Relief Tension – Unwind Your Mind and Body When did you last wake up with a smile? When did life start feeling so serious? Do you sometimes look at yourself in the mirror, seeing tension in your face and body? Do you suffer from headaches, IBS, lack of enjoyment, and over-work, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by life. Many people are looking for a remedy to the tension and the remedy is easing back and ‘unwinding’.
Tension may be okay in the short-term, but long-term it’s a warning from our body – to
change how we live life.
Here are some ways for you to relieve tension to make sure you can become more productive, healthy, and satisfied with your life.
1.Ditch the self medication: Caffeine to keep going, Alcohol at night to switch off. Is that you? These beverages are having the same effect on tension as oil poured into a fire to douse it. So the first step is to cut down on any substances you suspect are just substitutes for real solutions to your tension. Try to drink a good quality green tea instead, it clears the mind and does not cause an energy dip as coffee does. At night try a warm almond milk which is rich in Magnesium with cinnamon or a Magnesium supplement to relax instead, read a good book or do some gentle yoga and breathing exercises.
2. Find out the cause of your tension – Is it work, a relationship, lack of exercise, guilt, anger, exhaustion or a combination of these? Sit down and think: “What is making me tense?” Write down anything that comes to mind (it may even be a particular person). Then think about practical ways that will (along with these tips) help you to either improve the situation or at least get some respite from it.
3. Take time out – Often feeling tense is a sign that you need to take regular pit stops. We can all keep going a lot longer if we take time out. Even during his busiest times in the midst of WWII, Winston Churchill would still insist on taking to his bed for an hour in the afternoons. There is nothing like an afternoon power nap to ease away tension, revive energy and optimism, and make you feel human again.
A study found that an afternoon power nap of 26 minutes can boost performance by as much as 34 percent! The best time to power nap is between 1:00 and 3:00, a time in which we naturally experience a dip. – In Chinese Medicine this is the Kidney time, a time to take a break, to rest and recharge. Give your adrenals a break and have a nap instead of a coffee. In my NLP sessions I teach clients self-hypnosis exercises to switch off and enter a meditative state. You can easily do this even in the office during a break. These days you can also find many meditation apps you can download and use any time you want to switch off and relax. You will be surprised what a difference they can make to your energy levels and mood.
4. Move your body and breathe deeply! 🙂 A short walk three times a week has been shown to have greater antidepressant effects than antidepressant medication. And being outside in nature (even a park in a major city) can also relieve tension very fast. Start walking parts of your way to and from work, consider doing short yoga exercises when you work from home. Exercise helps you sleep better at night and will improve the quality of your life-enhancing afternoon power nap, too.
5. The power of Touch – Whether it’s by getting a massage once a week or taking time to hug a loved one (and yes, loving sex can be a great stress reliever!), touch can melt away tension. Gentle touch has been shown to improve physical and psychological functioning, particularly in terms of reducing tension and stress, relieving pain, and increasing your ability to cope. Set priorities. Allowing your body to receive regular massage is one of the best ways of coping with stress and for you to completely unwind and relax.
I suggest to my clients to book up for regular massage. My Hypnotherapy sessions help undo some of the tension in a stressed body, but a really good series of massages will get your body feeling much looser and energized again. Particularly Shiatsu (based on Chinese Medicine) has incredible healing and restoring properties which many of my regular clients swear by.
6. Have a laugh – a good belly laugh can relief pain, boost immune response, lower blood pressure, and enhance a sense of intimacy and shared understanding with those around you. Make a point of revisiting funny movies, spending time with people who make you laugh, and also recalling times when you really laughed. In my NLP and Hypnotherapy sessions I help people to reconnect to their body’s memories and wisdom. What it needs to change your current negative state is often very easy – simply to revisit and connect with the positive feelings you are looking for. We all have been happy and relaxed before in our life’s. Connecting with to those good feelings and memories will cause a physical response in your body and make you instantly feel better. You can learn how to trigger a release of Endorphins any time you want to feel better – without the need of substitutes like sugar, alcohol or cigarrettes. Our brain is amazing at being re-programmed to how you want to feel! Try my NLP and Hypnotherapy sessions and you will be surprised at the changes you will experience in your life.
“When did you have a really good laugh?” I often ask my clients during NLP and hypnosis sessions. Right now you might find it hard to remember; but I know that part of you can. When we ask the unconscious mind to travel back to a time when you’ve been really laughing it’s likely it won’t take long. I can quickly see a smile sneaking onto my clients face, turning into a bright beaming smile, until a giggle escapes followed by a real heart felt laughter. I suggest that you connect to good memories and laugh more during each day and really feel the benefits.
7. Socializing – Other people can help us. Making time to see people who are fun, interesting, and good listeners as well as talkers will help you relax more. Socializing might even make you smarter! They found that people who engaged in social interaction displayed higher levels of cognitive performance than the control group and felt less tense and happier for hours afterwards. Have you been neglecting your social life? Look at ways you can start to build it up again.
Ever found the only person holding you back is you? Contact me at Tarakasha Holistic Therapies to discuss what treament or therapy would be most suitable for you.
When did you last wake up with a smile? When did life start feeling so serious? Do you sometimes look at yourself in the mirror, seeing tension in your face and body? Do you suffer from headaches, IBS, lack of enjoyment, and over-work, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by life. Many people are looking for a remedy to the tension and the remedy is easing back and ‘unwinding’.