Cultivate Relaxation
Most people hold tension in their bodies in response to the stresses, thoughts, and emotions they feel throughout the day. Over time, this tension can lead to pain and discomfort, amplifying the initial stimulus and causing a negative-feedback loop that makes creating new, positive habits difficult. But with practice, this tension can be dissolved daily to make room for lasting peace and tranquility.
We tend to think about activities like excercising and brushing teeth as necessary and beneficial routines for preventative health, but few people see relaxation this way, apart from sleep and maybe a few morning stretches. But integrating systematic relaxation excercises is a profound way to supercharge your health, vitality, and improve your physical comfort.
Start by engaging in a relaxing activity that you don’t do often—maybe a few yoga postures, some deep stretches after excercising, or a quick systematic relaxation practice. Here is a simple and effective practice, excerpted from a previous post:
- Lay down on your back and get cozy.
- Take a long, slow breath in through your nose. Pause and tense up your feet, squeezing tension into this part of your body.
- Exhale slowly and fully relax your feet.
- Repeat steps 2-3 for different parts of your body, progressing upward (tense your calves, then knees, thighs, hips, spine, arms, etc. until you end with your face and scalp).
- Finish with squeezing and then releasing tension through your whole body.
- Finish with a long, slow exhale.
