What images come to mind when you think about relaxing?  Do you imagine someone lying on the beach, or someone curled up with a blanket or a good book? Or, do you think about a person going to a spa? Whatever your perception of relaxion is, the truth of the matter is that we need more of it.

Yes, you heard me correctly.

Let me explain why  we need more time to relax and why this is a lost concept in our modern lives.

We all want to get more done in a day. An thanks to the intervention of technology we can get more done than ever. But this is usually at the expense of something, which is usually relaxation. So, we strive to do more, be more, yet don’t give our minds and body a chance to relax and rewind. Because of this, we suffer from depression, illnesses,  and other conditions.  Even though we now that these conditions can be cured by simply rest and healthful living, we decide to keep on going, opting instead to take medicine and other external means to feel better.  Humans are not machines, we need to be alone, relax both physical and mentally. This is why we need to relax more and make it a point to try to do relaxing and calming activities throughout the day.

This is not to say that we have always had time to relax. Yes, there were workaholics (think Scrooge from the Christmas Carol)  and people that had to work 24/7 just to survive.  But now that we have the benefit of more automatic machines and computers to help us do work.

So how can be relax more?

Here are some tips to get some relaxation in your day.

1. Start the day with some yoga.  Instead of jumping into the day straight from bed, take some time to prepare yourself for the day ahead.  I like to wake up everyday by doing some simple stretching, gently moving my body after being in a state of rest for several hours.
2. Meditate. If exercising first thing in the morning is not your thing, then don’t worry. You can meditate a few minutes. Meditating can be very calming and relaxing. If you find that you are constantly waking up with a frazzled mind, meditating can help you organize your thoughts.
3. Get into a good routine and schedule time for relaxation. Having a good routine means that you know exactly when you can start winding down and calling it a day. I am certainly one of those people that have to get everything done on my to-do list to feel productive. This means that I must have a good routine so I am not writing posts at midnight (which I have done before, not going to lie and felt so exhausted the next day). So I have made a to-do list that includes relaxation, but I can only do that relaxation thing I have planned if I get all my work done. I mean who doesn’t look forward to a nice book cuddled up in your warmest socks and blankets, or watching your favorite movie when you have done everything you need to do.
4. Enjoy Relaxing. I know, I know. We schedule time for relaxation, but then spend that time thinking about the things we could be doing or haven’t done yet and should. I do this all the time. I would be watching a movie that I earned to watch, yet still planning my next blog posts and scheduling out work while watching.  But I am trying to be better with this. I need to tell myself that I worked hard and I need this time to relax and rejuvenate myself so I can work better in the future.  So, enjoy the moment. Be present with the movie or thing that you are doing for relaxation. Enjoy it, you deserve some chill time.

I hope you found this helpful. A great start to 2019 is a fresh and relaxed mind and body ready to take on all the new exciting adventures and goals of the new year.

Have a great week,

Alyssa