Each of us constantly faces stress: at work, at leisure, in everyday life, and even at home, alone with ourselves. Stressors cannot be avoided, and negative emotions negatively affect the physical state and psychological background.
What do we do first when we are stressed or nervous? Of course, we run to the pharmacy in the hope of buying anti-stress pills. They really relieve symptoms urgently. But the problem will go deeper, into the subconscious, and you will still worry and accumulate tension in yourself. In addition, without a doctor’s prescription, unauthorized use of medications can only worsen the situation. Therefore, it is so important to be able to relax properly, as well as learn how to manage stress. Only this knowledge will help you effectively deal with stress, neutralizing its negative consequences. The following techniques, techniques and exercises will help you learn how to deal with stress and how to properly relax after interacting with stressors.
The pace of life in a metropolis gives rise to phobias
Many people prefer big cities. They live, work, build their lives in conditions where they cannot afford to slow down. Before moving to Spain, my wife and I lived in Moscow and felt how it absorbed us at high speeds. We simply may not have enough personal time, and this has a negative impact on our well-being and overall health.
Against the backdrop of the desire to withdraw into ourselves, stress aggravates all our feelings and thoughts. Even seemingly childhood fears and concerns begin to transform into something more global. For example, if previously it was simply unpleasant to be in a confined space, then due to constant pressure this can develop into real claustrophobia.
Meditation techniques for depression and anxiety
There are three known methods for relieving depression and anxiety:
- Relaxation . The technique is based on the alternate relaxation of all muscle groups - a person consciously relaxes the body, starting with the legs and mentally compares this state with the tension that was a minute ago. The technique is effective and similar in nature to shavasana.
- Visualization . The technique is based on visual images - quiet and protected places where a person would feel calm and confident. You can go further and visualize the taste, smell, feeling of your loved one nearby.
- Autotraining . The technique for fear and anxiety in the form of meditation consists of repeating phrases (affirmations) that give self-confidence, vitality and will.
By practicing exercises for anxiety and stress in the evening, a person is relieved of physical and mental stress, gaining balance and equilibrium. This meditation is for calming nerves, psychological relaxation, and increasing control over stress and emotions. When you get rid of all negative influences, your body will direct all its strength to self-healing.
The story of how our friend realized he was claustrophobic
Our friend Evgeniy is a third generation St. Petersburg resident. He loves St. Petersburg and would never have thought about moving or temporarily changing his environment if not for one incident.
Returning home after another week of work, he felt a heaviness in his chest, the air had difficulty passing through his lungs. He entered the elevator, pressed the button for his floor, and the doors closed. The seconds spent in this enclosed space seemed like an eternity to him. My heart was beating at a furious speed and seemed to jump out of my chest. The palms became cold and white as ice, and night fell in the eyes. Having reached the apartment, he was still able to call an ambulance...
The doctor who came to the call began the examination by measuring blood pressure and pulse. After which he recommended that I be more attentive to my psychological state. As it turned out, our hero has a predisposition to panic attacks, which are a real problem for modern people.
Unfortunately, there is no magic pill for this problem, but there are many ways to get yourself in order. And first on the list is meditation! She helped our friend find a balance between a lifestyle that was comfortable for him and the rhythm of a city that he would never want to leave.
Meditation as a way to relax
You should consider in detail examples of different types of meditation designed to calm your nerves and improve your emotional state. The main thing when choosing a technique is to have a positive feeling when performing it. For example, you should not be annoyed by a voice reading the text of a guided meditation.
As for breathing exercises, they should be modernized to suit your body. Many of them are performed on several counts and involve holding your breath. It is worth remembering that the volume of the lungs is different, and therefore for some the proposed breathing rhythm can cause dizziness and shortness of breath. The same goes for visual techniques. For some, the sight of water may be irritating, but for others it will become an imaginary oasis for relaxation.
Breathing exercises
The Square of Breathing is a practical beginner's guide to pain and stress relief. It is especially often practiced when preparing to take exams, speaking in front of an audience, and other situations that cause nervous overexcitation. Sit or stand with your back straight. You can close your eyes or keep them open, concentrating on one point. Begin to inhale for 5 counts, placing your palm on the diaphragm. Then hold your breath for 5 seconds and exhale the air in the same way, for 5 counts. The recommended time to complete the practice is 2 minutes.
Ujjai breathing technique is widely used among yogis. This method helps you relax, quickly relieve fatigue and increase concentration. Sit in lotus position or just on your knees. Be sure to keep your back straight, without arching your spine. If it is more convenient to stand, place your feet well on the floor. Breathe at a pace that suits you, deeply. The essence of the method is to pass a stream of air through the nasopharyngeal area . While breathing, you need to slightly tense the muscles of the larynx. If the technique is performed correctly, you will hear the sound of the sea surf as you inhale.
Guided Meditations
This type of meditation is attractive in its simplicity. You just need to find the required recording or ask a loved one with a pleasant voice to read the text you have written. This practice is simply irreplaceable during periods when you are on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In addition to the calming text, you can choose words that stimulate increased self-esteem or program for successful resolution of complex issues.
Self-hypnosis is the most powerful tool for controlling a person’s consciousness. There are cases where people, through self-hypnosis, were able to recover from serious illnesses. In medicine, this phenomenon is called the “placebo effect.”
Visualization
A practical visualization guide for relieving pain and stress gives complete freedom to a person’s imagination. Exercises can be performed not only at home, but also in nature. Close your eyes, go to the hidden corners of your mind. Find a nook with a memory that gives you the warmest feelings and concentrate on it. Try to keep the picture in front of your eyes for as long as possible.
During depression, a person wants to close himself off from the whole world. Imagine the enormous size of the Universe, then return to the problem, place a shield next to you, which will push it, like something material, into the background. Thus draw a line that problems cannot cross. Create a clear picture in your subconscious of a place where you feel safe. Imagine how the forces of the Universe fill your body, flowing in colorful streams through your veins.
Why meditation and yoga are necessary for a modern city dweller
Meditation is a state of internal concentration. To enter it, special exercises and special practices are used - often these are yoga exercises.
Meditation helps normalize somatic processes and stabilizes the psyche. It helps to increase the level of self-awareness, relieves anxiety and tension, reveals inner potential, and clears the mind.
In many cities, group yoga classes are currently being held, where they teach all the nuances of proper meditation. You can also take private lessons or learn exercises online.
Below we present a selection of special relaxing yoga poses, practicing which you will get good results.
Meditation is a universal method of relaxation and stress management
Meditation is a time-tested method for maximum relaxation. It perfectly helps reduce anxiety and eliminate internal tension. With its help, since ancient times, people have achieved peace of mind and abstracted themselves from all “earthly vanities” - worries, negative emotions, stress. Any person can master the technique of meditation: it does not require unique abilities. You just need to create a favorable atmosphere and suitable conditions for meditation. Correctly performed meditation technique gives high results. Following these rules will help make meditation as effective as possible:
- Practice meditation techniques in a comfortable, private place. It should be quiet and comfortable for you. Meditations can be carried out both in special, quiet rooms and in nature.
- Meditate alone or with like-minded people. There should be no strangers nearby.
- Choose a comfortable and most comfortable position for your body so that every muscle is relaxed.
- Attention must be completely focused on the process. Therefore, abstract yourself from the outside world: turn off your cell phone, close the windows, eliminate any distractions.
- Special music (sounds of nature, ethnic) and aromatherapy have a beneficial effect on the body and spirit during meditation. You can use incense, aroma oils, scented candles.
Example of a meditation technique:
Take the most comfortable position: you can sit on a chair, sofa, or take the lotus position on the mat. If you still couldn’t relax in this position, you can lie down on the floor completely, in a free position. Listen to music or sounds of nature, inhale the pleasant aroma of incense and try to relax your body as much as possible, turn off your mind, internal dialogue, and eliminate any thoughts. It is quite difficult for an inexperienced person to stop the flow of thought. To do this, imagine emptiness or white endless light in your mind, and begin to breathe slowly, fully and deeply, counting your inhalations and exhalations. Do the exercise for 5-10 minutes. When you feel that you have relaxed as much as possible, gradually turn on your mind. Then slowly squat down and start moving.
When you perform this technique daily, you will notice that your emotional background has normalized, you are calm and relaxed.
The influence of meditation practices: a scientific point of view
Our body is controlled by the brain. By training it through meditation, you initiate a total “rewiring” of your body.
Modern research confirms that meditation improves the functioning of the immune system, lowers blood pressure, relieves muscle tension, and replenishes a person’s internal resources. Scientists from Harvard proved 11 years ago that practicing internal concentration allows you to fight diseases at the DNA level.
The human body is inseparable from the psyche, so physiology directly affects psychological changes. Meditation and yoga help manage emotions, reduce stress levels, and get rid of phobias.
In conclusion, I would like to say: “Start and end your day correctly. Wake up 30 minutes earlier and devote them to yourself. The result will not take long to wait, and life will sparkle with new beautiful colors.”
Benefits of Meditation for Relaxation
- reduces blood pressure;
- the production of stress hormones decreases;
- heartbeat improves;
- enhances concentration and attention;
- Nervous tension decreases;
- improves mood and overall well-being of the body.
During the day, if stressful situations arise, try to return to the “here and now” state, look at yourself and the situation from the outside.
And also...
Meditation has a beneficial effect on the ability to concentrate:
MRI images show that during meditation the so-called. prefrontal cortex. It controls our ability to focus on one thing.
That is, the more active this zone is, the better we are able to concentrate.
But the part of the brain that is responsible for our eternal “carousel of thoughts” , on the contrary, reduces activity to a minimum . Those who practice meditation regularly rarely allow themselves to be carried away by thoughts.
...and even relieves physical pain
Neuroscientists have long noticed that if a person regularly practices meditation, his brain changes . How exactly? One of the manifestations is a reaction to pain. He notices the very fact of pain more strongly. And he suffers less from them!
Look at the photo. On the left - a man is just lying there, and something hurts. On the right is the same, but during meditation:
How to treat sedative pills?
Photo: calm
For a modern person, forced to “keep up with the times,” it is not always easy to find time to listen to music, meditate and relax. And it also happens that you need to calm down immediately, but it is physically impossible to use these methods - here many solve the problem with the help of sedative pills. Let us immediately note that you should never take neuroleptics - drugs intended for the treatment of severe nervous and mental disorders - and tranquilizers - which have a hypnotic and addictive effect without a doctor’s prescription. However, this also applies to other groups of drugs - antidepressants and nootropics, prescribed to relieve anxiety and improve cerebral circulation, but they, unlike drugs from previous groups, have almost no side effects and have few contraindications.
Any synthetic medicines cannot be considered safe - they are more often addictive than natural remedies. It is better to choose antidepressants based on medicinal herbs that have a sedative effect, but do not cause addiction: for example, tablets of St. John's wort, motherwort or valerian - preparations of these plants are now sold not only in the form of tinctures or extracts.
You can recall such well-known tablets as Persen, Novo-Passit, Adonis-bromine, Glycine, Magne B6 Forte - sometimes you can get rid of irritability by simply replenishing the lack of magnesium in the body.
Music is a universal way to calm down
Photo: calm
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Music has been used in the medical practice of many specialists for a long time, but in order to be “treated” with it, it is not necessary to go to the doctor. You just need to find music that helps you calm down: it doesn’t “cause” melancholy or apathy, but makes you collect your thoughts and look at the situation differently. Most experts - psychologists in particular - believe that the best option is listening to classics. The music of famous composers - Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky, etc. - quickly relieves tension and calms the nerves, even if a person is upset and “excited.” It is no coincidence that classical melodies have now begun to be used instead of ordinary phone calls: they quickly set a person up for a calmer, more polite approach to the interlocutor.
Soft and calm musical compositions can relieve headaches, muscle pain, help you sleep, and calm pregnant women and small children.
You can choose soothing music according to your taste. Of course, hard rock is unlikely to be suitable, but many people like songs from cartoons, childhood melodies, folklore motifs or other genres. For example, studies of physical rehabilitation patients have shown that energetic music helps them recover faster.
