ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

10 Inexpensive or Free Ways to Relax

Updated on April 14, 2016

Relaxing isn’t something that comes naturally to everyone. Some even find it difficult to relax and need that extra boost. It’s an important skill that is needed for your personal sanity and overall well-being, so not being able to relax, can cause permanent and serious mental health or physical issues. That’s why, at a certain point, it’s vital to have some form of relaxation technique, even if it’s for a brief moment.

Here are a few tips to help boost you into relaxation mode:

1) Listen to Music

Listening to soothing music can be very therapeutic. Create a playlist of songs with your favorite genre of music, put on your headphones or use speakers, and press play. Let yourself get lost in the music. Listen to the lyrics, the rhythms, let your mind wonder with whatever comes up in your head. If you’re sitting or lying down and that feels great, then continue doing that, but if your body starts to move, let it, get up and dance if you want. The point is to let loose and give in to the music.

Can You Relax Naturally?

See results

2) Watch TV/Movie

When you watch a television show or a movie, the left side of your brain (which is responsible for your logical understanding and analytics), falls asleep. This process allows your brain to stop running around in circles thinking about your everyday troubles. It lets you completely get into the plot of the TV show or movie, giving your brain time to rest and recuperate.

3) Get a Massage

This may be obvious, but getting a massage is an amazing way to loosen up your muscles, and really put your body and mind in relaxation mode. You can also have massage sessions with your partner, family, or friends where you can take turns massaging each other, or even form a circle so everyone gives and receives a massage at the same time. If getting a massage isn’t feasible, it may be worth it to invest in a small massager machine.

4) Write/Draw

Writing or drawing anything that comes to mind is an excellent way to express yourself in creative matter. No matter what you write or draw, or even if you have the skill to, just do it, do it for yourself. It may be a bit awkward at first, and may not know where to start, but just start writing or drawing the first thing that comes to your mind and let it continue on from there. It doesn’t even have to make sense. Doing this will help you with stress, open your mind, and train your brain to being more creative.

5) Hot Bath with Epsom Salt

Soaking in a tub of hot water with Epsom salt for about 15 minutes, provides more health benefits than just being able to relax you. It sooths your mind, body, muscles and nervous system. Relieves aching joints and back pain. Cures skin problems, cuts and removes toxins from the body. Epsom salt is an overall stress reliever.

6) Hobby

Find a hobby that you enjoy, that doesn’t stress you out, and something that can successfully occupy your mind for hours, such as doing a puzzle, reading a booking, playing a game, or knitting.

7) Drink Tea

Drinking a deeply warm cup of tea can be incredibly relaxing. For a day time relaxer, drink green tea. It doesn’t contain as much caffeine as a cup of coffee does so it won’t leave you feeling crashed or jittery, but it will still keep your mind alert, while keeping you calm and relaxed. For a night time relaxer, chamomile tea contains a mild sedative so it’s a perfect evening remedy after a hectic day to prepare your body for a good night’s rest. Combine this with an activity like listening to music, reading a book, watching TV, writing, and you’ve just created a double relaxer.

8) Exercise

Doing any kind of exercise can be a big stress reliever and major relaxer. Exercising releases endorphins into your system making you happier, which relieves stress you may be experiencing. Combining this with soaking in a hot tub of Epsom salt, is the ultimate relaxer. Exercising works out your muscles, and Epsom salt will relieve those muscles and help aid in recovery.

9) Meditation

Meditating is a relaxant for your entire mind, body and soul. If you’ve never mediated, it may be challenging in the beginning. It takes time, dedication, an open mind and patience to successfully meditate. Meditation isn’t just a temporary relaxer, if done correctly and regularly, you can have a life changing experience for the better. You’ll be able to handle every day stress in a more relaxed manner, reduces anxiety, become more positive, gain peace of mind, increase spirituality and become more connected.

10) Chores

Household chores aren’t just something on your to-do list. Surprisingly enough, chores like washing dishes and folding laundry, can be very therapeutic and relaxing. Your body may be doing the physical work, but let your mind relax and just focus on the chore itself. Once your focused, let the dreaming begin. It’s a great time to let your mind wonder and have a little day dream. This technique may seem simple enough, but it really works to let yourself escape the everyday realities for a brief moment.

When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter what you do to relax, as long as you do. Your well-being is important, and no matter what’s going on in your life, it’s crucial that you take some time for yourself to recuperate and regenerate. Find something that works to relax you. Explore, learn, and figure out what keeps you calm and happy.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)