Learning how to relax

It may sound ludicrous, but I never in my life learned how to relax. I think that the source of this issue was my childhood, where family vacations always consisted of a well-planned (and full) agenda of activities, with minimum "downtime" in between. Although I can look back with fond memories on these times, and got to do a lot of cool things because of the vacations, I also, at the same time, got into the "bad habit" of burning the candle at both ends and feeling anxious or antsy if I was sitting still for too long.

What is odd to me about this discovery is that, until recently, I felt like I was really lazy sometimes. Over the past few years I've made a concerted effort to be MORE active, attending the gym regularly, hiking and partaking in outdoor activities, and keeping a full travel schedule. Then someone told me that relaxing should also fit into my schedule. But I feel like sleep makes me miss out on life, and that taking the time to unwind only inhibits me from spending time doing things I love. (Not that I don't love sleep, I do, but I have always felt like it is a worthy sacrifice for friends and love).

So now I am learning, literally through "practicing", HOW to relax. I am practicing shutting down my body and my mind so I can have a more restful sleep. I also set an alarm to remind me to start getting ready for bed earlier in the evening. Who'd have thought that we should set alarms at NIGHT?! However, this system seems to have least given me a week's worth of more restful nights with fewer wake-ups and fewer bad mornings. I've even been to work with time to spare!

My favorite technique so far for relaxing is progressive muscle relaxation. In this, you tense each muscle group and hold them tightly for a short time, then release. Moving from toes to forehead, not only do you release tension in the muscles (even some that you didn't realize was present) AND your mind is clearer because of the concentration on one activity.

So, if my goal for this year is to be a more complete, content person, I must embrace my inner zen master and learn to relax, even "perfectly" relax.

This is my April's resolution.