In
this day and age wherein the older you get, the busier you become,
pressures coming from all angles in your life can take their toll on
your health and well-being. What’s important, then, is for one to
be able to enjoy his/her free time without unnecessary worries or
stress.
If
you are a workaholic, however, relaxing may become counterproductive
as you are conditioned to never stop moving and thinking from your
daily job. Thus, instead of feeling relaxed, you feel lazy — a
feeling usually associated with the feeling of unproductiveness. If
you want
to know how to relax without feeling lazy,
here are some tips and techniques.
How To Relax Without Feeling Lazy
Breathe
With
your hectic schedule filled with meetings and paperwork, sometimes
you may actually forget how to breathe. Ridiculous, you might say,
since a person who forgets how to breathe is a dead person, but think
about it.
There
are two types of breathing: shallow breathing and diaphragmatic
breathing. The former is the type of breathing done involuntarily —
absolutely necessary for survival yet tensed and shallow, hence the
name.
The
latter, however, involves a lot more thinking and timing. Doing this
will help you relax without feeling lazy because your workaholic
brain does not recognize breathing as procrastination.
So
whenever you are bombarded by loud, stressful noises or find yourself
in an equally stressful environment, just pause for a minute and
breathe.
Palming
One
of the techniques developed by eye care physician William Bates in
his array of eye therapy techniques called Bates Method, palming is a
quick and easy way to help yourself relax without feeling lazy.
It
involves covering each of your eyes with your hands without pressure,
allowing little light to penetrate into your eyes, and holding the
position for a minute or two.
Bates
attributed much of the factors for nearsightedness with strain. So if
you are staring at your computer screen for hours on end, take a
break and do this technique.
Develop a positive mindset
Having
a positive mindset helps a person in a lot of ways. To relax without
feeling lazy, you need to develop a positive mindset and have a
mantra as well. If you have trouble relaxing and taking a break, it
helps to talk to yourself. “Life does not equal to work; thus, I
earn this break,” or “I work to live, not live to work. I can
take a break now.”
Exercise
Believe
it or not, if you have the idea of relaxation as solely a stationary,
no-movement activity, then you are mistaken.
One
of the ways to relax without feeling lazy is to involve yourself in
any exercise. Not only will you feel great about your body after the
activity, but your brain will also recognize this as a productive
thing — therefore, you’ll feel relaxed but not lazy.
ASMR
Autonomous
Sensory Meridian Response or ASMR for short is a phenomenon that
occurs when a person hears different types of soft voices or sounds
(such as tapping, crinkling of paper, chewing sounds, etc.). People
who usually experience this report having a tingling feeling that
runs down their back, neck, and arms. YouTube has many videos
dedicated to this phenomenon.
If
you want to relax without feeling lazy, you can just pull up a video
from the Internet, put on your headphones, and work on your paperwork
while ASMR plays in the background. Therefore, you
won’t feel lazy because you’re actually doing something while
being relaxed.
Meditation
What
good is a list of relaxation techniques without meditation in it?
Meditation has been proven by various many studies on its effects on
stress reduction and relaxation induction. A few minutes a day of
meditation can help reduce stress by a large degree as it helps you
focus. Having such focus helps you in identifying the things that
actually matter. This technique will help you relax without feeling
lazy because you are actually doing something productive and
fulfilling.
Have
a nature trip
The
warm breeze blowing against your face, the radiant light of the sun
penetrating the canopy, hitting the soothing forest floor, and the
beautiful sounds of the waterflow in the distance echoing through
your bones as the birds serenade you an incomprehensibly enchanting
melody… Sounds relaxing, doesn’t it?
Taking
a nature trip every once in a while will not only help you relax but
make you appreciate the beauty around you as well — which may
actually help you perceive life in a different light.
Music
Listening
to music may induce an array of emotions: anger, guilt, sadness, etc.
But most importantly, it takes away your mind from all the stress and
pressures of daily life for a few minutes. Whether you are a die-hard
fan of a certain rock band or just casually passing by the radio
channel, you should try to listen to music more often.
Choosing
your niche
Relaxing
is more than just following certain techniques. Rather, it is about
enjoying the activity — a great way to relax without feeling lazy.
You should not limit yourself to certain activities and explore
others as well — sports, cooking, or listening to ASMR are all
activities that you should consider as options.
Being
a workaholic is quite satisfying, especially if you love your work,
but being one can sometimes still be stressful. There are more and
more people who are having a hard time finding relaxation because
their obligations are nagging at the back of their minds. Finding the
right technique to relax will help you live life better and become a
better person to the people around you. Hopefully,
these techniques will help you relax without feeling lazy.
Source: goodrelaxation by Urmet Seepter
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