Relaxation Takes Work

As a hypnotherapist and HypnoCoach I am always stressing the importance of relaxation in making changes in your behavior and managing stress. But the ability to relax is a skill that takes work and practice.

David Allen has a great piece about this in his latest Productivity Principles Newsletter:

"Many systems related to motion - especially the human ones - function more productively when they are relaxed rather than when they are inappropriately stressed and tight. But for most people tension accrues much more automatically than relaxation does. Not many people experience decreasing pressure as their day goes on - it tends to mount progressively all by itself. When moving parts are too constrained, without flexibility, things can break, or at least ossify over time. Patterns in our behavior were created for a purpose, but they don't normally extinguish themselves when that purpose has been fulfilled. We must consciously unplug ourselves from those forms the moment they don't serve us, and direct our attention to activities that relieve strain. To let go of tensions that are no longer necessary takes focused concentration. It's a dynamic, not passive, process. "