What could be better than a good rest and relaxation? But how often do we allow ourselves to do this? At best, a couple of times a year, and then not all. And the point here is not that there is no time for rest. A modern person is afraid of relaxation: now I will relax, and then I will not “collect myself”. Where does this conviction come from and is it justified?
If relaxation is understood as turning off the mind, alcoholic libations and nightly sprees, then it really does only harm and it is difficult to get together after it. However, in the Chinese health gymnastics qigong there is a concept of “relaxation in the right form”, and this is something completely different. This is one of the goals of qigong: the deepest active relaxation of the body in an upright position, in motion.
What happens when the body relaxes?
First of all, active blood supply to organs and tissues: the more relaxed the muscles of the body, the better the blood microcirculation. And the health of the body as a whole at the level of organs and tissues depends on its quality.
Inside the muscles there are vessels that are pinched under tension. If we alternate tension and relaxation, the blood circulates well. If the muscles “freeze” in the usual tension, the blood supply to organs and tissues suffers. For example, stagnation of blood in the pelvic area, as a rule, is formed against the background of chronic tension in this zone. In order for the pelvic area to “come to life”, to begin to be supplied with blood normally, gymnastics is needed, aimed at relaxing all its structures.
The body perceives the stretch as an injury and “insures” the muscles with a double contraction.
Another important indicator of health is flexibility. Relaxation also helps to become more flexible. Often, without learning how to relax properly and starting stretching, we get the opposite effect: the muscles are under stress and after exercise they are halved. The body perceives the stretch as an injury and “insures” the muscles with a double contraction. Therefore, a competent trainer will combine stretching with the development of active relaxation skills.
Think of any movie about Chinese martial arts: a master tortures a student, makes him hammer wood with his palm or try to break a stone – day after day, hour after hour. Why is this being done? Due to fatigue, the superficial muscles relax and the deep autochthonous muscles (the muscles that connect the vertebrae) turn on. When this happens, the movements of the fighter become as accurate as possible, and the blows become crushing. But this effect can be achieved in a more humane way.
How to relax?
Let’s see how active relaxation differs from passive relaxation. With passive relaxation, a person lies on a massage table, and a specialist (for example, an osteopath) determines where tension has accumulated, which muscles “pull the blanket over themselves”, and which are inactive, and using various techniques corrects their condition.
Active relaxation is a similar, but independent process, and the main thing in it is to be able to work with attention. Gymnastics, aimed at relaxing habitual tensions, initially consists of slow, meditative movements: we learn to direct attention to the body, feel its state, find tensions and relax them.
When choosing relaxing gymnastics, you should pay attention to the following points:
Discrete movements, twitches – sensations that accompany active relaxation at the initial stage
1. Slow movements alternating with static postures, – such exercises help to “master” the body in a new way. Sometimes only the attention directed to the body is enough to relax qualitatively: working in the office at the computer, we can completely “lose” the body, not feel it.
2. Discrete movements, twitches – sensations that accompany active relaxation at the initial stage. The muscles “release” the body, and it seems to “fall out” of the usual form, flowing into a new one. To understand how this happens, try a simple exercise. Clench and unclench your fist. Squeeze again, but now unclench very slowly – for three minutes. Get ready for unexpected sensations: twitching and trembling. This exercise was invented for professional musicians, for whom it is extremely important to have high-quality relaxation of all the muscles and ligaments of the hand – and such deep relaxation occurs through discreteness and trembling.
3. No pain – a particularly important factor that must be relied upon when choosing gymnastics. Pain is a signal of tension, which means movement in the opposite direction.
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To feel healthy, flexible and strong, a daily practice of relaxation is essential. Alternate visits to an osteopath with relaxing massages, indulge in thermal treatments that help the body open up, and be sure to master relaxing gymnastics. This type of relaxation increases the resource of the body, its strength and performance and provides a reboot, after which a new activity brings only pleasure.