Relaxation and Mindfulness
Both relaxation and mindfulness are skills to be learnt and practised as they are both great techniques that can help at times of increased stress, pressure and worry.
Relaxation
Practising relaxation is very good for your wellbeing and can help to better manage emotions such as anxiety, worry or stress. Although there are many different forms of relaxation, the three most well-practised are breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery.
Mindfulness
This is a technique that involves purposely trying to focus on being in the present moment and allowing thoughts to just enter and leave your mind.
Benefits of practising mindfulness include:
- Increases your ability to be self aware
- Stress reduction
- Feeling more able to cope with difficult situations
- Feeling more in control of what to focus on
- Being less judgmental of yourself
- Helps reduce more physical symptoms associated with stress and anxiety
How to practise mindfulness
Mindful eating – Pay attention to the taste taste, textures, sight and smell of what you are eating and drinking.
Mindful moving – Notice how you move when walking, running or jogging, think about the different surfaces you are moving across feel.
Body scan – Start from your head and work you way down to just focus on the individual parts of you body. Focus on the feeling of warmth throughout your body, how you are breathing.
Mindful drawing – Focus on the pen or pencil, the colour you are using, how it feelings against the texture of the paper. Try not to think about what it is you are drawing but the feeling of drawing.
Mindful meditation – Sit quietly and focus on your breathing, your thoughts, sensations in your body and what you can hear around you.
Bibliography
Student Wellbeing Centre (2021) Relaxation and Mindfulness [Blog]. Available from: https://cpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/dist/4/8317/files/2019/07/Relaxation.pdf. [Accessed 15 March 2021]