5 simple relaxation techniques

During my yoga class yesterday evening, I made note of these 5 very simple relaxation techniques that we can all use during the course of our day to help relieve tension, stress and help calm us down. Some of these can be done while we are on-the-go or working at our desk. Some require a quiet environment to help focus and slow down.

1) Tennis ball massage - Stand on the floor with your feet slightly apart. Put the tennis ball under right foot and roll the foot over the ball, applying medium pressure. Make sure you cover the whole foot, including the heel. Repeat for left foot. Repeat 3-5 times.

The organs of our body have their sensory touches at the bottom of our feet. This could be one reason why this simple massage provides so much relief.

I always ask my husband for foot massages. Sometimes at night, if I am tossing and turning in bed and cannot go to sleep, he will massage my feet and I drift into deep sleep within few minutes.

Try it, and let me know if it helps you!

2) Ear Lobe massage - Rub your hands to warm them up. Start with a gentle massage on the right ear, covering all contours. Slowly increase pressure, and pull the ear to relieve tension. When you massage the right ear, you should feel relaxation on the left shoulder joint and muscles. Repeat the same for left ear. You will feel the ears warm (mine were hot :)) after doing this. Once both the ears are warm, stretch the left ear from the top towards the left side of your body, and at the same time, pull your right ear lobe down. You will be using both your hands to do this. Repeat this exercise for right ear-left ear lobe.

Since I work in front of the computer all day, my neck-shoulder area is always tense. I found this massage a great way to relieve tension from this area.

3) Squat Pose - Also known as 'garland pose' or 'malasana', this very simple pose helps tremendously in loosening up the hip joints. It also helps in stretching the entire legs, and strengthens the ankle. In winter, when we are all bundled and curled up all day, we need to do this pose for few minutes every evening to help relax our hips and legs.

This pose also helped me tremendously during my pregnancy.

4) Taking the tongue off the roof of your mouth - Anytime I consciously think about where my tongue is, its always touching the roof of my mouth (except when I'm talking or eating or singing :P). It's a good position - it helps you focus. But when you are trying to relax and let go, try to take the tongue off the roof of your mouth and just focus on your breath. At first, for the first few moments, you will feel different. But very soon you will realize that it calms you down.

5) Focus on your breath and Shavasana - I would be surprised if you have not heard of this one. But taking a few minutes out during the day for yourself - for your body, for your mind, for your heart (which never skips a beat and keeps you alive) is sooper important. Just lay down if possible (in shavasana or corpse pose), and let go of every thought running through your mind. If it helps, turn on some soothing instrumental music in the background, on very low volume. Starting from the head, consciously release tension from every part of your body, while always focusing on your breath (always breathe only through your nose). In the beginning, your heart will be racing. You will slowly reach a resting heart rate, and once you do, if you have truly let go and mentally relaxed yourself, you will drift into sleep.

It's important to pick a quiet place for this one. Otherwise, it takes more effort and time to cut out all the outside noise before you can focus on your breath.

During my yoga class, when we do Shavasana, the teacher always reads a story to us. Halfway through, I drift into sleep. And when I wake up after 5-10 minutes, I feel like a different person than the stressed, anxious and tired person who walked into the class 75 minutes earlier.

Try these and let me know if they were helpful to you!