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Regine Zekri-Hurstel – a famous French neuropathologist, author of popular books, including “Simple Gestures Heal Us” (“Ces gestes simples qui guerissent”, Albin Michel, 2005).

But what if the keys to well-being look within ourselves? Not in the standard advice “about what is useful”, not in what we used to consider right or reasonable, but in those signals that our own brain sends with the help of neurons, to which we do not always know how to listen. “You should not think that the science that studies the functioning of the human brain is designed to deal exclusively with severe, complex disorders,” explains neuropathologist Regine Zekri-Yurstel. “Today, scientists and practitioners have accumulated enough experience to help us cope with a thousand and one problems of our busy daily life.”

The key to that comfortable state of body and soul, which she calls “neural happiness,” is the ability to trust your feelings, listen to your inner needs, and follow your natural instinct. “Our brain knows perfectly well what will be good and useful for us. At the sensory level, each human body is arranged absolutely individually. We are different from the very beginning, starting from the period of our intrauterine life, and therefore each of us is only able to determine for himself what will benefit his well-being.

To regain contact with your feelings, explains Dr. Zekri-Yurstel, first of all, you need to return to the natural change of states of tension (which almost every day consists of) and full relaxation. And offers some simple practical advice.

Breathe in the memories

The smell is able to instantly take us to another space and time. In fact, our brain (like our unconscious) does not take time into account: acting through associations, it allows us to flood over already experienced emotions and feelings, the strength and realism of which always takes us by surprise. Its strongest ally is the sense of smell.

This is the most powerful of the mechanisms of perception of the world, since the receptors that perceive the smell are directly connected to the area of ​​the brain that is responsible for our emotions. In the middle of the day, a drop of essential oil or the light of a perfumed candle will be enough for you, whose aroma will remind you of some person dear to you or a place where you once felt good – and internally you will already leave a depressing environment or a stressful situation. You can also turn it into a special ritual of returning home by using your favorite scent every night, which your brain will soon begin to associate with home comfort.

Right or left?

“Left-handed”, “right-handed” – in the scientific sense, these understandable words mean that a person’s leading hand is the left or, accordingly, the right hand. Less well known is the fact that each of us also has the right or left eye as the leading one. Which one? The easiest way to find out is by assuming the pose of a shooter aiming at a target: the eye that remains open will be the leader. Regine Zekri-Yurstel advises to remember it in order to learn how to relax more effectively. Our body, she explains, makes more movements in this (visually priority) direction. If your dominant eye is on the right, you will more often lean on something, chew, etc. on this side, it will be easier for you to turn around yourself from left to right than vice versa. Therefore, it is useful to give a break to the most loaded side of our body. Here are just two examples.

Massaging your eyes

A gentle massage of the area around the eyes will relax the entire face well. A little trick: first apply a cooling mask to your eyes, and then use your fingertips to walk along the contour of the eye sockets with light massaging movements – this will greatly enhance the relaxing effect. Give the beneficial effect of this massage to your child at the end of the school day.

Dress in bliss

Our brains associate different shapes, colors and textures with certain emotional states. Therefore, when you return home in the evening, it is especially important to choose “relaxing” clothes – they will become your “new skin”. Trust your own instinct. Pay attention to the size of the clothing, the texture and color of its matter. And it doesn’t matter if (pseudo) common sense for household chores advises choosing loose clothes in non-staining colors – if you feel better in tight and bright things, listen to yourself! When you put them on, your brain will immediately tune in to relaxation. Even if you left work only a couple of minutes ago, your unconscious will instantly take you to another space-time dimension.

Fall asleep on the right side

Relaxing, we stretch, lying on our backs, but when falling asleep it is better to turn on our side. And it is important to determine which one. If your right eye is leading, you should fall asleep on your left side in order to unload the right side of the body, which often experienced tension throughout the day. And, accordingly, vice versa.

stretch like a cat

This pleasurable movement responds to the deepest need of our body, which needs to get rid of muscle tension. Stretch while lying on your back (the straightened position of the neck and lumbar spine relieves tension in the lower back and diaphragm). Stretch your arms and legs to the sides; gently turn your head to the right and left (this will relax both sides of the body); open your mouth wide and yawn (even if you don’t feel like it – by opening your mouth, we “let off steam”, relieve the tension that has accumulated in the facial muscles during the day). It will also be useful to stretch your arms and legs vertically upwards.

Dive into the water

With the help of a shower or bath, we can satisfy our vital need to restore the thermal balance of the body. This need is not realized by us, but it is laid down during the period of intrauterine development of a person and his birth. We have four temperature options: hot, warm, cool or cold. Trust the choice to your skin. Have you heard that a warm bath is healthier, but feel like you are literally reborn in piping hot water? Listen to yourself! Remember that only you know what is good for you. After a bath or shower, spend a few minutes scratching the skin of both feet, as well as your back (this can help). These movements activate nerve endings that are directly related to the relaxation mechanism.

call differently

Active use of a mobile phone during the day increases muscle tension on the “listening” side of the body. Bringing the device to our ear, we involuntarily tilt our heads, disturbing the muscular balance, especially when we call while sitting. Three helpful tips to get your muscular system back in balance.

• Use the phone from the side of your dominant eye: calling from the other side will force you to make unnecessary efforts, which will increase tension.
• Walk whenever possible to compensate for the imbalance: walking will force the other side of the body to work, which will help distribute muscle tension more evenly.
• Finally, chew your food more vigorously: chewing consists of alternating tension and relaxation, which allows you to balance the system of facial and neck muscles that have been overstressed during your calls.