Deep Relaxation: What Is It? And How Do You Do It?

Deep Relaxation: What Is It? And How Do You Do It?

Do you sometimes feel like you’re unable to relax, no matter what you try? Deep relaxation is not just something that has a place on Instagram. You could benefit from it if you live a busy life, are stressed or never seem to adequately “catch up” with yourself. The idea here is to go beyond standard relaxation techniques and reset your body, priming it for rest and recovery. 

A lot of people conflate relaxation with laziness. We believe that if we take time to ourselves, we’re somehow procrastinating and losing focus on our goals. 

It turns out, though, that relaxation is a biological necessity. Without it, you can start feeling burned out. 

Think about how the majority of people would like to arrange their days. Most would like an 8-8-8 split: eight hours working, eight hours resting, and eight hours sleeping. 

This routine didn’t develop by chance. It’s a consequence of our biology. When we obey this routine, we’re at our best. 

Unfortunately, for most people, the split is more like nine hours working, two hours resting, seven hours worrying about family, and six hours sleep. 

That’s why deep relaxation is so essential. It gives your body the time it needs to switch off, unwind, and carry out necessary repair work. 

But how do you relax in a deep and purposeful way? Take a look at these hints and tips. 

Listen To Soothing Music

Listening to soothing music is one of the most powerful tools you can use to achieve deep relaxation. Melodies have a way of bypassing your higher brain structures and going straight to the pain centres, deactivating them and elevating your mood.  

Try listening to something complex too. Simple beats are fine, but you may find that you achieve deeper relaxation when the music itself is interesting. 

Find Ways To Relax The Body

The body and mind aren’t two separate entities. Instead, they’re one and the same. Sensations in the body affect the mind, and vice versa. The link between the two is quite extraordinary. 

For that reason, it is important to find ways to relax the body. Once you put it in a good place, the mind usually follows. 

There are lots of ways to relax the body. You could try Pilates, use vaporizers or simply take herbal supplements, like ashwagandha. 

Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is one of the simplest and most potent ways to eliminate the stress from your body and feel better quickly. 

The way it works is simple. Lie on a mat or your bed, and then focus on consciously relaxing all your muscles, working your way up from your feet to your head. 

When doing this, take your time. Make sure that each body part is fully relaxed before moving onto the next one. 

It might sound a little strange consciously eliminating the strain from each of your muscles, but the technique is incredibly potent. You often only realize how tense you were afterwards. 

Take A Walk In The Woods

Taking a walk is a great way to de-stress – as is spending time in the woods. Combining both, though, is a surefire way to improve how you feel and totally change your perspective on your situation. 

Self Care: Bath Time with Olverum

Olverum Bath Time
Olverum Bath Oil is a bath time must when it comes to my self-care time.

I promised to highlight some ways that you can spend your self-care time and for me, bath time is one of my favourites. I shower every day yet a long, warm, scented bath is something else entirely. Thanks to the lovelies at Olverum my bath time relaxation has hit a whole new level.

By all accounts, Olverum is used by three members of the royal family. Obviously recognising that there is something regal about me, I was sent a bottle of the Olverum Bath Oil and asked if I minded sharing an honest review with the members of my court (or readers).

Made with natural essential oils, Olverum bath oil produces a wonderfully herby, fresh and sense-pleasing aroma. I honked like a goose when I read that you were only supposed to put a teaspoonful in the bath as when it comes to putting the required 50p piece worth of hair conditioner in my palm I tend to need at least £2.50-worth. I can confirm however that you do only need a teaspoon of this rich, unique blend in the bath. A little certainly does go a long way.

With ingredients such as Siberian Fir, Lavadin, Lemon, Rosemary, Lime, Juniper, Geranium and more, all you need to do is lay back, inhale and feel your stresses fall away.  I found the Olverum Bath Oil brilliant at cleaning the sinuses, soothing muscle aches and pains, that it left my skin feeling great and helped to promote a really good sleep.

Top Tips for a Relaxing Bath

bath time
We could all use a little more Hygge in our lives.

A Clean and Tidy Bathroom
It is difficult to get your relaxation on when there are 15 shower gel and shampoo bottles cluttered around the bath edge and a pile of towels waiting to go in the washer. Make sure that before you go for your bath that the bathroom is clean, tidy and feeling lovely.

Time
A rushed bath is not a relaxation bath. This is your time. Pick a time when there will be no interruptions and when you don’t have to keep one eye on the clock.

Warm Scented Water
There’s something magical about a wonderfully scented bath. I use Olverum and not only does this luxurious blend smell fantastic, my skin feels wonderful afterwards.

Soft Fluffy Towels
Finishing off your relaxing bath by rubbing yourself down with sandpaper somewhat defeats the object. Make sure you don’t stint on the laundry softener when it comes to washing your favourite big fluffy bath towel.

Lighting
Am I the only one who finds the bathroom lighting somewhat harsh? For a truly relaxing bath time, I go a little crackers with candles. Do make sure though if using candles that they are safely placed.

Olverum Bath Oil

This is not the kind of bath oil that you pick up at the supermarket when buying your groceries. Olverum has pulled out all of the stops to ensure that each Olverum bath is luxurious, infused with wonderful natural essential oils and leaves you feeling relaxed, recharged and a little spoilt. The 125ml bottle size is £32.00 and is enough for 25 baths, the 250ml size is £58 and enough for 50 baths. The travel set is £22 and enough for 9 baths. I received a 60ml bottle, have had three baths and barely used any. Considering how much goes into each teaspoons this represents excellent value. Olverum’s main stockists are Liberty, Conran, Harvey Nichols and Fenwick. Look out for Olverum on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, where the team will be happy to answer any questions you have.

What makes your bath time special?