How To Relax Into The Rightness, Right Now


Let your guard down today, relax your defenses. Don’t fret, the peace abounds.

After having a dull headache for a few days this past week, I had to admit that I was tense.

I felt tightness in my shoulders and neck, and even my jaw one day. This, despite my daily meditation practice.

Why the tension? How does it creep up like that without us even knowing?

Looking back on the days leading up the headache, I realized that they were full.

Full days of running around, staying up late, getting up early, and doing it all again.

To get through these long days of steady activity, I was tensing my body, bracing for action.

It’s like when you’re cruising along and someone suddenly gets in your lane and stops abruptly — you brace for impact, grip the wheel tightly, and press hard on the brake.

You stopped in time! And then you can relax.

In daily life, though, we rarely allow for relaxation. We’re constantly in action.

And when we do physically come to rest, our minds continue to race, keeping the tension dialed up.

But we want to relax, don’t we?

Our bodies want to release the tension that we’re holding onto, if we can take the time to do it.

And it doesn’t take much to free yourself from the grip. A few breaths will do it.

Then call in some assistance if you really want to break free — spa day anyone?

Stress Release Tip

Take 5 minutes today to tune into your body. Attentively scan your shoulders, neck, back, chest, hips, knees, face, head, searching for any bits of tension. When you find a pocket of tension, breathe into it on the in-breath, and on the out-breath, feel the tension loosen and let go. You can even say to yourself, “relax,” or “let go” as you exhale. Imagine the tension melting down through your body, through your chair, into the earth. Use this technique whenever you can. Your body will thank you.

Mindful Homework

Relaxation is much easier to find when we notice the types of thoughts that spur us forward. A stressed-out mind sees the world through a lens of lack and limitation, fearfully engaging every experience. It’s very difficult to relax when we’re fearing our survival, don’t you think?

For the next days, your homework is to get to the root of why you are a workaholic. How do you know if you’re a workaholic? How much “me” time do you give yourself each week, to do things that you truly enjoy? None? Workaholic!

Take a moment to reflect on why you work so much. Write a list of reasons. When you are done, ask yourself which of these reasons serve you. Choose to let go of those reasons that no longer lift you up. If it feels heavy, let it go. Now take a deep breath, and feel into the possibility of relaxing more frequently. You deserve it.

Quote From Adam

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.”
– Sydney J. Harris

Liked This Post?

If you liked this post and want to know more about meditation, you can sign up to our newsletter below.

Join Our Newsletter
Join our community, receive our newsletter, and learn how to improve your life with meditation.
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
We respect your privacy

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.