National Relaxation Day: Yes! A Day Devoted to Finding Calm
Your Unique Road to Relaxation
What does the beach, a hammock, a cup of hot tea, gardening, fuzzy house slippers, a soft bed, a spa day, a sleepy cat, and the warm glow of candlelight have in common? They are a handful of collective imagery associated with relaxation. Add (or take away!) a few of them to create your own list!
August 15 is National Relaxation Day and the perfect opportunity to reflect on the importance of genuinely taking intentional time to unplug (yes, put your phone away) and unwind. The road to relaxation looks different for everyone and takes different forms depending on season, location, headspace, and circumstance. A walk in the woods, meditation, a cup of hot tea, a bubble bath, a long drive, yoga class, journalling, painting, a lazy afternoon at the beach means something different for each of us. A walk in the woods may be just the thing to rejuvenate one person but to another it is an uncomfortable stop outside of one’s comfort zone. Note what soothes your soul and polish it like the treasure it is!
It’s remarkable how much relaxation can heal the body, mind, and spirit. A quick Google search will provide you with the most recent research on the health benefits of relaxation which include:
Improved mood
Higher energy levels
Improves sleep
Better organizational skills
Weight loss
Reduced stress levels
Helps for managing depression and/or anxiety
A truly life-changing list of benefits that will improve the quality of your life as well as those around you. Remember, it starts with you!
Try This: An Exploration Exercise
Notice what resonates with you today (it may be different tomorrow!) and set an intention to take time every day, even if only five minutes, to get to know how it feels in YOUR body and mind to experience relaxation. Notice how your life changes over time. Notice how the world begins to open in new ways. Celebrate today by exploring the following relaxation technique: Special Place Relaxation. We use this simple exercise in classes with students of all ages. Do it alone and then share it with a friend or family member. We could all use a safe and loving place to visit in our mind’s eye.
Special Place Relaxation
Take a few moments to design a room, an outdoor space, a sanctuary in your mind. You can visit your sanctuary anytime you want. Here you feel safe, powerful, and secure.
To begin:
+ Settle in. Close your eyes.
+ Take a deep breath - filling your stomach like a balloon.
+ Breathe out, let your stomach fall flat.
+ Let yourself relax deeply, slowly.
+ Feel yourself breathing in and out.
+ Let go of everything else.
Visit & Explore:
Imagine a place that is special and holds meaning for you. Where do you love to be? This is a place where you feel strong, safe, capable, and full of peace. Is it outside in nature or inside a house? Is it somewhere you have visited in dreams, or seen in a movie, on TV, or a picture of. Wherever it is, take your imagination there now.
Now notice. Simply notice your surroundings. What does this peaceful place look like? How does it smell? What sounds do you hear and what textures do you see? This is your peaceful and beautiful space. You feel safe, loved, relaxed, and happy. Here you are free to be yourself and you decide who can come in. you can invite someone you love to join you or you can be by yourself.
Visit this place anytime you choose. Enjoy your precious time here and explore.
Simple Comforts
Recommended Reading for Children: Voyage to the Bunny Planet series
"Far beyond the moon and stars,
twenty light years south of Mars
spins the gentle Bunny Planet,
and the Bunny Queen is Janet." - from the Voyage to the Bunny Planet series by Rosemary Wells
It’s been a long, difficult day and all you want to do is crawl into a warm cozy spot and let your wounds heal. We’ve all had these days as children and adults. We know the power of a healing place where your needs are met to rejuvenate body, mind, and spirit. I fell in love with the Voyage to the Bunny Planet books by author and illustrator Rosemary Wells upon first reading. Everything about these three short picture books is a cozy delight - from the soft color palette to the soothing canter of the storytelling.
Three books make up the series: First Tomato, The Island Light, and Moss Pillows. Each book follows a bunny who’s had a particularly rough day of one thing after another piling on - cold breakfast goop, getting sick at school, a long and bumpy car ride, obnoxious bickering relatives, and forgetful parents who are caught up in their own drama. By evening the bunny has had it and needs a visit to the Bunny Planet to have “the day that should have been.” Once welcomed at the gate of the Bunny Planet by the bunny queen, Janet, each bunny finds a safe, peaceful place where its physical, mental, and emotional needs are met. For one Bunny it is being safe and warm with his dad in a lighthouse while the sea rages beyond the walls, another bunny enjoys a warm afternoon sitting in a tree in a peaceful grove eating tangerine slices, and in First Tomato, the bunny visits the garden and enjoys the sensory delight of picking the first tomato of the season so mom can make first tomato soup.
Once home, snuggled in bed, each bunny looks out into the night sky and sees the Bunny Planet, realizing it was there all along. Take this story to heart and find your own safe, endlessly wonderful place that is always right there when you need it.