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Here's How I Relax: Finding the Focus Within 🧘♀️🧩🎾🔥
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items How do I unwind, mentally, emotionally, and/or physically, when things get tough. It isn't by indulging in primal scream theory or holding my breath until I turn blue. Let me count the twenty-eight ways. 😉
Note: This list may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission (at no charge to you) if you make a purchase using these links.
Note: This list may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission (at no charge to you) if you make a purchase using these links.
Sections
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For the Body
For The Mind
For Body & Mind
For the Body
Breaking a sweat is sometimes the best (and only) way to defocus from the present, and a great way to boost my endorphins!
I have destroyed many a badminton birdie (plastic as well as feathered) and I've lost count of the number of the catgut strings that have snapped during gameplay over the decades. Doubles is always fun, but singles makes for a greater workout.
Bash the Badminton Birdie
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Weighted blankets aren't just for pets! I have both 10 lb and 15 lb weighted blankets, and by their very nature, they do reduce tossing and turning. Check to see if your weighted blanket is washable (some--like mine--are not, so I put an extra blanke...
Crawl Under the Cover of a Weighted Blanket
I get pickled! Pickleball isn't just a sport for the older set (despite my initial impressions of seeing it as an option in an annual seniors sports competition many years ago). This sport has really taken the world by storm. I have seen some FIERCE ...
Hit the Pickleball Courts
Anaerobic exercise is great for building and maintaining overall muscle tone. A typical day at the gym for me will include 10 sets of leg presses at 60-80 lbs, 20 sets of 10 lb dumb bell lifts, and 20 sets of 30 lb of lat pulldowns. I will also do le...
Lift Those Weights
15 minutes on a heated foot massager is all I need to soothe tired feet and refresh myself, physically and emotionally – and it is the central tenet of Asian reflexology that the health of our feet mirrors the health of our bodies.
Massage My Tootsies With a Little Heat
Sort of like bowling on grass (not to be confused with lawn bowling), but with smaller balls and without lanes. Can be played in teams, but you'll need at least one more person to make things interesting.
Play Bocce in the Backyard
Since I tend to play singles in racquet sports (doubles is a rarity, and my game tends to suffer when I have a partner, as I tend to slack off), tennis is a great sport to get my heart pumping (since I chase down many balls) and my reflexes primed.
Serve up Aces on the Tennis Courts
Hit the gym! The best way to take a break from the negativity around me is to hit the treadmill, ellipticals, get on the recumbent exercise bike (easier on the seat cheeks!), and/or hit the stairsteps!
Sneak in a Session of Cardio
Yes, I even play squash! 20 minutes with my opponent is great to get the old ticker humming. Playing solitaire in squash? Well, I'm done in 5 minutes!
Single or Solitaire It in Squash
For The Mind
Without being too cerebral (haha) about it, these are the ways that I keep my mind engaged and simultaneously distracted.
I love to emote through lyric and verse with AI music generators. Instrumentals are my favorite prompts. AI may have quite a way to go in the counting and spelling departments (large language models, my foot), but it knows how to interpret musical pr...
Create Mood Poetry for the Soul (That's Music)
Who knew that a 9x9 grid with numbers could be such a brain teaser and pleaser? Easy and medium ones I can do by myself, but two sets of eyes and plenty of patience are required for the tough ones.
Do a Sudoku Challenge
Crossword puzzles test both my general knowledge and vocabulary (although I can't rightly lay claim to having ever solved any New York Times or Sunday crosswords).
Do Crossword Puzzles
I picked up the ancient Japanese art of folding paper while still in elementary school. The trick, after all these years, is to see if I can remember how to create the ball without referring to any instructions!
Do Origami
Doodle with pencil and paper (though truth be told, I often lose interest after I've done my black-and-whites). Rarely do I fill in my art with color (but that depends on how much of the day I want to waste), and even less do I dabble with paints. My...
Doodlin' with Pencil & Paper
Share a cuppa digital joe, exchange humorous cracks, and engage in meaningful discussions with those of my creative ilk.
Hang Out with My Fellow Creatives
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Oh, what fun it is to learn a new tongue! Free apps like Duolingo game-ify the language learning experience.
Learn a New Language
Listening to jazz music is the ultimate chill pill for me. If I want to kick up the tempo to get my creative juices going, it's classical music with plenty of dramatic highs and lows.
Mellow Out with Music
Spending time with my houseplants is the best green prescription ever! They don't sass me back, but the cactuses can be a prickly lot to love … except when they put forth gorgeous blooms – that makes every boo-boo incurred watering and upgrading them...
Nurture Plants
Songbirds have such dazzling repertoires and some even have breathtaking plumages, too. Some have even taken a shine to me by playing leapfrog on my lens and shoulders, flying inches from my face, or giving me an earful when I'm in the vicinity (of c...
Photograph Wild Birds in My Backyard
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This bookworm likes to read … especially the inspiring stuff! Until the Robin Walks on Snow 10th Anniversary Edition is a historical work of fiction and heartwarming story that chronicles beginnings of the author's uncle, who was born prematurely in ...
Read Inspirational Stories
I don’t suffer from shoppingitis, but occasionally, I will indulge in this activity. I window shop much more than I actually shop especially when it comes to clothes, which is highly budget- and mood-dependent. 😉
Spoil Myself With Shopping Therapy
Because there's a lot to be thankful for, and writing them all down on a semi-regular basis makes me realize just how much a lot is!
Practice Gratitude Every Day (Or At Least Once a Week)
There's nothing like a puzzle to keep the mind nimble, and it's time well wasted for many hours, days, or weeks!
Puzzle Me This
Humor can't cure ills (or can it? 😉), but it can hold them at bay for a while.
Watch a Funny Movie and Laugh Out Loud
I communicate through the power of my pen. Words come to me in a way that speech cannot.
Write What My Muse Compels Me To
For Body & Mind
These are the diversions that I find help me rebalance myself holistically … on mental, emotional, and physical planes.
Roll out the yoga mat, focus on my breathing, and practice my poses. The hardest for me is the tree pose (I'm *not* a flamingo, y'know), and my favorite asana is the corpse pose.
Assume the (Yoga) Position!
Getting a few zzzs with a grounding mat on my bed lets me connect with the Earth's nature flow of electrons, relax, and get to sleep fast!
Catch a Quick Nap with an Earthing Mat
Is it possible that aromatherapy and the use of essential oils can help improve memory, no matter what age you are? Regardless, the scents of lavender, sandalwood, lemongrass, and eucalyptus can evoke many pleasant memories for me!
Indulge in a Session of Aromatherapy
I do like to pick up a microphone and belt out some songs (whether or not I have an audience) while cutting a rug (and what is dancing but singing with the body?) 😉
Sing and Dance My Heart Out!
I like the peace and wonder that comes from hanging with Groot and Treebeard. 😉 Silence is a golden gift. Discover the health benefits of shinrin yoku and going off the grid today!
Take a Walk in the Forest and Absorb the Healing Power of Trees