Relaxation is defined as the state of being free from tension and anxiety
Practicing relaxation is an effective way of bringing a sense of calm to both mind and body to help with everyday stress and tension.
Many people lead a busy life with a list of responsibilities, work, home, family, social, economic, and this can become stressful and overwhelming. With a little guidance towards the importance of self-care, (the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health, wellbeing, and happiness) we can begin to feel more at ease and calm within ourselves.
Benefits of relaxation techniques:
- Gently lowering blood pressure
- slowly lowering heart rate
- lowering respiratory rate
- improves digestion
- improves sleep quality
- reduces activity of stress hormones
- reduces muscle tension
- improved concentration and mood
- reduces anger and frustration
- boosts confidence
- helps manage fatigue
Why practicing relaxation techniques is important for those with Long COVID
It appears that COVID-19 may cause an altered immune response in the cells of the body, and this triggers a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This is often referred to as dysautonomia. The ANS has two parts, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS).
The SNS is responsible for our flight or fight response to a perceived threat, stressful or worrying situation. It appears to be involved in triggering many symptoms of Long COVID-19, because the body remains on high alert in an attempt to defend itself against any other dangers or threats, and almost loses its ability to switch itself off.
Normally the PSNS or sometimes referred to as the rest and digest system will restore balance within the body by resetting and allowing a feeling of calm to return. However, with dysautonomia, the two systems can become out of sync, leaving heightened anxiety, stress, fatigue, and brain fog.
The good news is, there are things we can do to activate the PSNS, or rest and digest response, to allow balance and calm to return.
How can we practice relaxation?
We often feel so tired that all we want to do is collapse on the settee and watch TV. But this does little to activate the rest and digest system or help us to deal with feelings of stress, tension, or anxiety. Therefore, it’s not an effective tool to allow deep relaxation with restoring and replenishing benefits.
Learning basic relaxation techniques is simple, but the important thing is regular practice. Each time we practice we activate the rest and digest system in the body, and the more frequently we can activate this, the more effective the results will be, and the easier you will find the practices.
Most relaxation techniques can be done on your own, do not require any equipment, can be practiced almost anywhere, are often free or low cost, and pose little risk.
Relaxation techniques:
- breath work, full, smooth, diaphragmatic breaths. Simple but effective
- progressive muscle relaxation, tense and release different muscle groups to relax body and mind
- guided visualisation, or imagery, imagining a scene where you feel at peace
- autogenic (body scan), focus your attention on each part of the body, like a scan, bringing your awareness through your body
- self-massage, face, neck, shoulder, hands, feet
- mindfulness meditation, bring your awareness to the present moment and focus on each breath cycle
- mindful exercise, a flow of repetitive movement such as walking, dancing, swimming
- Tai Chi, slow, flowing, gentle movements, focusing the mind on the breath and the movement
- the flow state, a state of mind where you are so engrossed in the activity you are practicing, you lose yourself in the joy and feel completely immersed in it
Starting a relaxation practice
- Set aside time in your daily schedule. Allow yourself the time to take care of yourself. You are a priority. Enjoy it!
- Once you form your practice into a habit, it will be easier to stick to it as it becomes a normal part of your routine.
- Aim to do one thing every day that’s beneficial to your wellbeing.
- Make use of smartphone apps and other aids to guide you through different relaxation practices.
- Expect ups and downs. It will take practice to reap the full rewards of relaxation techniques. The more you stick with it, the sooner the results will come, as with any new practice. If you skip a few days, try not to get discouraged, just start again and build up your momentum.
- Schedule worry time. Setting some time aside each day provides you with a time to worry productively and frees you from holding onto your worries all day (practice reminding yourself “I’ll get back to those thoughts later”).
What is mindfulness?
Put in its most simple form, it is to have awareness. Its paying attention on purpose. Mindfulness is a way of cultivating an awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings, both physical and emotional, perceptions and experiences, in a non-judgemental way. This can be carried out through both formal and informal practice.
Through formal practice we can focus fully on the breath, the sensations we experience, both physical and emotional, the thoughts that arise, and we can learn how to deal with and process those thoughts and feelings. Through informal practice we can truly experience daily events that might otherwise go unnoticed when we are on autopilot mode, such as the sound of birds singing, the colour of the trees, the taste of an apple, or the feel of the soap on our hands as we wash them.
Through this practice of observing ourselves, with a holistic approach, we learn about our own thought patterns and emotions. We can identify where in our body we feel them, and how we react to them. With continued practice of observing without judgement, we can start to become more familiar with these feelings and give ourselves the freedom of choice. To choose how we wish to respond and react to whatever may arise.
Mindfulness is a wonderful way to learn how to relax. It can also help with many physical and emotional disorders including depression, anxiety, pain and stress.
Examples of informal mindfulness meditation:
- enjoy a meal mindfully, notice the colours, the smell, the texture, and the flavour
- have a mindfulness shower, have complete awareness of the sensation of the water on your body, the temperature, the feel of the lather on your skin and hair, the fragrance of the shampoo
- go for a mindful walk, really notice the colours of the trees, flowers, and sky, the scent of the grass, the sound of the birds singing, the feel of the sun or wind on your skin
- do something you enjoy mindfully, gentle movement, yoga, Tai Chi, jogging, golf, coffee with friends, whatever you enjoy, do it mindfully, with complete awareness
Examples of formal mindfulness meditation:
- focus on your breath, in sitting or lying, focus on the sensation of each in and out breath, if the mind wanders, notice and kindly return back to the breath
- allow thoughts to drift by, practice observing the thoughts that arise whilst focusing on the breath, and imagine them floating by like a cloud in the sky, or a helium balloon floating away
- follow a guided meditation, where your mind will be guided to focus on the breath, body, or surroundings
- follow a guided visualisation, where you will be invited to create a scene in your mind to explore your thoughts and feelings
A transferable skill
Everything we learn and practice through meditation, potentially has a value away from meditation.
Through regular practice you will start to find that what you practice and experience during a meditation, can be transferred into your everyday life, activities and tasks, patterns of thinking, your responses and reactions to events and situations.
The softness you find in Tai Chi, the peace, and the connection to your breath which you experience in meditation and the calmness you feel in relaxation practice, will start to seep into areas of life, when you feel stressed, anxious, angry, or frustrated. As well as helping with techniques to aid restful sleep.
Tips for meditation
Do
- let go of any expectation of how you think you should feel during or after meditation, and simply allow yourself to be
- get into the habit of allowing your mind to focus on the present moment
- give yourself a few moments to settle into a feeling of peace and calm before you begin a mindfulness meditation. Imagine a snow globe that has been shaken, and then watch the snowflakes gently settle to the bottom. As you allow your busy mind, thoughts, and energies to settle to a more peaceful place
- accept there may be sounds or distractions around you that may be beyond your control, and practice drawing your focus back to the meditation, there is rarely a perfect environment
- accept that your mind is busy, with lots of thoughts running through it. When your attention wanders away from the meditation, gently, without any self-criticism, draw your focus back into the meditation. It does not matter if this happens once, twice, or a thousand times
- give your mind a job. If we tell ourselves to empty our mind, or to clear our thoughts, we may find even more thoughts and distractions come flooding in. Instead, give your mind the job of focusing either on the sensation of your breath, or the sound of the guided meditation. Each time the mind wonders, kindly draw it back to its job
Two smooth mindful breaths at any time of the day are a great way to press pause and reset. The links below can be used to access our relaxation audios on You Tube:
Document control
- Document reference: DP8859/04.23.
- Date reviewed: April 2023.
Page last reviewed: July 19, 2024
Next review due: July 19, 2025
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