At the end of each day you can feel the tension of the day in your body. It may appear as a headache or pain where your neck meets your head. It may appear in your lower back as a tightness that burns when you bend. The “it” is tension and it can ruin your day. Because of this, people are now trying different relaxation techniques to reduce this tension.
Tension is usually caused by everyday stressors. It leads to dull aches and pains and can even make the area of tension sore to touch. When you are psychologically overwhelmed, your muscles and joints can become rigid. You may even notice your jaw or fists clinched more than usual. Or, your body moves more with the pent-up energy. For example, many people find themselves rocking or moving their legs and feet.
Poor posture and even some medications can cause tension in the body.
Fortunately, there are many relaxation techniques reduce tension and you don’t need medication to do it. Below are our favorite relaxation techniques that allow you to become less tense.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Being aware of how your muscles feel while they are both tense and relaxed can help reduce tension. In theory, progressive muscle relaxation blocks stress.
This is one of the most popular relaxation techniques, and has been used since the 20s. In the late 1920s progressive muscle relaxation was founded at Harvard University. Since then this method is by many to alleviate pain caused by tension.
It is a two-step process in which you tense your muscles, focusing on the process of tensing. Then, you visualize the release of tension in the same muscles. This process makes you aware and more in tune with what your body is telling you it needs.
Benefits of progressive muscle relaxation include the lowering of blood pressure, feeling calm, helping with sleeplessness, and overall stress reduction.
Guided Imagery
For this technique, people focus on pleasant images to replace negative feelings. You can perform guided imagery on your own, or it can be led by a practitioner or a recording. Most people prefer to be led by a professional.
The theory behind this technique is that you can train your mind to concentrate and to relax. There is a guided imagery technique for each of your senses. These include visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory.
Engaging as many senses as you can during guided imagery will benefit you more when reducing tension. You can use the power of the mind to reduce tension and heal problems within the body.
Guided imagery can also help you prepare mentally for major life events. It can also help you quit negative habits like smoking or over-eating. It allows you to be calm, even during life stressors.
Mindful Meditation
Better known as mindfulness, this type of meditation can improve general health, improve mental clarity, and help you to feel calm. There are many research studies showing the benefits of mindfulness for relaxation techniques.
It can help you cope with worry, reduce aggression and improve social and relationship skills. Mindfulness helps you regulate emotions so you can find peace and calm and ultimately, a reduction of tension.
The American Psychological Association claims mindful meditation improves memory and focus, and reduces psychological distress that can lead to tension and its negative effects.
Spirituality
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, spirituality gives you an advantage when trying to reduce tension. It allows you to meditate with a sense of understanding and purpose.
Spirituality can have many definitions. Depending on your faith, it can mean anything from connecting with a higher power to becoming one with nature. Whatever the definition, it can have benefits for relaxation techniques when trying to reduce tension in the body.
The National Institute of Health reports spirituality has a positive connection in physical and emotional well-being. They even note that spirituality can be a great coping tool. In fact, modern therapists are finding ways to help clients use spirituality in the healing process.
Kava
Kava has been used for thousands of years, with its origins in the South Pacific. It makes you feel relaxed and calm. Other characteristics of kava are that it makes you feel sociable, with an overall feeling of good will towards others.
It has been a tradition to drink kava before ceremonies, rituals and important meetings.
Kava can take an already one of the most popular relaxation techniques for reducing tension. When consuming kava before progressive relaxation, you can concentrate better on tensing and relaxing each of the muscles in your body.
Kava is one drink that when consumed, provides you with relaxation while also enhancing mental clarity. This benefit makes kava a great asset for both guided imagery and mindfulness. When you drink kava tea, you can achieve a higher level of relaxation.
Calming the mind becomes easier with kava.
Kava, since its origin, has been used for spirituality practices. Drinking kava would open the minds of the leaders who would speak to the Gods and receive important messages. It is true that kava settles the noise and distractions in the mind so you can experience complete mental awareness.
Other Relaxation Techniques
These five relaxation techniques are just a few examples of how to reduce tension. Others include acupuncture, acupressure, and all forms of yoga. Massage therapy is becoming more popular and rather than wait until there is a physical issue, people are getting massages for preventative therapy.
When you combine kava with any of these methods, you have better chances of increasing the beneficial outcomes.
To begin mixing kava with your preferred relaxation techniques, you first need to find a supplier of noble kava. Anyone can purchase from reputable online kava suppliers. It is best to pick suppliers who are members of the American Kava Association and undergo verification processes.
Suppliers have made using kava before relaxation techniques easy. They have instant varieties that you can simply mix with your drink of choice and enjoy. Some of the best kava suppliers are even formulating their own pre-made kava drinks.
No matter which kava you choose to use, it helps you to better reduce tension when you pair it with your favorite relaxation methods.