So many of us are constantly on the go, rushing busily from place to place throughout the day that we neglect how important it is to put a little time aside to spent tending to our own wellbeing too. If you’re dealing with all the responsibilities that come with family life, holding down a hectic job, and still trying to meet with friends, it’s very easy to become stressed out if you don’t devote at least some minutes of the day to considering yourself and how you feel. There’s no shame in being a little selfish every now and again- the truth is, if we weren’t, we’d quickly run ourselves into the ground. So here are a few of the simple ways to unwind after a hard, busy day that you can try out for yourself.
Give Yourself a Massage
The varied benefits of a good massage have long been discussed. Teasing out the tension in your muscles, ligaments and tendons will help you feel looser throughout the day and give you an immediate sense of pure relaxation which you can carry with you. You don’t have to head out to a professional to get a good massage treatment (although, if you really want to treat yourself, you certainly can). If you’ve got anyone with you at home that you can ask to give you a quick rub-down, enlist their help in relieving all that unwanted stress in the knots in your shoulders and back; however, if there is no one you can recruit to give you a massage, there are a number of self-massaging techniques you can try out for yourself.
If you’ve got a couple of tennis balls to hand, placing these beneath the lower part of your back either side of your spine, and lie on them – raising and lowering your hips will help you achieve that deep kneading effect you crave. The knee is also a common area where tight knots can form, especially for those who find themselves sat at a desk all the live-long day. Just taking a minute or two when you get home to bend your leg straight and rub the knee deeply with your fingers and knuckles will help relieve a lot of the built-up tension and help you feel fresh for the next day, too. You can find an extended list of self-massaging tips here.
Squeeze in Some Exercise
Exercise is a great way to release some endorphins and give yourself a positive mood boost after a long day at work or looking after the kids, but many people find it hard to make time to head down the gym most evenings, and might opt just to stay inside and catch up with their latest TV obsession instead. There are a number of ways you can introduce a little physical activity into your normal routine. Maybe you could set your alarm just a few minutes earlier, giving you some valuable minutes to burn some calories before you head out to work and before the children wake up. Some people find that they are at their most productive when they just wake up, so getting your exercise in during the first moments of the day can help you feel motivated, rather than trying to force yourself to exercise at the end of a long day when you are already drained of energy. You could also try fitting a workout into your lunch hour, or even taking up jogging or cycling to work should you live close enough. Just be careful traveling along busier roads so that you don’t endanger yourself. You can check out the Philadelphia personal injury lawyer Rand Spear Blog for tips and advice in this regard.
Try Out Meditation
Meditation practices can provide an extremely effective method of letting go of all that tension and worry that you’ve been holding on to throughout the day. Meditation might seem a bit out there, but it’s becoming increasing popular among time poor people today and is far from complex to learn. Start by sitting in a quiet place and being with yourself for just two minutes a day, increasing this by a little every subsequent week. Don’t worry too much about finding the perfect Zen atmosphere to meditate in- chances are you’re never going to find it. Just get your meditation in wherever and whenever you can, and you should start to feel the benefits quickly- a relaxed mood, and an increase to your rational, problem-solving abilities. Counting your breaths while engaged in a meditative state and focusing on each one as you bring air in through your nose and out through your mouth will help you remove the concerns of the outside world from your mind. Your goal, however, shouldn’t necessarily be to “clear your mind,” although this is what many believe the goal of meditation is. In reality, this is a very generic goal of meditation, and trying to focus on emptying your mind entirely is just going to prove detrimental to the whole process. Just try to chill out and let whatever floats into your mind stay there for as long as it wants to.
Be Spontaneous
If you feel as if you’re becoming a slave to your daily routine, why not shake things up a bit? This can mean anything from taking a weekend trip somewhere new, to getting out one evening and seeing a friend who you haven’t caught up with in a long time. Even something as simple as visiting a coffee shop or store you’ve never been to before can serve as a breath of fresh air in our lives, which can so often feel ruled by routine and repetitive schedules. Being spontaneous will help you access that carefree, “inner child” spirit, so that you can let go of the trials and stresses that come part and parcel with the modern adult life. Simply getting out of the house can help you feel as if you’ve begun to properly live your life again.