Ways to Relax Your Body for Manifesting/Shifting/Meditation/Etc
I've noticed a lot of people have trouble with getting their bodies to relax when they need them to! So, as someone with adhd and anxiety, I have loads of tips for this.
1. Deep breathing exercises
Cannot recommend this one enough. Now, I want you to take your fingers and check your pulse either along your wrist or your neck. Keep your fingers there, close your eyes, and breathe in and out slowly. If you noticed your heartbeat getting faster as you breathed in and slower as you breathed out, good! That was heart rate variability and people who have a strong vagal nerve will notice the difference more. The vagal nerve is the longest nerve in our body and, among other things, sends messages to the brain to let it know that we're safe and we can calm down.
Practicing deep breathing exercises will help you strengthen your vagal nerve which will help you control your anxiety and relax faster. This is why it always gets recommended. Focus on your breathing. So try some deep breathing exercises whenever you can, maybe once a day if you aren't used to it. Whenever you intend to relax for things like meditation or methods, always start with deep breathing. (My favorite exercise is breathing in for a specific count, then holding my breath for a few seconds, then breathing out as slowly as I can.)
2. Scrunching
I'm not sure what this is actually called but I call it scrunching because it sounds funny. Basically, and this can be done lying down or sitting up, you want to "scrunch" or "squeeze" up certain body parts as tight as you can (but not so much that it hurts) and then slowly release them. I find that this is like a physical, bodily version of deep breathing exercises. It forces your body to let go of any tension it's holding. Try to start either top to bottom or bottom to top for a better sense of control too (and to help you keep your thoughts focused).
3. The Valsalvia Manuever
I recommend researching this one for a more in-depth explanation but essentially, the Valsalvia Maneuver is trying to create more pressure in your chest to trigger the vagal nerve and force your body to relax. One way to do this is by plugging your nose, closing your mouth, and then pushing out as if you're going to sneeze. This should not hurt. You should only feel pressure in your chest. Another way is to breathe in for five seconds, hold it, then bear down for five seconds, and then breathe out for five seconds.
Like I said before, the vagal nerve is responsible for tons of things, and one of those things is sending messages to your brain to basically tell it to chill. By increasing the pressure in your chest and then relieving it, you are triggering that vagal nerve which then triggers the parasympathetic response which in turn calms you down.
4. Visualizing
I'm sure everyone has dabbled in this so I won't really explain it too much. Pick anything that calms you down or relates to what you're doing. For instance, if you're meditating just to relax, pick a calming beach or forest, really anything that brings you peace. If you're manifesting, pick a scene that correlates to that manifestation (like you and your SP going on a date if you're manifesting an SP) and so on and so forth.
It's perfectly okay for your mind to wander. If you have trouble with that, one thing I would suggest is visualizing multiple scenes. I tend to get bored with just one and that makes me think about other things. A good way to practice visualizing multiple scenes is by running through an entire day of your ideal life. So, waking up, eating breakfast, talking to friends, etc. Just go through an entire day - it's okay if there are time skips - and that should help some if you have trouble with focusing on just one scene.
5. Telling your body to relax
Basically affirm for it! Do some deep breaths and when you feel calmer, tell your body to relax. Just say, "relax", in your head preferably but out loud if you want to. You need to really feel like you're in control (which you 100% are) because if you don't feel in control this may not work as fast or as well.
6. Rolling your eyes
When you're sleeping, you're eyes naturally move around in the first stage and in REM sleep. One motion that happens early in the sleep cycle, is your eyes rolling to the left. You can essentially trick your brain into thinking you're asleep by closing your eyes and rolling them. It should be a little slower than the typical eye roll but not too slow. Your eyes should roll smoothly so if it doesn't feel smooth then you're probably rolling them too slowly. Again, this forces your mind to slow down and calm down. It forces it to think you're already sleeping.
7. Listening to calming music/waves
Pretty self-explanatory! Listen to something that's calming. Try not to pay attention to it, it's just supposed to be background noise. If you find music and waves to be too distracting, you can also try white noise, asmr, rain, etc.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions about these tips!
