muscle Relaxation doesn’t take long

Relaxation doesn’t mean going home to sit on the couch and gap out at a television for and hour, or rolling out your beach towel with a margarita in hand and soaking up some sun (although the latter is a nice idea). Relaxation is a process that can follow any workout, and can be done step by step.

The reason relaxation is so important is because when working out you are triggering the sympathetic part of your nervous system. It helps to process the amount of extra stress involved with higher heart rates or straining muscles. It is important that you bring your body back into a parasympathetic state, where it is no longer over stimulated and can begin to recuperate.

Relaxation doesn’t take long, and is a great way to get focused, find clarity and absorb all the benefits of a workout.

Here are some techniques:

1#. Wait until your heart rate is back to normal and you have done some ‘after workout stretches’ and then lie down on your back in a quite room.

2#. Breathe slowly and deeply, but don’t do it unnaturally. Let the air fill your lungs and fall away with ease.

3#. Focus on breathing, in and out, and begin to count, slowly from seven downward. When you get to zero start over.

4#. If you have something like a towel or shirt, roll it up and place it across your eyes.

5#. Keep breathing slowly, and try not to let thoughts of work, or plans for the day enter your mind.

6#. Visualize your body and the workout you’ve just had. See if you can follow from one spot on your body to the next and feel the area without touching it. Go slowly, and if you can’t feel it, just move on.

7#. Keep breathing and relaxing for at least ten minutes.

8#. When you are finished, get up slowly. Do things calmly, and get on with your day.