Three New Ways to Relax this Season
As fall sets in, the pre-winter blahs can settle on your shoulders, too. The day-in, day-out routine can be boring. Meanwhile, the stress of work, carpool, getting children to do their homework and volunteering at school functions take their own toll on your physical and mental health.
When you’re feeling exhausted and overworked, it’s easy to neglect yourself. Binge-eating or not getting enough sleep can become bad habits, and you can get stuck in a rut that makes you feel continually worse.
Why not brighten your days with some new ways to unwind? Trying something new can restore your zest for life, relax you, and build your ability to handle the situations that come your way.
Sink into Sound Therapy
If you already sing along to the radio during your work commute, you might already understand the power of sound therapy. It can take a variety of forms, including dancing, singing, playing a musical instrument, banging a drumbeat on the edge of your desk, or just listening to something that energizes and soothes you.
You can also dive into guided meditations, which have been proven to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression and to help improve memory. Other methods of sound healing include using tuning forks, Tibetan singing bowls, music therapy sessions by trained professionals, and brainwave entrainment using binaural beats.
One of the benefits of sound therapy is that it’s very versatile, so it can fit a variety of lifestyles. If you’re wanting to try something new, consider learning to play the guitar. You could also stream tracks of rainstorms or ocean waves or find a guided meditation club online.
Creating with Natural Stones
Have you ever admired a turquoise necklace or a pendant made from labradorite? What about the natural stone tile in a friend’s home or the rock work around waterfalls and fireplaces? If you like these types of things, you might have a sense of the soothing effect natural stones can have on human bodies.
There are quite a few ways to access the healing power of natural stone in new hobbies. One of the most obvious ways to get started is to buy or make fun-to-wear jewelry pieces such as this Shamballa Jewels bracelet made from natural stone beads. You could also glue small stones you find on walks to a piece of cement board to create decorative mosaics for your home.
If you have some extra space in your yard, try creating a Zen garden. You can enjoy the quiet while you rake your bed of pebbles or small gravel pieces into interesting designs that mean something to you. If you don’t have space for a full Zen garden, you can buy miniature versions such as this Zen Stone Garden with Amethyst Tree product by iVanzi.
Plant a Fall Garden
Sometimes connecting with nature can be one of the best forms of relaxation, but it can be hard to get away to the beach or the mountains. You can help remedy this by planting a garden. The act of digging up soil, lining out irrigation rows or even planting bulbs for new blooms in the spring can be refreshing.
If you don’t have a yard, purchase some large flower pots and put them out on your patio, or try an indoor aquaponics garden with something like these vertical grow kits by ZipGrow.
