Relaxing Workouts: Are They Really Useful?

When we talk about relaxation, walking, meditation, we often hear in response, “When do I have time to do everything? I don’t have time for that!” Inability to relax and quality rest boomerang returns to the person in the form of chronic fatigue, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, psychosomatic illness. One effective way to get in shape are relaxing exercises that, in spite of being as simple as 20Bet online betting, can work wonders. These include breathing practices, myofascial release, or muscle relaxation techniques, as well as meditation, stretching, Pilates, joint exercises, and yoga.

The goal of these classes is to find a balance between the physical, mental, and spiritual state through influencing the energy centers of the body

Training can balance the body, improve coordination, develop flexibility, remove muscle clamps, help you get to know your body better and learn to “talk” to it through touch.

How to Know if You Need a Relaxing Workout

You don’t have to wait until you’re already at the peak of tension and such a workout becomes a vital necessity. Be proactive and incorporate these practices into your system. One of their main advantages is that there is no need to stock up on a lot of equipment. As for additional equipment you may need a mat, massage balls and rollers or yoga accessories. However, it’s possible to do without them: for the majority of such exercises you need only your desire, silence and 15-30 minutes of free time.

In the hustle and bustle of big cities, we forget how to breathe properly. It’s believed that this natural process doesn’t require special skills and for some reason is brought to automaticity. Nevertheless, when breathing consciously, we can control the duration and depth of inhales and exhales and get rid of shallow, or clavicular, breathing, which involves only 15-30% of the volume of the lungs. Using this organ incompletely, we deprive the body of enough oxygen and, consequently, of energy. Breathing exercises develop diaphragmatic, abdominal breathing and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

That is why relaxation exercises are so popular: in addition to individual centers practicing different types of yoga, qigong, tai chi, meditation, and oriental practices, a large number of such programs are presented in fitness centers and included in group and individual workouts. Some centers combine programs and combine them, involving exercises from Pilates, yoga, stretching, Callanetics, and functional training. Such complexes gently release tension, tone deep muscle layers, improve joint mobility, correct posture and improve mood.

The Simplest Exercises

“Square”: Inhale – Pause – Exhale – Pause

Take a comfortable sitting or standing position. Relax and put your shoulders down. Place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest.

Breathe in through your nose for four counts, inflating your belly and lowering your diaphragm. Hold your breath, counting to 4. Slowly exhale through your mouth as if you were blowing out a candle or deflating like a balloon. Hold your breath. Repeat the exercise for 8-10 minutes, gradually increasing the count to 5-6.

Myofascial Release

For self-massage, or myofascial release, you will need special balls and rollers. Choose them depending on the level of training, the size of muscle groups and pain threshold. Compact soft rollers are more suitable for beginners, users with weak muscles or for local rolling of body areas which need gentle treatment. The larger ones with stiffening ribs are suitable for working the deeper muscle layers and for more intensive work. One roller can target more or less deep muscle work because it combines surfaces of irregular texture. It simulates pressing with the fingertips, the soft part of the palm, or the edge of the palm.

Exercises are performed in a comfortable mode, slowly, smoothly, accompanied by deep breathing. Pain sensations should be at the level of 4-5 on a 10-point scale. We move in the direction of the muscle fibers, fixating in the place of spasm – the trigger point. Created compression with the right technique relieves pressure in the muscles, improves trophicity in the tissues, promotes hemodynamics and eliminates tension. Standard rolling can be combined with articulation, rotation – active movements of the joint. Working time of one area is 40-90 seconds. With the ball we are working on smaller muscle areas. You can hold it in your hand, creating the necessary pressure, or press it against the wall or the floor. To massage the paravertebral muscles, twin balls are used. They help make working with the massager in the spine area safe.

Savasana

Yoga and Pilates uses mats, straps, blocks, special soft rollers and pillows, balls, discs, and isotonic rings. In some asanas, you can do without accessories. Let’s take the basic exercise called savasana as an example.

Find a comfortable place and sit horizontally on it, with your legs slightly apart and your arms lying freely along your body. Palms facing up, lower back pressed to the floor (as much as possible), eyes closed, breathing even and calm. Concentrate alternately on each area of the body: from the tips of your toes to the top of your head, releasing tension from each centimeter. Feel how the body becomes heavy. Be still. Breathe evenly and deeply. The duration depends on the level of the practitioner and the place of this asana in your exercise list. If you end your workout with it, then 10-15 minutes is enough. People with experience are able to achieve maximum relaxation in less time. But this requires practice.

If savasana is an independent asana with a goal to plunge you into a deep meditative state, it is possible to devote 25-40 minutes to it. After the class you will feel rested and full of energy. Your mind becomes clearer and your thoughts are clearer.