5 Little Known Ways To Relax

[Maybe you've seen this before...]

Relax. You know how. You do it everyday. You sleep for example. Still, you crave more relaxation, right? You desire more methods, more skills, more prowess to let go, let up, and let loose.

Relax. Stop pouring effort and emotions and energy and reasons and time and money into machines and lessons and language and schools and therapy and workshops. Stop trying, real hard, to relax.

Relax. No pressure…no need to worry.

Relaxing is easy — go deeper with the following 5 easy, free methods.

5 Free Methods Promote Relaxation in the Whole Body-Mind-Spirit.

1. Huff-n-Puff. Inhale abruptly — sigh out-loud. You’ve done this before…when you were exasperated…or fed-up…or exhausted. Try it again with some attitude: a sarcastic whatever attitude could flush out the tensions; a disgusted what-an-idiot projection might release stress. Huffing and puffing helps us relax naturally, even if bitterly. It’s easy and it’s free.
2. Shake “No” — try this softly. Shake your head. Nose pointing from one corner of the room to the other, to the other, to the other, back and forth, shake your head. A small, soft shake will do. Mesmerize yourself. You can even employ the bitterness from the Huff-and-Puff. It is important, however, to pull your head in so that your head balances atop your shoulders. Each ear lines up over each shoulder. Shake no, and feel the back of your head, those muscles, the ones gripping your skull in position, feel them relax. Yes…Relax.
3. Smile Inside. It’s the physical act that matters: not the metaphor. This one happens deep in your throat, behind your tongue. Smile. You don’t have to show it. It’s that inner I’m-so-satisfied-grin. Smile inside. Feel your deep grinning pull up your spine. Grin inside about anything: use revenge, secret knowledge, long-term spite to lift the edges of an inner smile. Of course, love and friendship and contentment make smiling inside easy…Ah.
4. Hit Something. Beat it. Wreck it. Pull it down from the top shelf. Push it off the counter with fantastic fury or fabulous delight. Pound it. Kick it. Smash it. Whatever you do: work. Physical work releases loads of stress and when it’s done, it’s satisfying and primal. Babies do it (mine did). My son’s done it without chagrin, without anger, without resentment. He loves to see things pulled apart, disassembled, and broken. (Inside, I’m certain, he smiles.) Sometimes we need to see problems and obstacles broken in bits. Do this one well and, as best you can, carefully. I hang punch pads on the wall; I hit things just for fun. I do Taijiquan.
5. Wave Hands Like Clouds. Taiji brings great results. The more intimate your knowledge of your body, the deeper this kind of movement instills stillness. Wave your hands like they are clouds. Get it? Try it. Emulate cirrus, stratocumulus, or cumulonimbus clouds. Wave your hands in and through the clouds you see in the distance. Move your hands the way those clouds move. Stand in a park, on a mountain, in a field, on a roof, in a stream, on a tree, or in your room (right now) and, while looking through your top hand, watch your hands wave through those far away clouds. Relax: even if you’re waving them through piling storm clouds, it feels fine.

No doubt myriads of legitimate ways to relax exist. (Take a nap.) Some somnambulist methods lurk in twilight. (Go to sleep.) If you take notes on your process of deepening and experiencing and watching your relaxation bloom, you’ll find something peculiar about your breath. (Let go.)

Bonus Relaxation Method #6.

• Breath As If Sleeping. Try it…wait…to get a great grasp on this method, you might need personal research. Study, watch, experience your breath as you begin to drift into sleep tonight — or right now during your nap. Did you notice changes in your breathing rhythm and shifts in your breathing depth? You can also: watch a baby sleeping. Notice your friend napping, or examine your spouse sleeping or snoring. Watch all those patterns, and if you can’t be sure about your personal sleep-breathing patterns, then guess. After your research, try this: mock a snoring sleeper. Support your big head while lying down. Huff your breath in through your nose. Pause briefly. Mouth slightly open (perhaps pursed), slowly puff your breath out while making a slight sleeping sound (we each have one). Pause just a little longer, letting the inhale-reflex cause the next huff in. That’s it…keep going…breath as if sleeping. Then, despite Classics advice, try this breathing method with your Taiji form. See what happens…

Relax.

[This was first published 29 July 2008, on Tai Chi Utah dot Org.]