Learning how to relax your mind and body can bring many health benefits.
Being more relaxed can lower your blood pressure, strengthen your immune system and reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
So it makes sense to learn to relax quickly when life becomes stressful.

But sometimes it is hard to relax when life becomes very stressful.
The answer is to spend a few minutes each day practising relaxation techniques which will lower your stress hormones and blood pressure.

Practising relaxation techniques daily will help you cope better with stressful events and help you stay calm and relaxed at those times.
The overall effect is you are less likely to become anxious because you will be more stress-resilient.

The Coffee Cup

A great metaphor for stress is a coffee cup on a table.
The position of the coffee cup on the table represents your capacity to handle stress.
If the cup is in the middle of the table, it is less likely to fall off the table if it is accidentally knocked.
In this position, you have the greatest stress resilience.

But if the coffee cup is moved to the edge of the table, then the smallest nudge can knock it off the table. The smallest nudge may represent the ‘hair that breaks the camel’s back’ and cause you to fly off the handle.

You wouldn’t normally react in that way if you were calm and relaxed, but your elevated stress hormones and high blood pressure mean that you are ‘on the edge’ – just like the coffee cup.

With the coffee cup in this position, you have little resilience to stress and the smallest amount of stress can feel overwhelming.

Where would you say your ‘coffee cup’ is?

If it is near the edge then I strongly recommend you learn to be more relaxed every day which will increase your resilience to stress.

These are my favourite 4 easy ways to become more relaxed quickly and easily.
Practising relaxation techniques every day will increase your stress resilience and help you keep your ‘coffee cup’ in the ‘middle of the table’.
Each technique brings its unique benefit, so it’s good to know a few techniques that you can easily use to become quickly relaxed.
This article provides 4 easy ways how to relax quickly and be more healthy.

#1: 3 to 5 Breathing

3 to 5 breathing is a wonderful way to relax your mind and body quickly and easily.
On the positive side, it can be done anywhere and at any time.
Slow your breathing, breathing from your stomach as you:

• breath in for 3-seconds
• hold your breath for 1-second
• breath out for 5-seconds
• hold your breath for 1-second
• repeat for 2-5 minutes

The key is to breathe in for a shorter time than you breath out. Don’t worry if it is not exactly 3 seconds in and 5 seconds out, just make sure it is shorter in and longer out.

The video below will help you correctly pace your breathing. Practising 3 to 5 breathing for 2-5 minutes each day will help you relax quickly and be more healthy.

3 to 5 breathing lowers your stress hormones and blood pressure very quickly. You should quickly notice a physical and mental shift.

If you have a smartphone, some great free apps can time your in-breath and out-breath. A great app for Android phones is Paced Breathing or iBreathe for iPhones.

#2: Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a very effective way to relax your mind and body quickly.
With PMR, you tense and relax your muscles slowly from your head to your toes.

PMR releases tension stored in your muscles and produces a feeling of calm that cascades over your body. If you practice PMR every day you will be able to relax quickly in a matter of minutes. It’s an easy and very effective method to relax quickly.

#3. Visualisations

Using visualisations is an effective way to relax quickly because your body reacts to the imagery created by your mind. Visualisation is as simple and fun as daydreaming. There are lots of different visualisations you can try to relax quickly and reverse your body’s stress response. You can visualise yourself relaxing on a beach to reduce tension and stress that leaves your body with each breath. You might be interested in my Relaxed and Positive Hypnosis Audio Download which will help you:

• escape to a tropical island and walk barefoot along a beautiful beach.
• gently recline and completely relax as you swing in a wonderful hammock suspended between two palm trees.
• bathe in the warm sunshine and feel refreshed by the occasional gentle breeze.
• listen to the rolling waves as the surf strokes the white sandy shore.

#4: Self-Hypnosis

And have you ever wanted to learn self-hypnosis but didn’t know how or thought it was too complicated?
Well, my 10-minute self-hypnosis exercise is quick and easy to learn.
You can carry out my 10-minute self-hypnosis exercise almost anywhere.
If you do it regularly, you will become more relaxed and develop a more balanced perspective.
The best part of my self-hypnosis exercise is it will help you achieve your goals and create the happiness you desire.

Regular Practice Increases Stress Resilience

Each of these 4 ways to relax quickly will help you be more healthy and increase your resilience to stress.
You may find one way more appealing than the others or find some work better in certain situations. I recommend you try them all so you can see which techniques work best for you. Whatever technique you use, the key is to practice it as often as you can, so you can become more resilient to stress and be more healthy.

Lastly, if you would like any help learning to relax quickly and be more healthy, please get in touch for a free consultation.