How to relax

You don't need to set aside special time for resting and relaxing. You don't need a special pillow or fancy equipment. You don't need a whole hour. In fact, now is a very good time to relax.

I've recently found it hard to relax. My mind keeps racing of things that could happen, things I should have done differently and life has felt super overwhelming. Keeping calm and carrying on has left me feeling raw, emotional and little things are setting me of. When I do have free time, scrolling or watching something, I feel my body is tense.

Struggling to relax doesn't mean I am doing something wrong, but it does signal that I'm not tending to my emotional and mental needs enough to keep up with school, friendships, and all the ambitions I have. If you are reading this, I have a strong suspicion that you are feeling a similar way. First, I want to say that its OK to struggle to relax. Relaxing is something our bodies do naturally, but our brains sometimes don't catch up. We can feel stressed, sad, angry, anxious, or overwhelmed which all send signals to our body that something is wrong, to stay on alert, and that's where the tension comes from. Our thoughts and sometimes what is happening around us literally tells our brain to send hormones (primarly crotisol and adrenaline) signalling our body that we are stressed and not to relax. Scrolling, staying busy, or distracting yourself can provide temporary relief or numbing, but sometimes our bodies and brain reqires more.

Relaxing in our world is not always automatic, so what does relaxing actually look life?

1. Move and stretch - Stretch and move. Get up and walk around. We are sitting and laying around all day worried about the future or past, take a break and let your body release the stress within your muscles. Movement also can release happy hormones (endorphins) that reduce stress.

2. Breath - Right now, take a deep breath. Do it. When we are stressed and overwhelmed we can unconciously hold our breath. Breathing is one of the most powerful things we can do because it brings us into the present moment, in our body, and helps us rebalance those pesky stress hormones our body seems to over generate.

3. Set outside - Nature has wonderful healing powers. It's where we human naturally are made to be.

4. Music and sounds - Listen to the sounds around you or your favorite music. Music has a wonderful way of taking us out of our situation but also providing comfort in its messages. Make sure you balance this, play songs that you relate to, that brings a universality to your experience, but also ones that motivate you to keep on going.

5. Lazy Day - Have a totally unscheduled day and see what unfolds. Maybe you go on a walk, meet up with a friend, read, or mearly rest. In our busy lives with school, social, there is always a pressure to do something, to keep up with people. Allow yourself a full 24 hours to just do you.