Zen and the Art of Lounging

Lounging is not something that comes easily to people who are overworked, burdened with too much responsibility, or taxed for time.  For them, it’s something that feels impossible to get to and once they do get to it, it seems like a horrible waste of precious time that could be used to knock one more thing off of their long list of chores and errands.

Lounging is a way to completely let go of this constant internal push to “get things done” and/or be productive, but it’s also an art that one must learn to do--and do well.   Sofas, patio lounge chairs, hammocks, rocking chairs, are all built with lounging in mind.  If you find you don't even have lounging furniture in your environment, then you may already know that you don't take enough time to slow down and relax now and then.

To lounge well requires a special skill for finding balance between personal discipline and the need for self-care, but many people who are prone to over work and under play have a false belief that if they slow down and stretch out for some personal time to do "next-to-nothing", they will be perceived as lazy or idle and their attempts at lounging are therefore associated with feelings of guilt and shame.

In order to find balance one must work to fit a little lounging into life now and then, and perhaps a little into each day.  This vital part of human health and ongoing healthy functioning can be fit into one's morning before the noise and chaos of the day begins to get too loud and hectic, or can be saved for the evening hours where one can sprawl out in front of a good movie, or read a book before ending the day.

Like anything that is pleasant or unpleasant, things done in moderation are things done well.  If you are prone to guilt and shame for taking time to relax, or even discomfort and awkwardness whenever you sit back and put your feet up, you may have to ease yourself into some lounging a little bit at a time.  Try something simple at first like sitting down in a comfortable chair for a fifteen minute interval in which you vow to not get back up before the end of the fifteen minutes, even if you think of something you need to go do.

Other ideas for easing yourself into a little lounging now and then are things like:  soaking your feet in warm water, lying back and watching the clouds float by, sitting in a lawn chair in your yard or favorite park, or stretching out on a beach to watch the waves come in.

Don't worry, if you begin to lounge too much, you'll know it.  You'll begin to realize you are drifting too far to the others side of the balance scale, and you already know what to do when you get to that point.

Thanks to Laura D'Alessandro , freelance photographer, for her great image - Lounge

Relieving Stress through Stretching

Stretching out is something we often see athletes do prior to playing their sport of choice, as it is a known tool in preventing pulled muscles and other injuries.  It also improves performance and allows a wider range of motion for a wide variety of activities.

Yet, stretching is also a helpful tool in Stress Reduction because it helps us to become familiar with the difference between tension and relaxation.  The reason this is so important in Stress Management is because we can sometimes reach the point of carrying chronic stress in the body, and when that happens, we lose touch with what it feels like to release tension and regain relaxation.  The result is that when we attempt to relax, we might feel too guarded to “just let go”, and releasing tension in the muscles becomes complex or nearly impossible.  This guarded stance can lead to insomnia and muscle pain.

In a well-known relaxation technique called Progressive Muscle Relaxation, individuals are trained to tighten, tense and flex various areas of the body.  They then learn to hold that tension for just a moment before letting it go in a release that relaxes the muscle and tendons completely.  For instance, tightening the fists as tight as you can, holding it, and then letting it go by relaxing the fists and letting them become limp and loose.  The strategy is not just for the purpose of stress reduction, but to train individuals to notice the difference between tension, and relaxation.

Very simple stretching exercises can be used for the same reason.  Reaching down to touch the toes, and then slowly coming back up.  Reaching up to the sky, and then lowering the arms and hands and shaking them out as if they were wet rags.  Wrinkling up the face and then releasing it into a smooth smile.  All of these methods use the same concept that Progressive Muscle Relaxation does, in that intentional tightening is followed by gentle releasing, and an awareness of the difference between the two takes place so as to train oneself how to first notice tension, and then how to release it at any given time.

Thanks to Tambako the Jaguar for the great photo Stretching lioness