Relaxation is a Life-Enhancing Skill You Can Learn

Relaxation is a life-enhancing skill that you can learn, practice, and improve using simple relaxation and meditation techniques. With practice, you can learn to remain relaxed during both the good times and the bad.

If you don't practice relaxation, tension builds up.

Ongoing tension and anxiety create a negative spiral of increasing distress and illness, making it harder and harder to relax and recuperate.

Therefore, it is an intelligent strategy to aim to stay as relaxed as possible under all circumstances. 

Definition of relaxation

Science defines relaxation as the body's ability to reduce stress. It is characterized by a decrease in the arousal of the autonomic nervous system.

Decreased nervous system arousal is associated with lowered heart rate, reduced blood pressure, decreased muscle tension, slowed breathing rate, and increased activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in a general feeling of physical and mental calmness and well-being. You can sleep well, rest deeply, recharge yourself, and feel rejuvenated.

When you are resting, your body can repair itself and do all the things it needs to do to keep you healthy. Without relaxation, stress and tension build up in your body. If you cannot rest and recuperate, your body will be unable to repair the normal damage that occurs in our daily lives. These can build up within your body's cells and organs, causing illness and suffering.

Relaxation is a life-enhancing skill because the ability to turn off stress and rest deeply is essential for survival. It ensures that you remain healthy and have the energy to engage in life. 

Relaxation is both an art and a science.

The science of relaxation is based on learning how to control your nervous system. 

When you turn on relaxation, you automatically turn off the part of the brain that deals with stress and tension (the sympathetic nervous system) and turn on the part that creates relaxation and well-being (the parasympathetic nervous system).

You need to learn and practice the skill of turning on the parasympathetic nervous system. If you don't practice and develop your ability to relax, your sympathetic nervous system will remain on even in non-stressful situations, such as after work, on holidays, or when you are trying to sleep. 

The art of relaxation is knowing how to relax and meditate and using the relaxation gained from these techniques to get the most out of life. This means being able to relax during both the good times and the bad, especially when facing tough times with lots of stress and challenges. When you know how to relax, you have the energy to deal with stress and the ability to relax and recharge after managing the stress.

Once you have the skill of relaxation, you can learn to turn on relaxation whenever and wherever you need it.

The key to good health is cultivating your ability to relax and recharge when your body tells you to. Unfortunately, many people ignore their bodies' inner signals. This results in an epidemic of chronic degenerative diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, poor relationships, and a generally reduced quality of life.

Medical research from Harvard Researcher Herbert Benson of The Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine shows that relaxation can help people better manage these conditions and improve their quality of life. Learning relaxation techniques has become extremely important as more and more people are working longer hours and facing greater financial and job insecurity.

Relaxation is the basis of enjoyment

Relaxation is a life-enhancing skill because it enables us to enjoy life.

Learning to relax is a process of self-care, self-nourishment, and self-empowerment. Combining relaxation with restorative activities, such as having fun and recreation, can create a truly enjoyable and fulfilling life. This gives us the resources, physical resilience, and the state of mind to manage anything that arises in life.

Relaxation increases resilience and confidence

Relaxation is a life-enhancing skill because it enables us to enjoy life and develop greater health, resilience, and confidence. Resilience arises from increased physical vitality gained from deep rest.

Relaxed confidence comes from knowing how to handle life's problems and practicing this in different situations.

Effective relaxation techniques

Big Shakti offers techniques that reduce the negative impact of stress, tension, and anxiety and help you connect with your innate abilities.

3 Easy Steps to Deep Relaxationteaches you how to turn on and deepen relaxation anytime, anywhere. These simple and short exercises will greatly impact your life and your state of well-being.

If you are sick or exhausted and need deep rest and rejuvenation, use Yoga Nidra regularly. This is one of the most potent ways to restore, recharge, rejuvenate, and remain relaxed and healthy.

Practices like Ujjayi breathing or diaphragmatic breathing can be done anywhere to quickly calm the mind and body. Focusing on slow, deep breaths helps regulate the nervous system, providing a sense of control and peace.

Bringing your attention to the present moment, even for a few minutes, can significantly reduce anxiety and tension. Mindfulness meditation practices, like observing the breath or body scanning, can be done sitting or lying down.

Guided meditations can take you on an inner journey to calm the mind. Listening to audio recordings that lead you through peaceful settings or positive imagery can be a powerful way to unwind and refocus.

These techniques offer a diverse range of options, allowing you to find what suits your relaxation needs best. Each method targets a different element of relaxation—whether it’s focusing on the breath, calming the mind, or easing physical tension—enabling a more personalised and effective path to overall well-being.