6 Ways To Relax Right Now
There are days and time when it all just gets to be too much. You need to step away from it all and take a breath. Self-care, anyone? Here are my favorite ways to take a few minutes for myself and reset.
1. Go window shopping online.
Seriously. My favorite is Zulily. They have the neatest stuff.
I go
Once I’m done shopping, I close the app. I don’t even look at my cart.
However, the next time I open the app, I will check the cart. Most items won’t be available anymore. I’ll delete them from the cart while feeling relieved that I didn’t purchase them.
And no matter how adorable she might look in them, I don’t need the next three sizes of those rainbow jammies for my daughter.
2. Light a candle and count your breathing.
Specifically, breathe in through your nose for a count of four.
Then breathe out through your nose for a count of seven.
I first learned about this from Suzy Ashworth’s The Calm Birth Method: Your Complete Guide to a Positive Hypnobirthing Experience.
You’ll notice that your out-breath is almost twice as long as your in-breath. This technique is effective because it triggers your body’s natural calming reflex.
3. Blast your favorite tunes and dance it out.
In my music library, there are constantly growing playlists of:
• songs to dance to
• songs to sing at the top of my lungs to
• songs to slow down to
Just to name a few. At a moment’s notice, I can have my own personal, self-curated soundtrack for whatever I’m feeling and whatever my soul needs to rejuvenate.
4. Go for a walk outside and stimulate your senses.
I know it sounds cliché, but it works. Even if you only walk around your own backyard.
Sometimes I just go sit in a lawn chair outside in the shade of our carport. I listen to and watch the birds and squirrels. If I’m lucky I see a butterfly. If I’m really lucky, it’s raining or the sprinklers are on.
Did you know your brain craves sensory-input? It does.
Rain produces a sound like white noise. Your brain breathes a sigh of relief and
Conversely, bright sunshine will keep you stimulated if that’s what you need.
If it’s not raining or you don’t have sprinklers, try a white noise app.
My current favorite is Colored Noise Generator. It allows you to choose from six colored noises: white, pink, brown, blue, purple and gray.
The nerd in me loves the feature that shows you the octaves producing each color of sound and allowing you to isolate them.
5. If you have a pet, pet it.
Or better yet, snuggle it. Dog. Cat. Whatever you got. (Leave the fish where they are though.)
Know why they take animals into hospitals to see people who are sick? Because it makes them feel better.
In their February 2018 article The Power of Pets: Health Benefits of Human-Animal Interactions, the National Institutes of Health says that pets may “decrease stress, improve heart health, and even help children with their emotional and social skills.”
Interacting with a pet has also been shown to decrease levels of a stress hormone called cortisol and to lower blood pressure. So go get your furry-friend snuggle on.
6. Do a Random Act of Kindness.
According to Random Acts of Kindness, performing just one Random Act of Kindness (RAK) each day not only reduces stress, anxiety
Feeling more relaxed yet? What are some of your favorite ways to quickly relax and destress? Share in the comments below.