How Do You Relax?

August 4, 2025, 10:45 AM · HOW DO YOU RELAX? HERE'S SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT HAVE CONSIDERED:

Well, here's what all of us do every day without realizing it. We look at our day's violin to-do list, or at all the stuff on our desk or in the sink. We think about all the things we need to do or are concerned about.

Then we very, very quickly loosen our stomach muscles, and take a short, quick, shallow breath - It's the ordinary everyday sigh.

But what we don't realize is that this quick, shallow breath is actually a perfect relaxing breath. But we don't "experience" it as relaxing because it is so momentary that WE DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO IT.

So, take this kind ordinary breath (the ordinary, everyday sigh). But this time, PAY ATTENTION to the loosening stomach muscles, the brief inhaled breath, and the brief exhaled breath (the "sigh").

This is actually a perfect relaxing breath, and we will experience the relaxing effect when we PAY ATTENTION TO IT. And it is something we can do almost anywhere and at any time.

If you want to consider this as mindfulness, that's fine. But the actual mental process is FOCUS OF ATTENTION.

I hope this helps.

Cordially,
Sandy Marcus