“You just need to relax!”
How many times have you heard others tell you:
"You just need to relax!"
"You stress too much -- calm down!"
“Stop worrying so much!"
🙋🏻♀️ 🙋🏻♀️ 🙋🏻♀️
Relax, relax, relax!
It feels as if the more we "try" to relax, the harder it becomes, and our bodies become more tense.
All we are accustomed to and taught is to keep on pushing forward, to keep trying, to keep mustering our energy to overcome challenges. Our body and nervous system are constantly in states of activation without any opportunities for de-activation, leading to us feeling anxious, tense, overwhelmed, and easily irritated.
Everyone says managing stress is good, and that we need R&R every now and then. But nobody really tells us how.
We book expensive vacations to help us feel a sense of something like relaxation...but are we really?
Relaxation (funnily enough) is a practice and process. We like to think that our systems have on/off switches that can just GO when we want it to, and STOP when we need to rest/sleep.
However, our systems work more like a dial or a dimmer switch. We want it to accelerate and decelerate and come to a stop as smoothly as possible, just like driving a car.
But with our modern lifestyle, our systems become so dysregulated that they work in jerkier, incoherent ways as if you're stepping on the brake and the gas pedals at the same time.
So, to reclaim our nervous system and regulate it, we need to start with a small step of just 1% more relaxed.
Why 1%?
It's more doable, accessible, less daunting. Plus, the cool thing is that when you practice daily by just relaxing 1% more, you're going to get so good at relaxing that:
your sleep improves
you feel less overwhelmed overall
you won't lose your shiz as often
you feel more content
you are more energized
This following guided meditation helps with you "surrender" into feeling just a wee bit more relaxed...just 1%!
True story: I only really learned how to relax about 6 years ago...after having done yoga for 8 years at that point!
Relaxation is a process that will only happen when we stop trying and doing, and just be.
Try it out and let me know in the comments: Were you able to feel just 1% more relaxed at the end? Were there other challenges or areas in your body that seemed more resistant to this process?