Soaking in the Tub: One more way to relax and unwind

Soaking in a warm bath has many benefits, but relaxation and unwinding are top on the list.  Intuitively, we humans just seem to be drawn to warm water and natural springs as the body knows what it needs, and it’s a good thing since soaking in warm water has traditionally been associated with both relaxation and healing.

Warm water helps the muscles relax after hard work or vigorous exercise and hot tubs are popular at various resorts where activity and exercise take place (i.e., at places like ski areas) where participants can sink into the healing properties of the water at the end of the day and encourage tired muscles to recuperate. 

Submerging in warm water is also a part of many spas and fitness centers where they are used to help relax muscles and increase flexibility, which serves to enhance healing of injuries.   These methods have been used for ages as it’s believed that hot water releases endorphins, which are our body’s natural pain killers.  Soaking in a warm bath also dilates the blood vessels, which helps to increase circulation.

For us regular-folks, soaking in a warm bath at the end of the day is just a way to unwind from the stresses of the office  or day's work.  A warm bath can be enhanced with bubbles/oils, candles, incense, or soft relaxing music, all of which can help you to let go of lingering worries and prepare to end you day with meditation and sleep.

Photo by Daniela at Witches Falls Cottages in Australia

Aroma Therapy: Enhancing Your Relaxation With the Use of Aromas

In the Native American traditions, there is a ritual called smudging in which the smoke from burning herbs (frequently sage) is waved over and around an area to remove negatively.  Those who are familiar with the ritual find they are more relaxed when the smell of the burning sage reaches them due to the memory association with the ritual and their belief that it is attaching to the negativity in the area and carrying it away with the smoke.

These kinds of associations related to aroma are emphasized in a form of therapy called aroma therapy, which is a natural way to alter mood, consciousness, and thinking patterns, while stimulating the brain and body (including memory).  For instance, perhaps each time you smell the distinct aroma of pine, you think of pine trees, which leads you to think of a forest where you once walked and all the related memories and senses attached to being there, such as the feel of the air in the forest and the sounds of the birds and streams flowing through your special place.

Other means to enhance forms of aroma therapy include the use of incense or candles, boiling potpourri, wearing perfume, using an aroma diffuser, or wearing a bracelet made of sandalwood or cedar.

It's true that some aromas can also remind us of negative things and even trigger unpleasant memories and trauma, but most people will refrain from aromas they know have a negative effect on them, and will instead be drawn to those that appeal to them.  In addition, always be sure to check the ingredients in any product you use for aroma therapy to make sure it is not toxic (or has the least toxicity as possible) and isn’t going to be more harmful to you than good.  Do your homework and find a preferred means for aroma disbursement that you can enjoy and that allows you to safely enhance your efforts to relax and reduce your stress level.

Photo credit: andrew@andrewyoungphoto.net 

Hobbies: How Getting Lost in Your Favorite Hobby Lowers Stress and Anxiety

Hobbies are enjoyable activities we do in our leisure time for enjoyment.  The type of hobby can vary widely from one person to another, but what matters most is that the activity is done for relaxation and is not our main “job”.  Some hobbies do bring in income, but usually the income is not something needed to pay living expenses and is only an added bonus to the joy of the hobby itself, which would most likely be done whether it made money or not.

The interesting thing about hobbies is that they are activities we actually want to go do because they are fun, and what makes them fun is really the key to why they are so relaxing.

Hobbies typically are done in our spare time, when we don’t have to be anywhere or on any type of time schedule.  Many hobbies are relaxing because they remove the pressure to be somewhere on time, finish something on time, or organize our time in any manner.  In fact, our hobbies are things we can plug into and unplug from at our leisure and like a good friend; they are always there for us when we return. 

Hobbies also decrease the pressure for production that jobs have.  We can unravel the scarf just knitted, crash our train set, fiddle with the telescope knobs, spend hours sorting our used book collection, or tie and un-tie the knots to our stunt-kite line, and no one will suffer from our idleness unless the hobby is disproportionally taking more of our time than it should.

Finding a hobby could be the key to finding balance in your life for the daily grind that is required to get by in life.  Making time for a hobby is also a great way to give the mind a break from the worries of basic every day survivals and responsibilities. 

Thanks to A. Davey for the photo Master Wood Carver at Work from Elstner Hilton's album of photos he took in Japan, Sept 1914.

Using Relaxing Music to Relieve Your Stress

Music of Life

Some music makes us feel like dancing, while other music draws us in with inspired awe.  So too, relaxation music sets the mood for stress reduction and has a calming effect on us that helps to facilitate any relaxing activity such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong, or other slow motion exercises.

Most people find that relaxing music has a way of slowing them down and bringing a sense of peace to the mind, body, and spirit.  Perhaps you have a special calming song that has become your favorite, which you already know centers you and seems to somehow balance out every fiber of your Being with its grace and gentleness. 

If you are trying to find ways to lower your stress level and have been having a difficult time finding just what it is that helps, consider playing relaxation music to get you started as it can alter the mood for just about anything you set out to do.  Try playing it in the car during your rush-hour commute or if the work day has been particularly stressful, and on the way to work to better prepare you for the stressful work day to come.  If you are in a work environment that permits it, consider having some gentle relaxation music playing in the background as you work to feed the body and mind throughout the day.

Don’t worry about selecting the perfect music for your relaxation activities.  Think of it as an experiment and try out various artists and CD’s.  Many stores have sample panels where you can listen to various kinds of relaxing music before you buy them.  In time you will be able to determine if the flute is the calming instrument for you, or if a soft piano sound is what brings peace to your mind and body.

Thanks to Eddi van W for her great photo Music of Life

Back to Nature: Balancing Our Stress Level with Mother Earth

The Taoists teach that humans must come to understand that they are a part of the natural world and that living in harmony with nature brings the world and people into balance.  But as Eckart Tolle points out, humans “can no longer perceive the sacredness that is there in nature” because we are instead “living in the prison of our minds.”

Where we once slept in the forests and mountains under the stars and moon, along with all the other living beings of the planet, we now sleep in artificially heated and cooled environments, and work with artificially powered lighting, eating artificially flavored foods, and our sleep/wake cycles are controlled by the noise-pollution of our environments, as well as the thought-pollution of our racing minds. 

Evidence of this imbalance is revealed in the rising stress and anxiety levels among the people of the world.  Our need for finding balance with nature is now higher than ever, and seeking ways to get back to nature may be the very thing many of us need to bring our own levels of stress to a more manageable place.

Getting back to nature can be as simple as finding a local pond or stream to spend time by, as well as watching the wildlife that frequents these places and listening to the sounds created by the natural surroundings there.  We can break away as far as the mountains and deep forests, or as close as local hiking trails.  If all else fails, we can at least find a local park where the grass, trees and ponds—as artificial as they may be—can give us a place to pause.

Other ways to get back in touch with nature are activities such as gardening, hiking, camping, or doing something as simple as climbing a tree and feeling the bark of its trunk on your hands.  Any of these can help you reconnect with Mother Earth and the natural elements you have in common with her.

Thanks to  Nicholas A Tonelli for his great photo "White Deer Creek", a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River

A Gentle Cup of Tea to Help You Relax

According to legend, the great Chan (Zen) master Bodhidharma was angry at himself for falling asleep while meditating.  So he cut off his eyelids and threw them to the ground where they became the first tea plants.  This is why many depictions of Bodhidharma present him with large bulging eyes. 

Stories like this are a part of the rich history of tea preparation or drinking, and frequently associates tea with meditation, mindfulness and relaxation.  Sitting down for a cup of tea can include the feel of a warm--and many times decorative--cup in your hands, the aroma of nicely brewed tea selected from the multiple varieties available, and the gentle slow pace involved in mindfully preparing and drinking it.  It can be a very spiritual experience and many times has a ritualistic process and history.

Stress reduction is just one of the many benefits associated with drinking tea, but the knowing is in the doing--or I  should say...in the drinking.  A cup of tea gives us grounding--something that anchors us to the present moment.  Our full attention is given to the senses of taste, smell, touch, and vision.  If conversation is present, it may only be about the taste of the tea, the beauty of the cup, or the tea's aroma and color--all of which are in the present moment.

There is a quote by the renowned Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that reads, "Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future."

Some people worry that they will have to bypass the great experience of tea drinking due to the caffeine content in many teas, but keep in mind that it's not necessarily true that the caffeine in tea should counter the body's relaxation process.  According to my teacher Ken Cohen (Gao Han)--a tea connoisseur and life-long practitioner of qigong and tai chi chuan--caffeine is water-soluble, so the pre-rinsing and first steeping tease out a significant amount of flavor, aroma and caffeine, which creates a decaffeination process that increases with each subsequent steeping.

You don't have to be an expert in the history of tea or its preparation in order to benefit and enjoy an occasional relaxing cup of tea.  Just allow yourself to start with a simple loose leaf, oolong or green tea, and follow the basic brewing steps noted on Cohen's website (see link above).  Once you get the feel for it, you can determine your level of interest and enthusiasm from there.

Thanks to Fred Jala for his great photograph

Stress Reduction: Taking a Break from Gadgets

Are gadgets stressful?  When we struggle with them they are.  When the battery dies or a lever or button breaks and we can’t get the thing to do what we want.  But perfectly functional gadgets can be stressful too when they begin to interrupt the natural flow of life rather than aid us as they were originally meant to do. 

It’s really too late to go back in time and prevent all the modern electronic gadgets from entering our world, and who would want to.  Many of these devices are life savers and helpful in every aspect.  But let’s not forget our humanness.  We need rest from these gadgets that push us from the moment they blast us out of bed with alarms, to the moment they put us to bed with clap-off lights. 

So here are some ideas: 

When taking your 15 minute break at work (if you even still get one these days), be sure to leave the cell phone at your desk.  I know.  I know.  The very thought of missing one single call or message is blaspheme to most, but I know you want to reduce your stress level.  So read on. 

Think, instead, about taking a walk outside where you can stretch the muscles of the eyes by focusing on things far into the distant like the horizon, clouds, or mountains.  Try to go without the company of your MP3 and the usual music and noise that bombards your ears with constant distraction and entertainment.  Let the ears tune into the more natural sounds around you such as birds and other animals, water flowing, and even wind or breezes. If you live deep in the heart of a noisy city, tune into one of the other senses such as noticing the feel of the air on your skin or the feel of wind or breeze against your face. 

Outside of your job and even at home, try some relaxing activities that are not going to bombard you all-the-more with flashes of sound, light, and entertainment stimulation such as video games, movies, and noise.   Tai Chi and Qigong exercises are good for the body and natural exercises that don’t force you to keep up with machines that demand an unnatural speed for the legs or arms.  Yoga can also give your body the stretching and movement it’s not getting while sitting all day at your computer, and many of the exercises related to Yoga and Qigong will help you begin to return to an awareness of the natural pace of the human breath.

Imagine what your day would be like if the electronic gadgets that typically dominate your life were completely removed.  Yes, you’d most likely be bored and unsure what to do with yourself, but the next time you ask yourself why you are so stressed out, think about what percentage of your day is spent attending to gadgets that distract you from the natural world around you—a world that you are an innate part of and which does not naturally manifest from machines.

Thanks to Joana Coccarelli for her great collage art "miss gadget"