7 Relaxation Exercises To Free Ourselves (finally) From Anxiety

Although achieving a state of relaxation is important, we have said it many times, anxiety in itself is not bad or unhealthy. In fact, it is adaptive because it allows us to relate to our surroundings with the appropriate level of activation.

However, anxiety understood as excess activation becomes unhealthy for us, affecting us greatly in daily life. And the truth is that, although we believe that we are exempt from this happening to us, it can happen to all of us at any time in our lives.

That is why it is very important to develop resources and personal strategies that allow us to control emotions and thoughts, because as we know, self-management is a vital skill that will allow us to function properly.

A question may arise in the mind of the reader: Should I do it too even if I don’t have anxiety problems?  When is it time to relax?  First of all, note that we ALL benefit from learning these exercises.

It is also necessary that we choose a time of day in which we are not going to be interrupted and that, if for example we choose the night, we do not fall asleep doing it. The goal is to learn the technique !! Let’s see some exercises …

1. Learn to breathe

Obviously we all know how to breathe, that is why we are alive; however, we don’t do it the right way to relax. There are many ways to breathe, but the breathing that practically all of us take is a social and superficial breathing.

Thus we only incorporate a small amount of oxygen, which results in a lack of vitality and a lower resistance. That is why breathing is at the top of our list because, without a doubt, good breathing is the basis of relaxation.

As a first rule it should be said that our natural breathing must always be through the nose, since this way we filter the air that enters and expel the impurities blocked inside the nose. And, although there are several suitable types, the most suitable physiologically is the complete one .

We leave you a video with instructions to learn how to do it in a deep way.

2. Jacobson’s progressive relaxation

As the promoter of this type of relaxation would affirm, “eliminating residual stress is the essential characteristic of this method.” Thus, since mental tension activates muscles, to avoid overload we must understand when muscles are tense and what we can do to relax them.

For that it is essential to be aware of the muscle groups that we can relax. Although this technique needs proper training to be learned, we can benefit from the resources that we find on the web to put it into practice. We leave you this video for you to try.

3. Silva method or relaxations with visualization

There are people who benefit more from a relaxation that induces to visualize relaxing images. Here we have the Silva method, of which we find numerous exercises on YouTube. We leave you the link to the first one to start investigating about it.

4. Schultz autogenic training

This type of relaxation is based on suggestion, so it induces pleasant feelings and thoughts that allow us to relax. It is based on the idea that we all have the ability to modify our lives by modifying our mental attitude. Here is a 10 minute exercise to test the technique.

5. Mindfulness

When we talk about mindfulness, we can understand it both as a meditation technique, as a state of consciousness that generates a style of processing that translates into mindfulness towards what surrounds us and the events that are occurring.

Here is a short video that helps us begin to inquire about the method and our well-being with it. In addition, on our page you will find a course on “Mindfulness for everyday life” that will allow you to develop mindfulness.

 6. Walk or exercise

Walking or doing any physical activity helps us channel the activation of our body. That is to say, it helps us to reduce the worries of our mind, to reserve a piece of our soul to ourselves, something that we forget frequently and that, without a doubt, generates enormous problems for us at all levels.

7. Listen to relaxing music

Listening to relaxing music is also a great way to connect with our calmer selves. Do you know the saying that music soothes the beasts? Music really helps us slow down our mind.

If you think you don’t have time to practice a daily relaxation exercise, then this is precisely the time when you need to start doing it. The more you practice, the more you will advance ; Remember that 21 days are enough to create a habit that will improve your life.