There are numerous benefits of having meditation and relaxation exercises integrated in your everyday life. But when life is busy, the last thing on your mind may be to have some quality ‘you’ time even if it is highly beneficial.
It may feel as if your thoughts are racing constantly and your mind is fast-tracked with all the many tasks on your to-do list. If your mind is bombarded with thoughts, it can seem impossible to clear the mind and to be calm but the opposite is true.
Meditation and Relaxation Exercises
If you feel that you just don’t have the time to meditate, don’t worry, all you need is five-minutes out of your busy day. That’s all it needs – seriously. It really does take very little investment in time to be able to feel the benefits.
Here’s how you get started with these 7 meditation and relaxation exercises you can do anywhere. Ready?
7 Meditation and Relaxation Exercises You Can Do Anywhere
1. A Five-Minute Meditation
Meditation is not about sitting for hours trying to contemplate life. Even if time is limited, five-minutes of inner peace is all you need. Just close your eyes and forget about any external or internal distractions. If your mind starts to race, bring it back. Imagine taking the mind back to the moment as if it is an errant child.
When you do this, you retrain the mind to stay in the moment and can relish that wonderful sense of peace. You also offset the negative implications of stress.
Short meditations ease you into the practice and enable you to develop some quality time to yourself and it boosts healing and wellbeing too.
2. Playing With Your Peripheral Vision
Your peripheral vision observes the subtle shifts in energy patterns. It sees things you cannot usually see or do not focus upon. As an example of this, imagine walking along the road and instead of keeping your vision straight ahead, focus on your peripheral vision. Try it.
Next time you are out, consider all you observed from the corners of your eyes. Tune into your feelings and be more receptive to the things that you don’t quite see as well as those that you do.
3. Stretching
Stretching has so many benefits and again, even if you have little time, you can stretch at any time of the day. You don’t need to go to a gym or a class, just turn your attention to your body and as soon as you feel the negative implications of muscular tension, stretch at that point.
We often live sedentary lives so stretching regularly is so important. Tension can develop into tightly knotted muscles so it makes sense to release any tightness quickly. Train your mind to observe and connect with the physical body. By doing so, you increase your potential to offset any health problems.
When we sit or stand for extensive periods, and if posture is poor, it can weaken core muscles and so, stretching and toning is a wonderful way to improve health and make movement easier.
4. Guided Meditation Exercise
Guided meditation is the best way to start if you are intrigued by all the benefits that can be gained through regular practice. Simply, find a quiet space in which to sit or lie down and close your eyes.
Let external distractions drift away, tune out and turn the attention inwards. If the mind is filled with thoughts, imagine the mind as a long corridor where a gentle breeze blows through and imagine all those thoughts being whisked away.
Become a conscious observer to each thought but do not become distracted by them. If you feel that your focus is wavering, just gently bring it back to the moment. When thoughts are still and the mind is clear, focus just on the breath, in and out.
Hold this meditation for up to five minutes. The more you practice meditation, the easier it will be to find peace in the stillness and you can then, gradually increase your meditation sessions as your focus grows stronger.
5. Get a massage
A massage can really help relax the mind and body and there are many different ones to choose from. If you enjoy sports or are generally active, you will probably benefit from a deep tissue massage as this gets deep into any muscular knots and releases them.
Your muscles start to feel pliable again. If life is busy and you feel stressed, it is time to opt for something soothing and there is nothing better than having an aromatherapy massage. A 30-minute session will clear the mind, reset your inner sense of peace and harmony and all will be well with the world.
6. Listen to music
Your favorite music can act as an amazing therapy session at the end of a stressful day. Music has the power to transport you away from everyday stresses and strains and can ease the mental muscles that can restrict your conscious mind. Music can be an effective off-switch against the daily stresses and it uplifts and relaxes but it benefits on a physical level too.
7. Breathe
The life is the breath and there is no truer statement than this. Breathing correctly has such restorative powers and we often do not fully utilize it. Take a few moments to breathe in through the nose and really engage with that fresh air moving all the way into the lungs. Feel your lungs expanding and then breathe out through the mouth and let any tension or inner angst out as if sighing.
Repeat this, breathing in through the nose, following the movement of air as it infiltrates your lungs and then, the release as you sigh that breath out through the mouth. Just a couple of these deep breathing techniques whenever you feel tense or tired, will do you a world of good. It’s also a great way to help clear your thoughts and to prepare the mind ready for meditation.
Create a little time and space in your life so you can relax, embrace and harness the amazing benefits of meditation. Even five minutes a day can be restorative, calming and healing.