Daily tips to help you relax
To help you get into the habit of feeling more relaxed, we put together 3 weeks of 5-day challenges. These are things you can do every day to feel more relaxed. Miss a day? No problem. These tips are quick enough that you can double up. For a full month of relaxation exercises, make a note of your five favorite tips and create your challenge for Week 4!
Week 1
Day 1
Put your hand on your belly and take five deep breaths. Repeat this as many times as you can over the course of the day.
Day 2
Do 5 minutes of light stretching. Focus on which of your muscles feels tight or sore, and set your intention on doing what feels good in your body.
Day 3
Set an intention for your day. Think of simple, one-word terms that you can come back to throughout the day. Need an idea? Try one of these: calm, gratitude, joy, ease, peace, or love.
Day 4
Do 15 minutes of free-writing — write down anything that comes to mind, without judging any of the thoughts that come up. Once you’re done, throw away the paper, emphasizing the idea that we are separate from each of our individual thoughts.
Day 5
Spend 5 minutes on a visualization exercise. Picture yourself in a moment of deep relaxation. Where are you? What are you doing? Who are you with? What can you hear or smell or taste? Think of as many details as you can.
Week 2
Day 1
Find a calming piano song and listen to the track from start to finish with your eyes closed.
Day 2
Take your own pulse for 1 minute by pressing two fingers on the underside of your wrist, noting how your heart rate slows with deeper breaths, and speeds up with faster breaths.
Day 3
Do a Google image search of your favorite landscape. Search terms like “desert sunset,” “snowy forest,” or “beach at dawn.” For one minute, click through various photos and think of the different smells and sounds that you might experience in each picture.
Day 4
Spend 2 minutes breathing into different parts of your body, working from your feet up to your head. To do this, close your eyes and visualize oxygen from your breath going into each body part as you move from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head.
Day 5
Brew and sip a cup of caffeine-free herbal tea. Focus on all five senses as you drink it, including the warmth of the glass in your hands, the smell and taste of the tea, etc.
Week 3
Day 1
Take a 30-minute electronics break. Shut off any phones, computers, and televisions. To pass the time, you can doodle, stretch, listen to music, read a book, cook and eat a meal, or have a distraction-free chat with someone in your home.
Day 2
Try a walking meditation. Go for a walk near your home and notice all of the things you may normally ignore, such as any greenery or animals, the color of the buildings, the texture of the road, the sounds of your neighborhood. This walk doesn’t have to occur in nature — cities and suburbs are great places for walking meditations, too.
Day 3
Do something with your hands. You can try gardening, building something, making jewelry, tying knots, arranging a bouquet of flowers, or fixing or mending something.
Day 4
Give in to your curiosity. What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn more about, but never made the time for? Try it now! Maybe it’s architecture, or art history, or sailing, or car repair, or how islands are formed. Spend some uninterrupted time reading and researching about something totally new.
Day 5
Ask a friend! Reach out to a friend or loved one and ask them to tell you their favorite way to relax.
Week 4
Create your own relaxation plan for the week. Choose your favorite tips and build a routine that works for you!
Was this article helpful?
Sign up to unlock your health, your way at no cost to you.
This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
You may not be eligible for all services. Log in to view the benefits included in your plan.