Baby steps towards relaxation

One dynamic that is particularly challenging in our culture is balancing our innate needs for rest and movement. When we are super busy all the time, always moving, or regularly tense or anxious, our bodies bring us back into balance by catching those dreaded colds or flus to force us to stay home to rest and rejuvenate and return to homeostasis. If you don't want to end up stuck in bed this month, there are some easy techniques you can incorporate into your life to keep balanced. I suggest you schedule downtime for yourself and practice doing leisure activities. Just like when you begin an exercise program, you're most successful at reducing stress and relaxing if you take baby steps. Start with just 5 or 10 minutes three times a week.


Start with a leisure activity that gives you something to do while practicing rest and relaxation - reading a book, petting an animal, knitting or painting. Eventually you might add 10 more minutes onto your sessions and a few additional days a week and flex your skills with some intermediate activities such as reflecting on your life, writing in a journal, or drinking a hot beverage in a cozy room. As you work up to a deeper state of peace and calm and become adept at being still, you might try more advanced resting techniques like sitting and looking out your window to observe the weather, or meditating and quieting the mind. It might seem silly to practice relaxation like this, but I'm certain you know someone who just does not know how to slow down. Yet it's a skill that can be developed with practice - I promise. And the benefits to your health, your sanity and your well-being are priceless.