Relaxation - thoughts of a Life Coach
I haven't got time to relax - really? Have you got time not too?
Being able to relax is important to achieving optimal
performance and health. You name it; being relaxed will increase
your productivity in it. If you're not relaxed, everything you
do will be a struggle. Relaxation provides mind-body integration
necessary for peak performance.
It is important to relax to get your mind clear and your body
tension free; to regain focus and to cool down and to help
return to a balanced physical state. Relaxation is vital for a
healthy mind and is required to maintain motivation and interest
in our lives and careers. Not being able to relax and unwind can
be damaging to your health. Even when there are huge demands on
your life, you may have a large family, an important career, and
a home amongst your other weekly commitments - it is still
necessary to find your own time and space to relax.
It is very important that throughout the day we find time to
relax. Twenty minutes, two or three times a day, is preferred.
If you can't manage twenty minutes, it's important to realise
that whatever amount of time you do manage to get to relax will
be beneficial to your mind and body, even if not noticeably so.
When time is short there are a number of things you can do:
reading, writing, daydreaming or just sitting quietly. Quite
often what ever you do to relax will be personal and work for
you, so you need to find what works best.
As a Life Coach I have worked with numerous people with issues
relating to relaxation and stress etc. It's interesting that
initially many find it difficult to slow down and see the
benefits of taking more time out. However after a few weeks and
a couple of life coaching sessions focused on this area, and a
bit of commitment on their part, most change their ways and wax
lyrical about the benefits to their lives.
Some of the common benefits of relaxation are:
* It improves your ability to concentrate. It will help you in
your ability to tune out distractions and gives you better
sensory awareness.
* It improves body awareness; you need to know when you are
under or over doing it.
* It speeds up healing time following an injury and fatigue, the
body needs to recover fully if it's going to perform at an
optimal level in the near future.
* Learning is enhanced, it is much easier to introduce new
thoughts and ideas when your mind is clear and you are relaxed.
Skills are best learned when you are in a relaxed state and
there is an absence of tension.
* It helps you sleep better
* You become more efficient
* It puts your focus back on the present and gives you a sense
of control
* It increases energy
If you don't take the time to unwind and relax regularly, you
might be putting not only your own health and well-being at risk
but also that of others as well.
In relation to your responsibility to the health and safety of
others; we only have to think of driving a car, or operating
machinery, and how our ability to do these tasks diminishes when
we are tense, tired and stressed. So in fact our responsibility
to relax is not just for our own sake but also for that of
others.
With regards to our own health and emotional well-being, if we
don't make time to relax regularly we are putting our health and
mental health at risk of failure. Some of the effects of lack of
relaxation are below:
* Headache, common ones being tension headaches and migraines.
Controlling tension and relaxing can help migraines. Tension
headaches are susceptible by definition to treatment by
relaxation. * Chronic fatigue, your body is in a total sate of
fatigue. You suffer from total lack of energy and motivation all
of the time. * Cardiovascular disorders, high blood pressure and
heart disease, heart attack. * Gastrointestinal problems,
diarrhoea, constipation and stomach ulcers as well as
indigestion and heartburn. * Poor immune system, becoming
susceptible to illness
Early warning signs that we need to have a break and relax are:
* Yawning/sighing
* Lack of concentration
* Feeling the urge to stretch and move about
* General drop in performance
* Feelings of stress and irritability
* Performing uncommon errors
* Tiredness
If we are aware of the signs and take notice of them and take a
break etc, you could avoid a lot of stress and fatigue, you will
be more rational and focused, and better equipped to carry on,
and be far healthier.
Spending a lifetime of ignoring the signs could impact heavily,
not only on your health, well-being and happiness but also those
around you. Relationships could suffer as well as your career.
On a personal note, the consequences of not taking time to relax
over a lifetime could mean you pay the ultimate price.
You say you don't have time to relax. I say you don't have time
not too. You are your own best resource; you need to take time
to nurture and look after yourself.