Active Relaxation

Using relaxation exercises to improve your emotional intelligence will also help you be more productive. It's a win win for you and the people you work with. I'm working on a relaxation book as we speak, but it's still a few months away (Summer 2009). Trying to come up with something completely fresh is not an easy task. But that's where the true fun lies, in discovering hidden depths of focus, passion and creativity that I never thought possible.

The only way that I can hold down a full-time job, enjoy a healthy marriage and put so much into this blog is by using relaxation techniques that I've developed over the past two years. Each one is near and dear to my heart because they've helped me break away from worry, fear, and anger to take advantage of my opportunities.

You need to discover new parts of you every single day, otherwise you get comfortable and stop creating. Creativity is our second most important gift. Love is number one.

Creativity is inside all of us, from the young man who can take apart an engine and put it back together to a woman who can take apart an atom and discover a new world. We all have the ability to create. Everyone can draw stick figures and paint a tree. Some may do it better than others, but that's not the point. Creativity is something we all must uncover as we grow older. The best way to do this is through active relaxation. It may sound like an oxymoron, but it isn't.

When we send requests to our subconscious we can learn to unlock the fear that holds us back from these discoveries. Try this one on for size and let me know what you liked and didn't like. Just be honest, so I can learn how to improve this relaxation as much as possible.

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Pick an Object in the Room and Describe Its Beauty

How:

Find anything that intrigues you and describe its beauty. It could be a plant, another person, or your dog.

Focus on:

The little nuances that most others would miss.

Why:

When we move our focus away from our usual routine we open new neural pathways in our brain, which helps us stay creative.

When:

When you are stuck in a room and you need to stop a cyclical thought pattern.

What I liked:

I picked my dog. The different shades in her coat and the shadows that she created entranced me. I liked how the energy within me changed from an intense feeling like a zooming dragonfly to a wispy butterfly, just going with the flow.

Who could use this:

• A teller in a bank waiting for a customer.
• A security guard passing the time.
• A clown sitting down after a long night of performing.

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The great part about this meditation is its ability to make me feel differently each time. Now take 60 seconds to do this meditation. Let us know in the comment section how it makes you feel. Does it help you relax, or do your thoughts get carried away to something else? It may take a little practice, so if you can't focus on one object for 60 seconds just do 20 seconds and build from there.

Other Stress Relief Articles to Calm Yourself in an overstressed day:

• Hand Massage for Stress Relief
• 7 Tips to Process Your Stress Faster
• How to: Relieve Your Stress With a Three Step Plan
• Feeling Lucky, Punk! Then go ahead, click here.

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Image courtesy of DistortedSmile