Finding Your Oasis
Amaryllis Storm
October 2018
The new school year has started, and already the stress has set in with assignment deadlines, clubs events, and Quidditch gearing up. Now is the perfect time to set in place ways and means to relax. Here, we will explore what stress is, how it affects you, and easy ways to de-stress throughout your day.
What is Stress and How It Affects the Body
Stress is a normal, healthy reaction of your body to any changes you face that require either a readjustment or a response. This means you can experience stress from both a negative and a positive life event. In cases of extreme emergency, these internal changes – also known as the "flight or fight response" – help you to function in such situations. Stress becomes bad when your body is constantly in a stressed or distressed mode. Constantly being in distress can disrupt the body's internal balance or equilibrium and lead to physical symptoms such as headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping, which can then lead emotional problems including depression, panic attacks, and/or other forms of anxiety and worry.
The Definition of Relaxing
In psychology, relaxation is an emotional state of a living being, in which there is low tension and the absence of anger, anxiety, or fear. In other words – the act of relaxing the mind and body. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Relaxing can be a day long or even week-long event, but honestly who has time to take a day or a weekend or even a week out of their busy schedule to do nothing?
There are many techniques for relaxing: progressive relaxation, guided imagery, autogenics, meditation, deep breathing, and sensory methods – experiencing or imagining the sensations of sight, sound, smell, taste, and/or touch – are just some of the methods one can find to relax. While all are good methods, some can be time-consuming making them hardly the go-to for a busy person unless one is very dedicated.
Instead, I would like to introduce you to fun, quick, and easy ways to de-stress throughout your day. It is my belief that if you have a quick go-to list of ways to relax, it will be easier to actually relax when you need to!
Music
There are so many ways you can use music to relax. Dancing releases endorphins, which is a natural mood booster, and you can dance anywhere at any time. Soothing meditation music like the sound of rain or a thunderstorm or even monks chanting can reduce stress, relaxes your body, helps you fall asleep faster, and sleep more deeply. Listening while you study can help you concentrate better and still help you reduce stress: a great two-for-one. Youtube is a great source of free meditation music and videos.
Walking
Walking is a great way to de-stress. Walking shifts your brain into a calmer state, while meditation walking outside for 20-30 minutes several times per week can alleviate stress and give your mind a boost. Try a brisk walk; it will boost your endorphins, which can reduce stress hormones and alleviate mild depression. Gather a group of your favorite Slytherins, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and/or Gryffindors and make your daily walk a group activity for the added stress-relieving benefits of spending time with friends and developing strong social bonds. You can benefit from a ten-minute walk just as much from a long walk and it can be fit in at any time: after you wake up, before lunch, or after lunch. Before that big group study session, go for a short walk or afterwards to shake out those pins and needles from sitting so long in the library. A good time for a meditative walk is before bed, combined with some soothing music for a more restful night's sleep.
That's Right ... Breathe!
Deep breathing – also known by other names such as diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, belly breathing, and paced respiration – is basically you breathing deeply with the air coming in through your nose and fully filling your lungs as your lower belly rises. Deep breathing encourages full oxygen exchange and can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure, reducing tension and anxiety.
While there all types of methods of how to do it “correctly,” sometimes the simplest and easiest way is the best. All it takes is two minutes. Just stop, sit or stand where you are, and breathe in deeply and slowly. Doing that a few times throughout your day will help you along your path to relaxing.
Finding Your Oasis
One meaning of the term “oasis” is something or somewhere that offers a respite from the usual stressors. There are many paths to finding that place of calm within yourself and what works for one person may not work for another. Experiment with different techniques and different venues and even different times of the day to determine where you get the best results. A cool, dark room with the sounds of a thunderstorm is very relaxing for me; so is the sound of falling rain or waves crashing against the shore. Sometimes, I combine that with deep breathing. Meditation, however, does not work for me as my brain prefers to be distracted. Without an external stimulus, it creates its own. I also combine walking with music, singing at the top of my lungs to Linkin Park when no one is around me.
Other suggestions for relaxation are a massage, an indulgent soak in the tub (time to break out that bubble bath you have been saving), a long hot foot soak, taking the time to bake yourself a treat, sitting back and reading or doing something artistic, including making crafts. Find your refuge, your relief from the stress of the day, your very own oasis, and make this new school year a productive one.
The new school year has started, and already the stress has set in with assignment deadlines, clubs events, and Quidditch gearing up. Now is the perfect time to set in place ways and means to relax. Here, we will explore what stress is, how it affects you, and easy ways to de-stress throughout your day.
What is Stress and How It Affects the Body
Stress is a normal, healthy reaction of your body to any changes you face that require either a readjustment or a response. This means you can experience stress from both a negative and a positive life event. In cases of extreme emergency, these internal changes – also known as the "flight or fight response" – help you to function in such situations. Stress becomes bad when your body is constantly in a stressed or distressed mode. Constantly being in distress can disrupt the body's internal balance or equilibrium and lead to physical symptoms such as headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping, which can then lead emotional problems including depression, panic attacks, and/or other forms of anxiety and worry.
The Definition of Relaxing
In psychology, relaxation is an emotional state of a living being, in which there is low tension and the absence of anger, anxiety, or fear. In other words – the act of relaxing the mind and body. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Relaxing can be a day long or even week-long event, but honestly who has time to take a day or a weekend or even a week out of their busy schedule to do nothing?
There are many techniques for relaxing: progressive relaxation, guided imagery, autogenics, meditation, deep breathing, and sensory methods – experiencing or imagining the sensations of sight, sound, smell, taste, and/or touch – are just some of the methods one can find to relax. While all are good methods, some can be time-consuming making them hardly the go-to for a busy person unless one is very dedicated.
Instead, I would like to introduce you to fun, quick, and easy ways to de-stress throughout your day. It is my belief that if you have a quick go-to list of ways to relax, it will be easier to actually relax when you need to!
Music
There are so many ways you can use music to relax. Dancing releases endorphins, which is a natural mood booster, and you can dance anywhere at any time. Soothing meditation music like the sound of rain or a thunderstorm or even monks chanting can reduce stress, relaxes your body, helps you fall asleep faster, and sleep more deeply. Listening while you study can help you concentrate better and still help you reduce stress: a great two-for-one. Youtube is a great source of free meditation music and videos.
Walking
Walking is a great way to de-stress. Walking shifts your brain into a calmer state, while meditation walking outside for 20-30 minutes several times per week can alleviate stress and give your mind a boost. Try a brisk walk; it will boost your endorphins, which can reduce stress hormones and alleviate mild depression. Gather a group of your favorite Slytherins, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and/or Gryffindors and make your daily walk a group activity for the added stress-relieving benefits of spending time with friends and developing strong social bonds. You can benefit from a ten-minute walk just as much from a long walk and it can be fit in at any time: after you wake up, before lunch, or after lunch. Before that big group study session, go for a short walk or afterwards to shake out those pins and needles from sitting so long in the library. A good time for a meditative walk is before bed, combined with some soothing music for a more restful night's sleep.
That's Right ... Breathe!
Deep breathing – also known by other names such as diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, belly breathing, and paced respiration – is basically you breathing deeply with the air coming in through your nose and fully filling your lungs as your lower belly rises. Deep breathing encourages full oxygen exchange and can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure, reducing tension and anxiety.
While there all types of methods of how to do it “correctly,” sometimes the simplest and easiest way is the best. All it takes is two minutes. Just stop, sit or stand where you are, and breathe in deeply and slowly. Doing that a few times throughout your day will help you along your path to relaxing.
Finding Your Oasis
One meaning of the term “oasis” is something or somewhere that offers a respite from the usual stressors. There are many paths to finding that place of calm within yourself and what works for one person may not work for another. Experiment with different techniques and different venues and even different times of the day to determine where you get the best results. A cool, dark room with the sounds of a thunderstorm is very relaxing for me; so is the sound of falling rain or waves crashing against the shore. Sometimes, I combine that with deep breathing. Meditation, however, does not work for me as my brain prefers to be distracted. Without an external stimulus, it creates its own. I also combine walking with music, singing at the top of my lungs to Linkin Park when no one is around me.
Other suggestions for relaxation are a massage, an indulgent soak in the tub (time to break out that bubble bath you have been saving), a long hot foot soak, taking the time to bake yourself a treat, sitting back and reading or doing something artistic, including making crafts. Find your refuge, your relief from the stress of the day, your very own oasis, and make this new school year a productive one.