Relaxation – relaxation exercises for body and mind

Just put your feet up and relax

What effects do relaxation exercises have?

Relaxation exercises are intended to help us find a balance between tension and relaxation. After all, the hectic pace, tension, and challenges of everyday life can never be completely blocked out, nor should we avoid them entirely.

With the right relaxation techniques, you can calm down or refocus more quickly, for longer, and sometimes even in the middle of stressful situations. You decide for yourself what is “right” for you personally. Everyone relaxes in different ways - what calms or delights us varies from person to person.

What is psychological stress?

Psychological stress is essentially a protective mechanism that evolution has given us. As soon as our brain detects a threat, it causes hormones to be released that help us flee or fight. For our ancestors, the sudden surge of adrenaline and other stress hormones was essential for survival.

They sharpen our perception and enable us to react more quickly. Naturally, this heightened state puts strain on the body, but once the danger has passed, a recovery phase begins. Persistent or constantly recurring stress prevents this recovery and can trigger chronic stress.

Everyone reacts differently to stress. What drives one person up the wall leaves another completely unfazed. Everyone therefore has their own stress factors that affect their well-being. These stress triggers are also known as stressors.

Psychological stress can be extremely taxing

Typical stressors include, for example:

• Major life blows When a family member dies, a relationship ends, or a job is lost, this is usually associated with drastic changes. Grief, anger, and a feeling of helplessness cause severe psychological stress.

• Interpersonal conflicts: Whether at work, among friends, in the family, or with complete strangers - arguments, bullying, or other people's thoughtlessness are very stressful.

• Performance pressure and time pressure: In the modern working world, everything always has to happen quickly - immediately. Often, very tight deadlines have to be met. At the same time, many people are afraid of making mistakes. Those who also have to juggle work and family practically rush from one appointment to the next.

• Lack of balance: Many people can escape their stressors for a while by creating balance - for example, by using some of the tips presented in this article. Those who do not allow themselves this balance gradually raise their stress levels higher and higher.

Our "modern" brains also react to perceived dangers. However, these "threats" are often more diffuse nowadays. At least most citizens of the major industrialized nations are not exposed to a daily struggle for survival over food or resting places.

A bullying situation or a hot-tempered boss are threats that are difficult to escape from. As a result, it is also harder to suppress and put aside the negative experiences associated with them after work, after school, etc. After fleeing from the saber-toothed tiger, our ancestors found refuge by the hearth fire in their home cave, where the wild animals did not dare to go. Today's everyday problems remain in our heads.

These problems and worries that we carry around with us represent the most harmful form of stress. They can occupy our thoughts for days and weeks, keeping the body permanently in crisis mode. Stress hormones can no longer be fully broken down because new ones are constantly being released.

Elevated blood pressure is also a possible sign of chronic stress. This is referred to as negative stress (distress). This condition harms us mentally and physically, can promote illness, and weaken the immune system. Those affected are at risk of burnout or depression. Relaxation exercises help counteract these effects.

Positive stress (eustress) also actually exists. It arises mainly in short-term stressful situations that can be resolved. Resolving the situation triggers the release of feel-good hormones. That is why we sometimes even seek out these situations. We experience positive stress, for example, when we win a sporting competition or realize on the train that we do not have a ticket and get away without being checked.

Exercise probably also causes positive stress because we can release our flight instincts (for example, through running) or fighting instincts (for example, strength training, team sports, etc.) without actually feeling threatened. Athletes also use relaxation techniques to calm down between competitions or revitalize their muscles after training.

You can enjoy the sun at home too

How can I relax at home?

Most people feel safe within their own four walls and therefore relax more easily at home. Of course, it is ideal to go outside occasionally and combine outdoor activities with relaxation rituals at home.

But even if you hardly leave your home for a longer period - as during the lockdown in the coronavirus crisis, when gyms, swimming pools, and massage parlors were closed - there are varied relaxation exercises and other ways to recuperate at home.

Sleep is healthy and vital - but only in the right amounts. You can actually sleep too much. The body is hardly challenged while lying in bed - studies have shown that frequently sleeping for more than eight hours at a stretch reduces mental performance. It may also promote obesity, diabetes, and other ailments. The effects are very similar to those of sleeping too little.

So don't let yourself be tempted to do nothing but sleep and “laze around”; instead, make your relaxation routine balanced and varied. Preventing boredom and keeping the brain occupied can also help prevent low moods. However, inner tension more often leads to too little sleep.

To relax better at home, you can make some changes to your home environment. Simply changing something can be healing in itself. Perhaps the clutter has been getting on your nerves for a long time, or you keep putting off wallpapering the children's room?

Tidying up properly or tackling long-postponed household tasks can give you the satisfaction of having accomplished something important. At the same time, you remove sources of stress from your life.

At home, you can arrange everything so that each of your senses is pampered. The light in the rooms, for example, has a strong effect on your well-being. Bright, cold light is perceived as unpleasant and is more reminiscent of sterile open-plan offices. Warm, slightly dimmed light, on the other hand, signals to the brain that you have arrived in the safe cave.

Colored light bulbs and lampshades, or the natural light of cozy, flickering candles, offer many ways to create a lighting atmosphere in which you feel comfortable and can relax better. Many relaxation techniques are more effective when the room lighting is also set for relaxation.

A pleasant scent can also help you calm down. From scented candles or fragrance oil to incense sticks, there are various sources of fragrance that please the nose and show us that we are at home.

Music has a major influence on our psyche. It can give us energy and inspire us, or calm us and even help us fall asleep. Some people also like having something read to them. With the right music or an audiobook, housework and other tasks become much easier. If you would like to relax, meditate, or sleep with the help of music, you could try relaxation music written specifically for this purpose.

Ultimately, your individual taste in music will always determine which music helps you relax best. Why not put together a personal soundtrack for your relaxation exercises?

Drawing or painting is very well suited to relaxation exercises, as the brain can focus on one thing here. It is fun to create works of art on paper or canvas, or simply to color something in. Adult coloring books have experienced a real boom in recent years. Coloring complex pictures according to your own preferences is therefore almost meditative.

Meditation can also be very relaxing and help you concentrate better again. Of course, there are meditation courses and guided meditations, but even as a layperson you can sit down at home, close your eyes, breathe calmly and deeply, and try to think of nothing or only pleasant things. A simple meditation exercise is to imagine a burning candle and banish all other images and thoughts from your mind.

Yoga is like a combination of meditation and exercise: it is not very strenuous, but effective, and is also suitable for people who are not athletic. The precise movements, timed to the breath, relax the body and mind. Beginner yoga does not require extensive prior knowledge - give it a try. You can find suitable mats for yoga or gymnastics in our range.

To make your home cozier while relaxing at the same time, you could also change the decoration. Perhaps you have wanted to redecorate for a long time and enjoy doing so, but simply never found the time?

To truly relax, however, it is important to take time out. If necessary, ask other members of your household to leave you alone for a while so that you have time for yourself and your relaxation exercises. Also allow yourself to take these breaks - ignore unfounded feelings of guilt. Your spouse, children, or colleagues at work will also benefit more from seeing you rested and fit than tense and irritable.

Use relaxation techniques to block out the stress of working life

Take the time to set up a quiet corner where you can retreat. There, you can snuggle up with a good book or an enjoyable film and a cup of tea and indulge in your own relaxation rituals.

Or treat yourself to some wellness in the bathtub. Warm water relieves muscle tension, and fragrant bath additives enhance your sense of well-being. Another option is sweating in a sauna, but few people have a sauna at home. Consciously caring for your body contributes greatly to relaxation - among other things because a well-groomed appearance reflects strong self-confidence.

A wonderful way to relax with water without taking a shower or a bath is a foot bath. Sitting comfortably on the sofa with your feet in warm water, pleasant warmth and relaxation quickly spread throughout your body. If intense summer heat is getting to you, a cool foot bath offers soothing refreshment.

A simple bowl may be all you need for this. However, there are also modern electronic foot baths with numerous functions, from regulating the water temperature and producing bubbling water to applications such as reflexology or magnetic field therapy.

Perhaps you like to relax by watching television or playing on a computer or console. Films and games can whisk us away from everyday life, allowing us to block out and forget the day's problems or negative experiences. Many people take escapism so far that they turn favorite films or series into a hobby, investing a great deal of time in them.

And everything that is enjoyable also helps you relax. Some relaxation techniques are also easier to learn when they are demonstrated on a screen. However, you should avoid spending too much time in front of a screen, as this strains the eyes and causes the body to suffer from an unhealthy sitting posture and lack of exercise.

Board games are a great way to have analog fun with family and friends. Games in which you build something together or otherwise have to cooperate are particularly suitable for this. However, some games also have the potential to cause stress. Never play Monopoly with sore losers.

Plants can also have a very calming effect. Not only as decoration, but also as a hobby. Home gardening, from potted plants to a private vegetable garden, is a rewarding activity. Working with living plants, digging in the soil, and watching the plants thrive literally helps you feel grounded.

Animals do not carry negative thoughts around with them. They react purely instinctively, while some animals can actually sense when a person is unwell. It is no coincidence that many therapeutic approaches involving dogs or horses, through to exotic options such as dolphin swimming, are offered. Cuddling a dog, cat, or other small pet can be a very reliable way to relax.

Pets are a major topic in their own right. That is why we will not go into pet ownership in detail here. Suffice it to say: do not get an animal without first carefully considering whether you can handle it and care for it.

Go out in the sun as often as possible - even if you only have a balcony, terrace, or garden available. Vitamin D is important for our mental well-being, and the body needs sunlight to produce it. If we lack the vitamin, we quickly feel tired and drained.

Meditation is a classic relaxation technique

What relaxation exercises are there?

Relaxation exercises are specific techniques that use, for example, certain movements or stimulate pressure points on the body to achieve a relaxation effect as quickly as possible. Such relaxation techniques can often also be used as part of longer-term therapy. There are also mental relaxation exercises that require minimal physical effort and quickly improve well-being.

• Consciously smiling: Even if you don't feel like it - pull the corners of your mouth upward and force yourself to smile. If you hold the smile for a while, the brain "believes" that you are in a better mood. It is no coincidence that laughter is contagious.

• Breathing exercises: calm your breathing. Concentrate on breathing deeply in and out. Make sure to breathe deeply into your abdomen.

• Massages: massaging yourself already gets the blood flowing and relaxes the muscles. If you are frequently tense, a professional massage could be worthwhile.

• Walking barefoot: the soles of the feet are highly sensitive, but they can hardly feel the ground through shoe soles. Poor footwear can lead to calf cramps and tension. Treat yourself from time to time to walking barefoot on grass, sand, or another pleasant surface.

• Wiggling your toes: moving your toes or feet can help loosen unconscious tension.

• Stretching exercises: especially when we get little exercise or sit a lot, muscles and tendons shorten and become tense. Stretching and extending the limbs can relax them again.

• Stress ball: kneading a stress ball can release pent-up tension while also strengthening the hand muscles.

• Baoding balls: these balls train finger dexterity and focus your concentration on rolling them between your fingers. The gentle sounds of the rolling balls also relax the nerves.

• (Shadow) boxing: why not let out a little aggression? If you do not have a punching bag at hand, you can simply box the air and work off some energy. This way, no one gets hurt and you can release your frustration.

• Reading: when reading, the mind goes on a journey. A good book can make you completely forget everyday life for a while.

• Writing: whether you write poems or even venture into writing a novel - writing is a fascinating creative process that can also help you process negative experiences.

• Drawing or painting: similar to writing, drawing and painting induce an almost meditative state when you engage in them extensively.

• Crafting or doing DIY: here too, the brain can focus on creating something. Once you have become fully immersed in a hobby project, everyday problems fade away.

• Remembering something positive: negative memories often overshadow positive experiences. That is why it is important to consciously recall your own achievements and beautiful moments in life from time to time. You may be surprised by how much you have actually achieved.

• Listening to or making music: making music or singing is also a creative process that releases a great deal of positive energy. However, which type of music is perceived as relaxing is highly individual.

• Cooking and baking: tasty food lifts your spirits. And when you cook it yourself, it tastes twice as good. Cooking and baking is fun, and you can also do it together with friends or family.

• Talk to someone: do not bottle up your problems; instead, find someone you trust to talk to about them.

Many of these tricks and exercises can also be combined. Although we advise against shadowboxing while cooking, a good book with pleasant music and homemade snacks is a great combination. The most important thing is to find out for yourself which relaxation exercises help you relax best.

Relax wherever you feel comfortable

How can I relax quickly?

Various aids can be used to achieve quick relaxation. Heat is a good countermeasure for sore and tense muscles. In the past, we could have filled a bed warmer with hot coals - fortunately, other heat sources are available to us nowadays.

It is pleasant for the body and calming for the mind to hold a hot-water bottle against yourself. The heat dilates the blood vessels, supports circulation, and helps relax the muscles.

Hot-water bottles are available online in many different shapes and colors, as well as with various covers. While hot-water bottles are filled with hot water, cherry-pit cushions can be heated in the oven or microwave.

Heat cushions filled with grains or seeds can be shaped to fit the body, nestled against the neck, or wrapped around painful limbs. As with a hot-water bottle, the warming effect of cherry-pit cushions decreases after a while. If you want the heat to last particularly long, a rechargeable heating pad or heating belt is recommended.

With all heat sources, make sure they reach a temperature that is comfortable for you. For example, freshly heated hot-water bottles pose a risk of scalding the skin. Gel cushions that can be heated in the microwave should therefore be used with suitable fleece covers. These hot-and-cold compresses are available in many different sizes.

Apart from heat, various exercises can also quickly relax the muscles. Progressive muscle relaxation, for example, is a relaxation technique that can be performed lying down or sitting up, making it suitable for short relaxation exercises at the workplace.

During progressive muscle relaxation, individual muscles are deliberately tensed firmly and then relaxed again. The conscious alternation between tension and relaxation leads to physical and mental relaxation.

Progressive muscle relaxation is based on research by the American physician Edmund Jacobson. In 1929, he established a connection between mental distress and muscle tension. It is recommended that you first try this relaxation technique under the guidance of a therapist. After a short time, you can then perform these relaxation exercises correctly entirely on your own.

Send your mind on an imaginary journey

How do I relax mentally?

Sometimes it is not muscle tension but the convolutions of our brains that keep us from settling down. In fact, problems and negative thoughts can cause noticeable pain because they unconsciously make us tense up and adopt a kind of protective posture.

That is why our mind plays an important role in relaxation. Fortunately, we are intelligent beings and can consciously influence our thinking. Various relaxation exercises also allow us to relax mentally.

We humans are creatures of habit. For example, getting up, washing, and getting dressed in the morning always follow the same routine. At the same time, we put ourselves in a certain frame of mind - a mode for coping with everyday life. We essentially go through the same ritual every time. But this “ritualization” can also be used for relaxation.

Establish fixed relaxation rituals - light a scented candle after arriving home or put on a particular piece of music. Or let yourself be inspired by the many relaxation tips in this article. When our daily relaxation follows a certain pattern, the body is signaled at the very beginning of the relaxation ritual that it is now time to relax.

Negative thoughts or a chaotic mind are often responsible for mental and physical tension. We have various ways to organize our thoughts or get rid of unpleasant ones. A popular relaxation exercise for the mind is meditation.

The aim is usually to think of nothing at all, or at least as little as possible. For example, try imagining a burning candle and thinking of nothing else. As you do so, breathe deeply and steadily in and out in a comfortable position.

Alternatively, you can let your thoughts run free, unleash your mind’s creativity, and embark on an imaginary journey. Imagine visiting a beautiful place or experience adventures entirely risk-free - coming up with something stimulates your mental abilities and can have an almost meditative effect.

We wish you much enjoyment and success in using the relaxation exercises presented to enhance your well-being and relax more effectively.