When it comes to relaxation, almost everyone I speak with wishes they had more of it.  My summer is just beginning and I am already feeling, “enough already,” I can’t go this same pace all summer.  I need to take time to just relax now and then. If you’re anything like me, when you think of relaxation, you might think of a relaxing place, a place you can get away to, with no interruptions or concerns.  Nice thought, right, but the problem with this idea is that this type of mental and physical retreat simply doesn’t exist in our normal busy weeks.

What if I told you that relaxation has more to do with what is going on inside of you than what is going on around you? Sure there are moments when we really do have to run “on all cylinders”. We might have a tight deadline, or we may need to deal with a combative boss, or referee between a sibling battle. In these moments our hearts may race and our mind gets sharper—and that’s OK—our bodies were meant to deal with stressors that come at us. God made us so that we could react quickly to threats in the wild, or nowadays—react quickly to avoid an accident or have fast reaction time to protect ourselves or our families.

But of course most of the time we won’t need to exist in this heightened state of stress due to external circumstances—so why is it that many people complain of anxiety and stress? Now more than ever it seems people simply can’t escape the feelings of stress that surround them. This constant stressful state can lead to emotional problems or physical ones like heart disease, elevated blood pressure, ulcers, and other digestive issues. So what can we do about it?

We have to build time into our schedule to learn how to relax. What does relaxation time really mean? It means that you take time to unplug and really just take a moment to breathe. It may mean prayer, or taking time to stretch, or simply laying down in a dark room and letting yourself “unplug”.

Relaxation doesn’t have to mean taking a vacation. Although getting away from it all is wonderful, it isn’t necessary or even feasible on a daily basis. If we take the time to unplug and relax a little bit each day however, we can learn what relaxation feels like and we can then learn what it takes to calm down in a moment of stress that doesn’t require us to “fight or flight”.

There is no “one right way” to relax—but it does mean that whatever you do, you are allowing your breathing and heart rate to slow down. What activities do you like to do when you are relaxing? For some, it’s fishing, knitting, or even napping. For others it is meditative prayer, reading, being in nature or working on a favorite hobby. Whatever it is for you, you must make it a part of your normal routine.  Living a healthier life depends upon it!

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you like to do to slow down and let yourself relax? Tell me in the comments below. And if you’re inspired by our weekly posts, please subscribe if you haven’t already, and share this post with your followers. We love to see our community grow.

Your Virtual Life Mentor,

Doug