Discovering Happiness Through Rest and Relaxation

To experience life at it best and live a life full of peace and contentment, you need to make a conscious effort to bring some down time into your day and be in the moment with assorted techniques related to rest and relaxation. Once you feel the deep satisfaction from really enjoying a peaceful moment or two every day, you will attain a deeper connection with yourself that can ultimately be the source of a firm and unwavering feeling of happiness with life.

Relaxation techniques release stress and strain from our body and ease our minds, freeing both to function at their best.

• When you are troubled or worried, take a few minutes to focus on the inhalation and exhalation of your breath. Feel the temperature sensations of your breath. Bring your breath all the way to your ribs and notice your rib cage expanding and contracting. Try to breath with this focus for 5-10 minutes.
• Listening to water, in its many forms, is a relaxing way to connect with nature. Close your eyes and be still in a quiet place. Focus on the sound of raindrops hitting a roof, rain gushing from an eaves trough, water connecting with water at a waterfall, water trickling against a fountain or a rivers current pushing water over rocks. Listening to rain or water will generally be one of those spontaneous moments of relaxing - you must take the moment when it comes, not just create the moment when you make time for it. Although natural is always better, there are some great CD's of rain, thunderstorms and flowing water that still provide that nurturing spirit of nature.

Build rest into your life and you will give yourself more quality time for enjoying the good things in life. Rest can mean going to bed early or sleeping in whenever you can. This is short term resting. It is also important to plan some lengthier resting, such as an extended weekend where you sleep as long as your body wants and you're able to do the things that are pleasurable and calming for you.

These techniques will help you in connecting the spiritual, mental and physical elements of yourself. By having a deeper connection with your whole self you are better able to connect with the people and situations in life that will bring you a deep seated joy that can't be diminished by external circumstances.

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