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Relaxation can look so different from person to person, for someone may be in complete peace while listening to headbanging heavy metal music while another can only reach tranquility when meditating in a completely silent room. For me, relaxation means when I am able to sit in my rocking chair in my bedroom and binge watch whatever Netflix series I am currently infatuated with at the time without being interrupted. I would most likely be in my pajamas, because this will further confirm the fact that I have no obligation to go ANYWHERE!
What does relaxation mean to you?
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Reading a book and listening to Jazz music.
Sometimes I do find it hard to relax though… so many things to do at once. I like to be active, but if I am really tired and need to sit for a while, flipping through pages of words is enough to keep me sedated.
As long as I’m driving around with music blasting I am relaxed! I’m not worrying about anything, just focused on driving and the song lyrics. Sometimes the things that are “supposed” to make you very relaxed like yoga or meditation can make me more stressed out, I’m definitely not doing it right, but there are so many other things that work too!
I love taking a cold shower after exercising or driving around playing music with the bass turned up all the way and all the windows down. It might sound a little weird, but my favorite way to relax is by taking a warm bath with all of the lights turned off and music playing- somehow sitting in the dark makes the experience much more calming as the only thing to focus on is the music.
Definitely listening to music- something with enough emotion to take my mind of the emotional turmoil I feel. Preferably for me, something with complex guitar and drums. Something that you can get lost in.
And then drawing- not something beautiful, just what is on your mind. Sometimes I will draw something and just cross it out…It’s weird but sometimes destroying something is what I need to calm down. There’s something soothing in the control of being able to create something but just as easily destroy it.
These are all great tools, and I love how each of the things we each describe is unique based on what will help us. I have recently gotten back into the art of reading. I must honestly admit that for years I had been avoiding it and sort of dreading it, but not really understanding why. After beginning a book written by a familiar author I had liked when I was younger, I instantly felt captured by the words on each page and I can feel myself being inserted into the story and literally leaving my surroundings as I go on these adventures. I missed reading, and I hadn’t done it for years. It is helping me escape some current struggles I am dealing with in my life right now, and I am glad I have re-found this easy way to relax! 🙂
For me, relaxing can be hard when living such a fast pace life.. work, taking care of my apartment, bills, relationships etc. But I have realized that we all need self care and relaxing days if we want anything to go right haha.. so I like to listen to music, stay off my phone for a bit and just close my eyes. Other times I like to bake, or also just watch a good lifetime movie and drown the world out. Weekends I try to take some time to myself.
My way of relaxing can vary as well – going for a walk, cleaning, playing video games, playing with my cats, etc. My goal lately is to be more present and not get too sucked into technology all the time (using the laptop for work, checking cell phone on breaks, coming home and watching tv, etc. I am so used to it, but I do forget to pay attention to other things at times.)
Torry,
I like that you mentioned taking time away from your phone. I have been used to having to be glued to my phone no matter what for so long, that I didn’t know what it was like to be without it for even a couple of hours. It was beginning to get to be like sort of a dependency kind of thing, which sucked! Sometimes now, when I am with my parents who are the ones that I have the number one emergency concern for, I leave my phone on a different floor of the house ON PURPOSE. I know that those who I need to be immediately worried about are taken care of, and it feels good to disconnect and take care of me for once, also allowing room for memories to be made without the interruptions of technology.