Our every day lives are often full of stress. Learning to relax and enjoy life is a skill you can develop. In fact, it will prove useful in every area of your life. If you are struggling to appreciate the importance of relaxation skills, they are actually really important for your overall health and wellbeing. In other words, it’s not just a luxury.
In this post, we’ll look at five methods you can use to genuinely relax and enjoy the benefits of doing so. You might be surprised with how the quality of your life is increased.
1. Travel
Of course, regular readers of our blog will know that we rate travel very highly as a quality life experience. Among all of the wonderful things about travel you can enjoy, one of the main benefits is that it can be incredibly relaxing. It’s a good reason to take regular breaks to travel. Even when you have a full itinerary, relaxation comes when you realize you control your own schedule. You don’t have to cater to others’ expectations, and the world is open to you and your explorations. Traveling opens your heart and mind to new possibilities.
When you plan your next trip or getaway, be sure to include what will bring you joy. Whether that’s hanging out by a pool or beach — or climbing a mountain peak for the views. The memories you make will last forever and serve as a way to help you “escape” from your day-to-day stressful life. Creating scrapbooks of travel memories will also help you re-live your relaxing moments.
2. Meditation or Prayer
Having a regular meditation practice can work wonders in keeping you calm and relaxed. A lot of people misunderstand meditation, thinking that you can simply turn to it in times of stress and expect immediate relief. However, it is most effective when you have created a daily routine. There’s a cumulative effect that helps you tap into peace and calm — the kind that brings about a genuine, deep rest that you will really enjoy and find most beneficial.
If you’d like to try meditation, start with something easy. Try ten minutes a day and go from there. There are a lot of meditation apps you can try, to help keep you on track with your daily session. It won’t be long till you’ve developed meditation skills necessary to help you relax and unwind each day. Then, when stress arises, you will already know how to deal with it and let it go. Holding less tension in your body or mind is so important for your well-being.
Like meditation, prayer also helps you to relax. It gives you the opportunity to tap into spiritual strength and can give you courage to face the day. For many, turning your thoughts to a higher power is very therapeutic. Expressing feelings of gratitude for what you have is also very beneficial.
3. Taking a Bath
There’s just something about water that has always associated it with relaxation and calm. Perhaps it is the sound of a waterfall or the cooling quality on your skin — but it definitely makes a great aid in learning to relax and enjoy life.
Sometimes relaxing really is as simple as running yourself a bath and soaking in it for a while. If you view here some of the amazing bubble bath and soak products available, you can appreciate just how amazing it can be. With a wide variety of scents and added ingredients, it’s easy to find something that will help you unwind. Don’t just think of a bath as a special occasion treat — make time for more regular indulgances!
If you don’t have a tub you enjoy soaking in, going for a swim or a hot tub soak will also help your body release tension.
4. Breathing Properly
Very often, you can relax and even avoid getting stressed in the first place just by learning to breathe properly and deeply. Good breathing should be deep and even and slow, and it should go right down into your diaphragm rather than into your chest. Chest-breathing is for when you are in a panic or you need to go to fight-or-flight mode, whereas belly-breathing is the deep and restorative kind you’ll want to focus on as much as possible.
With good practice in breathing properly, you’ll find it’s a lot easier to genuinely unwind and relax. Breathing techniques offer another tool in your belt for learning to relax and enjoy life.
5. Being Mindful
While this is related to meditation, they are not actually the same thing. Being mindful is more about your thinking process and what you choose to focus on. What is mindfulness, you may be wondering? Mindfulness is quite simply the ability to pay attention to what is going on, in and around you, with concentration, clarity and a certain measure of composure. If you are able to do that, there are many benefits. Being mindful helps you crowd out stressful thoughts or the expectations of others. It helps you to deal with the issue at hand, with all of your faculties — to stay in the moment. It also helps you to keep things in perspective.
Being mindful is something you can and should practice. Trying to multi-task with your mind often keeps you from solving any of your problems. Practice being mindful enough and you may get to a point where it happens naturally for you — helping you to stop stress in its tracks.
Really learning to relax and enjoy life
The five methods discussed above will definitely help you to experience more relaxation in your life. You’ll be able to recognize the triggers of stress and overcome them. Having the tools and skills to release stress and tension will make you healthier and happier! Whether you’re traveling, meditating, taking a bath, or being mindful, your life will be more joyful. It is not a luxury to take the time to care for yourself; it is truly a necessity.
Our most recent road trip was spent doing a lot of fun (and relaxing) activities! We made sure to plan times to just chill and unwind, rather than constantly being on the go.
And isn’t that the best kind of vacation anyway?!
My goal this year is to savor everything, like being mindful, it has had a relaxing effect.
Relaxing when you are an adult sometimes is very complicated now. I mean, you want to be productive 1000% but we sometimes forget that rest is part of it.
What wonderful suggestions on learning to relax. Traveling is my number one way to unplug and unwind, too. When I can’t get away, I also add meditation. Great and helpful tips!
I totally agree with you! We love to travel with our kids and see the world! Meditation is also a very fond habit of mine. Thanks for the tips!
I absolutely love to meditate and I can feel it if I don’t do it so it has become a nonnegotiable in my life.
I loved the way you explained the relaxation and calmness about ‘water’. Although I do see the luxury of a hot bath… I prefer to indulge in a 30 minute+ hot shower and let the stream of water cleanse away my stress, refresh & energize me and even provide theraputic healing. Great post!
I’ve been on two trips recently where I brought my pickleball equipment. It was great because pickleball is a sport that everyone can play and it’s relatively easy to find partners. Very relaxing. Best.trips.out!
That’s a great idea! I still need to learn how to play pickleball.