Much has been said about the fact that happiness is possible only here and now, when we are aware of our state. However, in the pre-New Year’s fuss, many of us do not think about ourselves, force ourselves to “get together”, mobilize resources and finish things, which as a result can lead to domestic injuries, accidents, fatal mistakes. How to avoid it? Learn to relax.
After several months of hard work in the office, filing a lot of reports and a schedule that allowed for no more than four hours of sleep a night, Natasha decided to bake a cake. It’s a common thing, for many years the girl has been baking perfectly. Natasha prepared the cakes, whipped the cream with a blender. She took out the blender from the bowl, decided to collect the cream from the blades with her finger, and at that moment a fatal mistake happened: the finger of the second hand pressed the button … How is this possible? How could this happen? Perhaps now you remembered that there were similar episodes in your life or the life of acquaintances.
You can prevent such situations by learning how to correctly assess your current state. You can do this in four steps.
1. Energy. On a 10-point scale, rate your general well-being, where 10 is a state when you are on the rise and full of energy, and 0 is a complete breakdown and apathy.
2. Body. With your inner eye, like a scanner, go through the body, noting any discomfort, pain, clamps, shallow breathing. Pay special attention to the lumbar region and the collar zone: as a rule, fatigue and tension accumulate there.
Rate your condition on a 10-point scale, where 10 is ease and comfort, and 0 is stiffness, fatigue, pain, discomfort.
3. Emotions. Listen to yourself: how do you feel? Perhaps anxiety, excitement? Assess your condition: 10 points – peace, harmony, good mood, 0 – strong emotions that do not allow you to focus on anything.
4. Thoughts. 10 points – you are not disturbed by intrusive thoughts, you easily focus on what you are doing at the moment. 0 points – you find it difficult to concentrate, you constantly chew “mental chewing gum.”
Summarize:
32-40 points – you are in good shape, you devote enough time and attention to rest and recuperation.
20-31 points – it seems that the condition requires close attention from you. Relaxation can help.
Less than 20 points – It is worth contacting a specialist.
Now that you have become aware of your condition, the choice is yours: continue to strain and drive yourself into chronic stress, or carve out 10 minutes every day in order to relax.
And, by the way, awareness of the current state is a skill that trains to then develop into a habit. Set reminders on your calendar, ask questions to assess your condition, and after a month of such practice, you will become more attentive to yourself. This is the best prevention of stress, emotional burnout and the first step towards well-being.
Three groups of relaxation exercises
Assume that you have assessed your condition and scored from 20 to 31 points. A set of exercises based on progressive muscle relaxation will help improve the situation. They have become part of the mental well-being program at Shell.
The advantage of these exercises is that they are quite simple, do not require special physical training and additional equipment. You can perform them in home or office clothes, but the main thing is that they activate the parasympathetic nervous system, triggering deep relaxation, rest and recuperation in a short period of time (maximum 20 minutes). In addition, they help relieve bodily, emotional and cognitive stress.
It is important to perform all exercises as carefully as possible, without effort. You can download with the full version of the relaxation session and do the exercises with me.
To begin, sit down and make yourself comfortable: your back rests on the back of a chair, your legs are in a comfortable position on the floor, your hands are free on your knees. Breathe evenly and calmly.
1. Feet
Take a smooth, calm breath and switch your attention to your legs.
- Place your toes on the floor and lift your heels as high as you can. Then even higher, and still. Hold this position and relieve tension. Drop your heels. Repeat the exercise.
- Rest your heels on the floor and raise your toes as high as possible. Higher, even higher. Relieve tension and lower your toes. Repeat the exercise.
2.Hips
- Raise your legs, stretch them forward as far as possible, pulling your toes away from you. Pull your legs as far away from you as possible. Stay in this position. Then release the tension. Repeat the exercise.
- Rest your feet on the floor and try to “press” them into the surface as much as possible. Take a rest. Repeat the exercise.
3. Arms and shoulders
- Clench your hands tightly into fists. Try to clench your fists even tighter and tighter. Now relax your muscles. Repeat the exercise.
- Spread your fingers wide apart. Try to tighten every muscle in your arms. Relieve stress. Repeat the exercise.
- Concentrate on the shoulders, back and neck. Raise your shoulders up as high as possible – as if you want to reach your earlobes. At the same time, do not tilt your shoulders back or forward. Relieve tension. Repeat the exercise.
The regularity of repetition of the complex will allow you to feel relaxation immediately after doing the exercises and stabilize the condition. At the end of the complex, it is worth straining one muscle group: for example, clench your fists and relax them. This is necessary so that, once in a stressful situation, you can easily cause a state of deep relaxation familiar to the body.
After completing the exercises, reassess the current state. I’m sure the result will surprise you.