We’ve all had them. Those days when you wish you could have stayed curled up on the couch watching Netflix all day and eat chips. Sometimes it is so difficult to unwind after the mind has been racing all day to just keep your head above water. I have had many a night where falling asleep was all I wanted to do, but I just couldn’t calm my thoughts down and relax enough to get there. Well, I’ve got some techniques which have helped me to calm down. These are exactly what you need- simple, easy and most likely to work for you too!
1. Sit down, close your eyes and take 10 deep and slow belly breaths. The physiological research surrounding the power of breath demonstrates the validity of this practice. If you are on the train home from work or sitting on the couch you can do this. It doesn’t happen that often, but when I get super stressed out, it can sometimes end up in an anxiety episode. Deep breathing is the way out of that stressed and panicky feeling for me. It’s a tried, tested and true way to unwind.
2. Give yourself a temple and neck massage. If you have someone to do this for you, even better. I find that simply massaging my temples and working the back of my neck and down the sides with my hands helps to take tension out of my body. By relieving tension, a natural feeling of relaxation will follow. Doing this for five minutes is great. If you’ve got more time, as long as you like:)
3. Something I have done since I was a child, who had trouble falling asleep, is to take a piece of paper and right down every thought that comes to my mind. Sometimes it ends up like a list, other times it is like a story. Periodically the thoughts are just chaotic and others they make sense. It doesn’t matter. The act of writing things out is like therapy for me. When I was younger I could write pages and pages but now it seems to take less time to find the calm by doing this. Seriously, if you aren’t the type to keep a diary, you can benefit from writing and then just throw it away.
4. Go for a walk. Take yourself out of the stressful internal time you are having by physically removing yourself. Walk around the block, through a park, anywhere. Breathe in the fresh air, look up into the forgiving beauty of the sky. Notice the birds or squirrels scampering around. I use this when I am stressed but it also does wonders to quell anger. I tend to feel anger physically and walking it off is not just a figure of speech for me, lol.
5. Take out your old pictures and go through them. Every time I look at old pictures, I get positive feelings of nostalgia and have fond memories enter my mind. Trying to just take my mind off of what is making me feel stressed doesn’t work for me. It’s the emotional engagement that helps, I believe. So I take out those old pictures, ones of vacations, family get togethers, my old high school get-ups, photos of when I used to dance…just dive into those pictures and see how it works for you.
6. Listen to your favourite song or music by your favourite group. The reason why you like the song so much is because it stirs emotion within you and you enjoy that. Let it take over and just listen to it. Close your eyes even, dance a little bit if you like to dance. I adore Enya and have listened to her voice since I was a girl. When I am stressed, I put her familiar angelic voice on and I just feel calmer.
7. Get yourself an essential oil diffuser and some top grade Frankincense essential oil. This is so easy- just put water and 5 drops of that oil into your diffuser, turn it on and lay down nearby. Inhaling frankincense calms the nervous system. I kid you not, I have put this oil on and within 15 minutes I feel a huge difference. The power of plants and their biocompatibility with our bodies is a force to be reckoned with. You could also combine this one with some of the techniques listed above to enhance the experience.
I truly hope you find these ideas to be helpful, maybe you have success doing some of these already. I would love to read your favourite techniques in the comments! The more ideas, the less stress we are all bound to let hang around in our lives.
Love & Light,
Lisa xo
31 thoughts on “My Top 7 Ways To Unwind Your Day”
Niki
Yes!!! Great ideas Lisa!
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Katchutravels (@Katchutravels)
How beautiful. 1-5 seems easy. For 7 do you recommend any particular oil? I will look it up in India in Bodyshop or some other similar shop
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Tahnee's Blog
So many great tips! I won’t need help today, fibro exhaustion, but will bear these in mind for the future. Thanks for sharing a great post x
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Kelly Iverson
Definitely going to utilize some of these ways to end a day after work 🙂
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effjai
These ideas are really helpful. Thank you for this amazing post!! 6th tip is my favourite!
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Lisa K
Yes!!! I must agree, although I love them all;)
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Globejamun
These are really great ways to u wind. I did not know getting a temple and neck massage was one such way. Gonna try tht. I’m sure it will work.
Thanks for sharing
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Kasia Mikolajczak (@KasiaMikola)
These are good ideas to settle down for the night. I’m so busy these days my mind is often racing when I go to bed. I really need to try to relax a bit more.
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Lisa K
Take the time Kasia, you deserve it!
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thatkenyanwanderer
Absolutely love these tips! I completely agree with number 1; I try to meditate every time I’m feeling low and it really helps.
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Lisa K
I am happy to hear it! Meditation is so helpful for me too.
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hertraveltherapy
As someone who has struggled with insomnia at different points in my life, I can definitely advocate for deep breathing and also relaxation strategies. I personally use long hot showers where I sit down and just let the water run over my body. It can be really hard sometimes when your brain is buzzing away trying to solve all your problems and you just need to go to sleep!
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Lisa K
Absolutely. The shower is good too. It sort of metaphorically washes things away sometimes as well.
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sj
This is so awesome to read this. I do few things from here already like righting down things, going through old pictures, etc. Awesome post!
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Niki
Today I had a terrible fight with a toxic family member. After that, my body collapsed and thought I had a mild panic attack. The deep breathing and a walk with my dog actually did calm me down a bit. I feel like a massage right now would be exactly what I’d need! Hubby… hubby… where are you? 😛
Your posts make me feel better!
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Lisa K
I am sorry to hear about your experience. It’s awful that the people closest to us can hurt us the most. I am happy to hear you were able to find some helpful ways to regain your calm. Hope you found your husband!! The massage is for sure better that way😉 Glad my post helped too😁
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Katchutravels (@Katchutravels)
I am starting with 5 and 6 for today. I hope I can do the rest this week. Slowly getting into the groove.
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Lisa K
Sounds great! I hope you are able to:)
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Kirti
These are some of the great ideas to clam down and relax at the end of the day 😊
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Lisa K
Thanks Kirti, don’t know what I’d do without them!
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eclectickristal
After a long day I love to relax and and sip on some wine and cuddle with a candle and my hubby.
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Lisa K
Oh la la, sounds romantic;)
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chiswickmum
Are the essential oil diffusers good? I use oil burners with candles. I really resonate with what you said about writing everything down at night. I find that having a going to bed ritual helps me – a certain order in which I turn down the bed, cleanse my face, get out my books etc
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Lisa K
Yes, having a routine helps to prepare my mind for bedtime as well. I personally prefer a diffuser because using oil burners can take away some of the therapeutic value of the oils. Oils deteriorate in their composition when they are heated. If burning just for the pleasant aroma, oil burners are great though:). Thank you for reading😊
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Muhammad Ameen Sheikh
Great ideas.
A nice way to start the day
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Lisa K
Thank you! Or close a busy day too:)
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echoesofhervoice
Love this post!
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Lisa K
Thanks!
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Bhuboy
Thanks for this , inexpensive and easy to do unwinding tips
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Mary
Wonderful post! I really like the idea of writing down all my thoughts when I am not able to sleep.
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Lisa K
Thank you! Yes it can really help get all those extra thoughts out so sleep can come:)
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