Creative Relaxation Activities To Lower Stress!
Stress is a fact of life and unless you live in a bubble, it is a necessary aspect to daily life. In many ways stress is beneficial, it’s what drives us forward into making decisions.When stress begins to spiral into uncontrollable levels it’s time to do something about it. Recognising when you’re stressed is your first step. Once you are aware of the symptoms you feel as an individual you can look at ways of lowering stress to more manageable levels.
It would be a good idea to develop a form of relaxation activity before stress reaches unmanageable levels. Many people choose to learn relaxation techniques that can either by practiced during an organised class or from home. Focusing on chakra healing will enable balance of mind and body.
Try to incorporate relaxation into your daily life. Relaxation can take many forms and even sitting in front of the TV helps, however a little time allocated to a proven relaxation technique will do wonder to help lower your stress levels.
There are many relaxation techniques to choose from. They all enable you to refocus onto something calm, whilst the stresses and strains of daily life melt away. Your breathing will slow down and you will begin to focus on the “here and now” instead of worrying about future events or situations.
Here are some techniques you could choose to explore.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi focuses on a series of low impact body movements. Your movements flow and allow you to concentrate on the task, thus lowering stress and anxiety. Your breathing will also slow down as you concentrate on the present.
Tai Chi is now widely used in schools, evoking a calm learning environment.
Mindfulness
“Mindfulness” has become a bit of a buzz word in the field of relaxation. Very similar to other techniques, mindfulness focuses your mind on the present. It also focuses on the slowing down of your breathing. Often an object is used to focus on such as a flower or seashell. You’re encouraged to focus on every detail of the object, which has the effect of eliminating distractions.
Mindfulness is excellent for people suffering from anxiety and depression, you can also practice mindfulness “on the go” by downloading apps to your smartphone.
Imagery/visualisation
Guided imagery techniques encourage you to focus on an image you find soothing. This image could be from your imagination, an image you find soothing or there are many apps available where you can choose an image you’re drawn to.
You are then guided to visit the location of the image and concentrate on what your five senses are telling you. What can you see, hear, feel, smell and taste? Once you have reached a state of total relaxation you are guided gently back to the present.
Guided imagery has been widely used to assist in the reduction of side effects from cancer treatment. It is also useful for the reduction of anxiety and headaches.
Another excellent way to lower stress levels and enhance the happiness in your life is to take up a creative hobby.
Get creative!
Even if you hated art at school, you can be creative - in fact everyone can be creative! Creativity spans so many activities you will be sure to find an outlet that suits you. There are so many proven health benefits related to being creative.
The world as we know it today, is due to the fact that humans are a naturally creative species. Inventions, innovation and progress is all down to the creative process. The key to becoming more creative is finding where your talents and interests lie. Perhaps you are an excellent storyteller, writer, baker, painter or gardener. Find your talent and then pursue it!
Whist participating in a creative activity we relax and our stress levels lower. Creativity is also an excellent skill to promote within the workplace and a staff team who are allowed to express their creativity will be happier and more productive
Here are some of the benefits related to being creative.
Mental clarity
Being creative keeps your brain active and sharp. Signs of dementia have been reversed and slowed down by promoting the use of creative pursuits. art therapy is a recognised and highly acclaimed activity for people who have suffered some kind of brain injury and stroke. Taking part in a creative pastime is also excellent for mental health, lowering stress and anxiety. This is due to the endorphins which are released.
Confidence building
Learning new skills is excellent for boosting your confidence. It also makes you more interesting as a person as your interests widen. Having new experiences keeps life new and surprising, it prevents you from feeling that your life is on a never ending treadmill. Being creative will also be transferable into your home and work life and you will be better ready to use your creativity to tackle any problems that life throws at you.
Reduces stress levels
Finding a release for stress is important in our busy lives. If stress builds up it can begin to affect our health. Creative activities allow us to focus on something else. It also promotes our body to release “feel good” endorphins which make you feel relaxed.
It’s fun!
Learning something new and developing new skills is an enjoyable pastime. It keeps life interesting and fun. If you join a class of like-minded individuals you will enjoy the added benefit of meeting new friends. Being creative also encompasses singing, dance and drama, all of which allow complete escapism from everyday life, thereby reducing stress and anxiety.
To conclude, it’s really important to discover a relaxation technique that works for you, so that you can incorporate it into your daily life. If you take action to lower stress before it becomes out of control, it will become more manageable in the long run. A fantastic form of relaxation is pursuing a creative activity, so dust off those paint brushes and get the paints out! The fun of discovering a creative activity you love, is in the search. Try as many activities as you like and have fun!