Tag: live mindfully

Hi there my beautiful lovelies! Hope you guys are doing well and staying safe. Is your life crazy busy with little time for yourself? If your answer is yes, I have some short relaxation techniques to help you tame stress and take steps keeping in mind the importance of relaxation.

Busy is Not Always Good

Busy lives are often taken as a badge of honor and a marker for self-worth. However, too much busy a schedule can negatively impact your mental and physical well-being. Now, individuals who are busy at work, are overworked, and have a real lack of leisure time are perceived as having higher status. Additionally, some intentionally over-work as a way to avoid negative feelings or situations. However, overworking, busy life can lead to stress.  Stress is a term used to describe the body’s physiological and/or psychological reaction to circumstances that require behavioral adjustment. According to the Japanese National Survey of Health, the most frequent stressors are work-related problems, followed by health-related and then financial problems. According to the study, job stress has been linked to a range of adverse physical and mental health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. 

I can definitely assets to the negative impact stressful busy life. If you remember, five years ago, I joined a position, where I ended up working 16 to 18 hours a day for a year. Additionally, the work environment was toxic, with racism, and so much more. I tried to take a break by taking some time off. At the end of the year, I ended up with multiple ER visits and hospitalization. Hence, I can attest to the negative impact of busy overworked life. Now, look let’s look at the healthcare workers during the pandemic. According to a study, health status and levels of subjective/psychological wellbeing can be negatively influenced by the burnout syndrome experienced by intensive care professionals. Another meta-analysis study showed consistent reports of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in healthcare workers as a result of the pandemic.

What Can Be Done to Relax?

Given all the stress from overworking, what can be done? Well, mindfulness-based programs have proven to be a promising intervention in reducing stress.  Mindfulness was originally defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979 as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment”. The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program is an educationally-based program that focuses on training in the contemplative practice of mindfulness. Researchers have demonstrated that mindfulness interventions can effectively reduce stress, anxiety, and depression in both clinical and non-clinical populations. 

How to Incorporate These Relaxation Techniques into Our Busy Lives?

My dear lovelies! One this that we have learned from the pandemic is life is short. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Hence, it is our job to ensure that in order to fulfill our mission in life and have a meaningful life, we have to practice self-care. Self-care is broadly defined by Sherman as ‘the self-initiated behavior that people choose to incorporate to promote good health and general well-being’. Hence, after a long, busy day, all we need is just 5 minutes to give ourselves. That 5 minutes will make a huge difference in our lives.

Breathing Exercise – One such technique includes deep breathing exercises. A randomized control trial showed that such a technique appears to reduce the prevalence of PTSD-like symptoms in individuals exhibiting subclinical features of PTSD. Breathing is an innate and automatic bodily process, so you’re doing it whether you’re consciously trying to or not, about 23,000 times per day. Another name for this breathing exercise is yoga breathing. Yoga Breathing or Pranayama is the foundation of yoga practice. It begins with deepening your breathing with the 3-part breath, then moves into more advanced breathing exercises such as Kapalabhati and the Alternate Nostril Breath. Yoga breathing is an important part of health and spiritual practices in Indo-Tibetan traditions. Considered fundamental for the development of physical well-being, meditation, awareness, and enlightenment, it is both a form of meditation in itself and a preparation for deep meditation. 

So what do you do?

Think of it in two parts: Breath in slowly and deeply through your nose, allowing your chest and belly to expand as air fills your lungs. Then exhale slowly through your nose. Repeat. That’s the basics of breathing.

Yogaanytime.com

Deep, slow breathing has been shown to also reduce blood pressure. Additionally, both listening to music and deep breathing exercise were associated with a clinically significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. 

Let’s Practice Some Self-Care

I have incorporated some short guided relaxation techniques that you can use after a long and stressful day. They are all less than 10 minutes. More relaxation videos are available on my YouTube channel.

Hope the relaxation techniques help you in your busy lives. I would love to know if there are any other relaxation techniques that you have found helpful. Please leave your feedback in the comment below.

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