Quick ways to relax

Deep breathing, meditation on repetitive activity, hot tea, music & self-massage, five quick ways to relieve stress in your life.

Click button to listen to Relaxation the Easy Way download 

HEALTH

Simple ways to bust tension

25/06/2013
Dr Dittakarn Boriboonhirunsarn

You have to get up early and get the children ready for school. You also have to attend an unplanned meeting in the morning. Your friend calls and needs your help desperately. All at the same time. You are tense and you need some relaxation, but you don't think you have enough time. And worst of all you have forgotten how to relax.

If your hectic lifestyle has got you down, you need some relaxation techniques to bring you back into balance. Too much stress is bad for your mental and physical health and relaxation can restore balance in your life. Here are some easy relaxation techniques you can use any time and almost anywhere to reduce tension.

BREATHE DEEPLY

Feeling stressed causes tense and shallow breathing, while calmness is associated with relaxed breathing. Therefore, changing the way you breathe can reverse the tension. Try the following technique: Let out a big sigh, dropping your chest, and exhaling through gently pursed lips. Inhale, feeling your entire belly, sides and lower back expand. Exhale, sighing again as you drop your chest, and feeling your belly, back and sides contract. Repeat five to 10 times and you will be more relaxed.

MEDITATE

Experts say that any repetitive action can be a source of meditation. Such activities include walking, swimming, painting, knitting or any activity that helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment. So, whenever you catch yourself thinking about busy things in your life or work, try to let the thought go, and bring your mind back to the repetition of the activity. Try it for just five to 10 minutes a day and watch stress levels drop.

DRINK HOT TEA

Some studies have shown that those who drank tea displayed lower levels of stress hormones, and reported feeling calmer during six weeks of stressful situations compared to those who drank a placebo with the same amount of caffeine. Camomile tea is a favourite for calming the mind and reducing stress. Black tea is also a good choice. On the other hand, coffee can raise the stress hormone. So you may consider going green when it comes to relaxation.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Among other benefits, music can calm the heart rate and soothe the soul. Music will align your heartbeat with the slow tempo of a relaxing song, especially a classical tune. Research shows that listening to 30 minutes of classical music may produce calming effects equivalent to taking 10mg of Valium.

Anyway, you can choose other types of music you like. So, take a musical stress detour when the going gets rough.

SELF-MASSAGE

Try this simple self-massage technique: Place both hands on your shoulders and neck and then squeeze with your fingers and palms. Rub vigorously, keeping your shoulders relaxed.

Then wrap one hand around the other forearm and squeeze the muscles with thumb and fingers. Move up and down from your elbow to fingertips and back again. You can repeat it whenever you need to relieve your tension

Assoc Prof Dittakarn Boriboonhirunsarn is a member of the Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital.

(Source: Bangkok Post, HEALTH, Simple ways to bust tension, 25/06/2013, Dr Dittakarn Boriboonhirunsarn, link) 

 
Relaxation Vocabulary

relaxation (noun) - 1. making your mind less worried and your body less tight การผ่อนคลาย, การลดความตึงเครียด;  2. enjoying yourself and doing things you like to do; recreation, rest การพักผ่อน  การหยุดทำงานชั่วคราวให้คลายเหนื่อย

tension (noun) - the feeling of being so nervous or worried that you can't relax ความตึงเครียด
reduce tension

tense (adjective) - making you feel nervous or worried ทำให้เครียด
relaxed (adjective)

you are tense and you need some relaxation

bust - break or damage badly so it cannot be used
bust tension - end,  get rid or "relieve" tension

Simple ways to bust tension

unplanned - when something happens and you don't know it before it happens (no plan)
meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
unplanned meeting

desperately - extremely or very much อย่างเต็มที่ in a very worried or angry way อย่างสิ้นหวัง  feeling or showing that you have little hope and are ready to do anything without worrying about danger to yourself or others ทิ้งไพ่ตาย อย่างสุดชีวิต อย่างเอาเป็นเอาตาย

need help desperately
your friend needs your help desperately

worst of all
and worst of all you have forgotten how to relax.

You have to get up early and get the children ready for school. You also have to attend an unplanned meeting in the morning. Your friend calls and needs your help desperately. All at the same time. You are tense and you need some relaxation, but you don't think you have enough time. And worst of all you have forgotten how to relax.

hectic - very busy and fast วุ่นวาย
lifestyle - the living conditions and things people do everyday (fashion, home decoration, pets, cooking, music, tv, movies, garden, etc) รูปแบบการดำเนินชีวิต
hectic lifestyle

got you down - make you sad or depressed

techniques - methods of doing a task or activity เทคนิค
relaxation techniques

balance - 1. a condition of calm in your mind and emotions; 2. ability to stand and stay upright and not fall down; equilibrium, stability, steadiness ความสมดุล, สภาพคงที่, การทรงตัว
bring you back into balance

restore - to cause a particular situation to exist again, especially a good one ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
restore balance
restore balance in life
relaxation can restore balance in your life

stress - a feeling of worry and tension from difficulties in life; when you worry and think too much about problems เครียด

too much stress is bad for your mental and physical health

If your hectic lifestyle has got you down, you need some relaxation techniques to bring you back into balance. Too much stress is bad for your mental and physical health and relaxation can restore balance in your life. Here are some easy relaxation techniques you can use any time and almost anywhere to reduce tension.

breathe
breathe deeply

stressed - nervous and anxious about what will happen (in the future, for example)
feeling stressed

shallow - not deep ตื้นที่ตื้นเขิน
shallow breathing
tense and shallow breathing

calm (noun, adjective) - ที่สงบเงียบ
calmness (noun) - tranquillity, quiet, serenity, peace, peacefulness สันติสุข,  ความสงบสุข
calmness is associated with relaxed breathing

reverse - to change something that has already been done; to undo it เปลี่ยนแปลง
reverse the tension - undo the tension you have and relax
changing the way you breathe can reverse the tension

sigh - breathing out and making a sad sound ถอนใจ, ระบายลมหายใจออกมาโดยแรง เนื่องจากกังวล หรือเบื่อหน่าย
a big sigh
let out a big sigh

chest - the upper front part of the body between the stomach and the neck, containing the heart and lungs หน้าอก
drop your chest

purse lips - pucker up your lips ทำปากย่น

exhale - breathing air out of body หายใจออก
exhaling through gently pursed lips

expand - to become larger ขายตัวออกไป
your belly expands

inhale - breathing air into body หายใจเข้า
Inhale, feeling your entire belly, sides and lower back expand

contract - to get or grow smaller หด หดตัว
your belly, back and sides contract

Feeling stressed causes tense and shallow breathing, while calmness is associated with relaxed breathing. Therefore, changing the way you breathe can reverse the tension. Try the following technique: Let out a big sigh, dropping your chest, and exhaling through gently pursed lips. Inhale, feeling your entire belly, sides and lower back expand. Exhale, sighing again as you drop your chest, and feeling your belly, back and sides contract. Repeat five to 10 times and you will be more relaxed.

meditate -  เข้าฌาน, เข้าสมาธิ, นั่งวิปัสสนาจิตใจให้สงบตามหลักทางศาสนา, ทำสมาธิชั้นสูงตริตรอง
meditation - activity of meditating

repeat - replay, reproduce เกิดซ้ำ,  ซ้ำ, ทำซ้ำ 
repetition
the repetition of the activity

repetitive 
repetitive action

source - the place or person something comes from or starts at, or the cause of something ต้นกำเนิด, แหล่งกำเนิด
source of meditation
any repetitive action can be a source of meditation

knitting  - การถักไหมพรม

moment - a very short period of time; a particular time or occasionชั่วขณะ, โอกาสสำคัญ
the present moment

attention - สมาธิ, การตั้งใจ,  ความใส่ใจ

any activity that helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment

catch - notice สังเกต, สังเกตเห็น,พบ, เจอ
catch yourself - notice that you are doing something
catch yourself thinking about busy things in your life

let the thought go
try to let the thought go, and bring your mind back to the repetition of the activity.

Experts say that any repetitive action can be a source of meditation. Such activities include walking, swimming, painting, knitting or any activity that helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment. So, whenever you catch yourself thinking about busy things in your life or work, try to let the thought go, and bring your mind back to the repetition of the activity. Try it for just five to 10 minutes a day and watch stress levels drop.

stress (in biology) - the body's way to react to dangerous situations: when there is a stressful event, the  sympathetic nervous system responds with a fight-or-flight response (See Wikipedia)

stress hormone - chemicals such as cortisol and norepinephrine are released by the body in dangerous situations (See Wikipedia)

lower levels of stress hormones
coffee can raise the stress hormone

placebo - something that a person believes is medicine and takes, but is not medicine
caffeine - the chemical in coffee and tea that wakes you up, gives you energy and makes you alert
those who drank a placebo with the same amount of caffeine

Chamomile tea - a yellowish herbal tea (See Wikipedia)
Chamomile tea is a favourite for calming the mind and reducing stress

a good choice
Black tea is also a good choice

Some studies have shown that those who drank tea displayed lower levels of stress hormones, and reported feeling calmer during six weeks of stressful situations compared to those who drank a placebo with the same amount of caffeine. Camomile tea is a favourite for calming the mind and reducing stress. Black tea is also a good choice. On the other hand, coffee can raise the stress hormone. So you may consider going green when it comes to relaxation.

classical music - เพลงคลาสสิค, เพลงที่ดีเด่นตามแบบฉบับ และมีชื่อเสียงเป็นที่รู้จักกันดีทุกยุคทุกสมัยซึ่งตกทอดมานาน

benefits - goods things that can happen from an activity or doing something ผลประโยชน์

rate - อัตรา
heart rate - the speed that your heart beats at

calm - peaceful and quiet; without anxiety ใจเย็น,ไม่ตื่นเต้น, สงบ
music can calm the heart rate

soothe - make you feel good when you feel bad; relieve oralleviate pain or suffering บรรเทาความเจ็บปวด, สงบลง
soul - the spiritual part of a person or thing วิญญาณ
soothe the soul

Valium - ยานอนหลับ, แวเลี่ยม
calming effects - ฤทธิ์ทำให้เกิดอาการสงบลง

equivalent - the same as เท่าเทียมกันกับ
calming effects equivalent to taking 10mg of Valium

Among other benefits, music can calm the heart rate and soothe the soul. Music will align your heartbeat with the slow tempo of a relaxing song, especially a classical tune. Research shows that listening to 30 minutes of classical music may produce calming effects equivalent to taking 10mg of Valium.

detour - another way of going to a place (longer than the normal way); alternative route, deviation เส้นทางอ้อม, ทางอ้อม

rough - not calm or smooth มีคลื่นมาก
the going gets rough - when some activity becomes difficult

Anyway, you can choose other types of music you like. So, take a musical stress detour when the going gets rough.

self-massage 
self-massage technique

simple - easy to understand; not complicated ง่าย,ไม่ยุ่งยาก, ไม่ซับซ้อน
a simple self-massage technique

squeeze - to push or press something in with the fingers or hand บีบ, เค้น
finger - นิ้วมือ
palm - ฝ่ามือ
squeeze with your fingers and palms

rub - นวด
vigorously - อย่างคล่องแคล่ว
rub vigorously

Try this simple self-massage technique: Place both hands on your shoulders and neck and then squeeze with your fingers and palms. Rub vigorously, keeping your shoulders relaxed.

relief (noun)- a feeling of happiness when something unpleasant has ended การผ่อนคลาย

relieve (verb) - get rid of
relieve tension - get rid of tension

Then wrap one hand around the other forearm and squeeze the muscles with thumb and fingers. Move up and down from your elbow to fingertips and back again You can repeat it whenever you need to relieve your tension