where you can always draw new strength.

How to help yourself relax

These three ways to comprehend the art of relaxation are based on different principles, but lead to similar results.

Yoga

The basic idea of ​​yoga is that relaxation will be deeper if it is preceded by tension. When performing asanas, you have to concentrate on the work of different parts of the body and at the same time pay attention to breathing.

“If we want to wash linen, make it really clean, we carefully rub it, rinse it many times, shake it and only then hang it to dry – this analogy most clearly illustrates how we “take out” tension from the body,” explains yoga teacher Inna Mashyanova . “When after that a person takes a pose of relaxation – shavasana – he feels complete relaxation, restores connection with the earth, returns to the natural cycle of life.”

sensory deprivation chamber

To find peace, inner balance, you need to abstract from what surrounds us, from the endless stream of external stimuli that require a response – this is the main method of meditation.

The idea of ​​eliminating all external influences on our senses formed the basis for the creation of sensory deprivation chambers: a pool with a concentrated saline solution that has body temperature, complete silence and darkness. Immersion in the camera – floating (from English floating) – allows you to completely free your perception from external impressions and focus only on internal sensations. Concentrate on your breath, observe the flow of thoughts or engage in visualization.

spa therapy

The reverse method is used here – not to deprive the perception of external impressions, but, on the contrary, to use all our senses. Fill the perception with soothing stimuli and influences, conducive to complete relaxation. According to the ideas of the physicist Max Huber, the creator of the La Mer concept, the sea – the cradle of mankind – is a unique and self-sufficient source for the full restoration of strength and regenerative abilities of the skin.

Combining light, sound and touch, you can reproduce the sensations of almost fetal bliss: La Mer treatments use tuning fork vibrations, the sound of the sea surf, green light, a panoramic aquarium wall for contemplation, relaxation massage techniques and life-giving products created on the basis of long-term bio-fermentation of algae.