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Capture that Holiday Relaxation
On holidays or vacations you are away from the everyday stresses in your life. Along with the relaxation and enjoyment of your vacation this temporary release from stress and triggers should allow you to relax to a new level. You are temporarily freed from your routines, responsibilities, commitments and worries. That holiday relaxation feels so good partly because you are able to let go, and you can get a new perspective on your life for a little while.
When returning from holidays in the past, you may have asked yourself “how can I hold on to this feeling?” Yet as hard as you try, within days, if not hours of being back in your normal routine, the stress levels go right back to where they were before. For some people it might even feel like the vacation was a complete waste of time and money. How can we keep hold of that ‘zen’ calm holiday relaxation feeling? Is it possible to do so?
Hold on to the Holiday Relaxation with Mindfulness
How can you hold onto that holiday relaxation and calm feeling you achieved on your vacation? One way is to practice some mindfulness when you next go on vacation. What this involves is simply being in the present moment, letting go of thoughts about the past, not thinking about the future, not wondering what other people are thinking, but just being present. When you do this, you can experience the moment more fully and may capture the memories too.
When you later practice this back home, you should find that it reminds you on your holiday relaxation and calm mindset and therefore brings back those feelings too. You have to keep practicing though to keep it working.
Meditate on Holiday and Back Home
Another thing to try during your vacation, is meditation. Wait until you are at a point of relaxation and in a place that you find inspiring, calming or wonderful in some way. Then slow your breathing down, and close your eyes and take a moment to really experience what you are feeling at that moment in time. With your eyes closed see the place with your mind’s eye.
Gather as much detail as you can; hear the sounds and feel the feelings. Focus on gratitude for just being in that place and feeling so relaxed. Just as with mindfulness, the feelings tend to get connected to the practice, so meditating when you are home, after the holiday should help bring the holiday relaxation and calm feelings back.
Practice Often
Once the vacation is over you can practice the mindfulness technique anytime, anywhere and you may notice the feeling of calm comes back with the focused mental state of being present. You can also do the same meditation where this time you will be mentally transporting yourself back there. Just as before, you can visualize the details in your mind’s eye. You may feel the calmness like a memory coming back and this may help lower any stress you may be experiencing back home. These techniques while not as good as going back on vacation, can help you to bring a little bit of that calmness back with you.
Meditations for Calm and Relaxation
We have a huge range of meditation and hypnosis downloads, so take a look in the shop. You can download instantly and start listening right away. Here are a few you might like:
Mindfulness for Peace and Calm