Are You Colourful Enough?
If you follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn you will probably have heard me talking about my trip to the spa recently. I went with my daughter as my darling family seemed to think I needed a treat and who was I to argue?
It was wonderful, pure and unadulterated relaxation. One of the most relaxing and yet stimulating ‘activities’ (if you can call lying on a couch in a white towelling robe an activity) was also one of the most simple.
It was in a circular room, draped in white fabric tented style with luxurious seating, candles, low lighting and soft birdsong type music. All the senses were indulged. In the centre were four different sized glass columns full of gently bubbling water which changed colour every few minutes. The effect was very gentle and calming yet sitting there I did more thinking about Life and the Universe than I have in ages. It was a great experience for my business as well as for my health.
Colour Your Life
It’s well known that colour can have a great effect on our imaginations and problem solving abilities. Yet I still visit workplaces which are dull and uninspiring, where the dominant colour is battle ship grey. If you work in such a place you are probably not consciously aware of the dulling effect it may have on you.
So try and jazz it up. Introduce some colour into your workplace, maybe with plants, posters, crayons on desks. This is particularly important if you don’t have access to a window and can’t see natural light. In those circumstances orange (sun like) can be a good colour to introduce somehow. Have some fun.
Some companies instinctively do the right thing. For example,I am in discussion with a large organisation looking with some advice for managers in helping staff be more creative, more involved and energised. They have chosen a very stimulating environment for this day and are busy incorporating lots of fun in amongst the serious stuff. I know they will get at least as good results, if not much better, than if they had gone down the standard team day route!
How much colour is there in your life? How could you zest up your life with a little bit of colour and relaxation?
Relax – Just Breath
Try this as the long week end bank holiday approaches in the U.K.
Take yourself to a quiet spot.
Close your eyes.
Let out a much longer breath than useful.
Notice your breathing for a few moments.
Imagine now, as you take a new fresh breath in, that it is filling with you a beautiful energy. Make it coloured it if you want, your favourite colour.
And as you breathe out imagine all the cares of the week going with it.
Smile.
Have a great week end!
Your Leisure Questions
As much of the UK returns to work following a long week end it seems a good time to ask a few questions about your attitude to relaxing. Your leisure time, the time that ‘feeds’ you, when you relax.
- Can you remember when you last felt totally relaxed?
- Where were you and what made it relaxing? Were you in control of events or was it a combination of external events?
- How often do you consciously make time in your life to relax, or do you think it should just happen spontaneously?
- Are there certain conditions that need to be met for you to be relaxed?
- Does your best relaxation come when you are with others, or alone?
- Do you give your relaxation time priority or is the first thing to go when times get busy?
- How often do you need your leisure/relaxation time?
- Do you know when you are next going to recharge your batteries?
Do share your favourite tips for relaxation. Regular readers will know that pottering in my garden is one of mine, but I have also recently rediscovered the joy of reading (not work related) in the middle of the day! What do you do to recharge?
Surviving the Festivities! Tip 11
Breathing is Good for You!
If you feel yourself getting a little het up or stressed, try out this very quick tension reliever:
1) Sit down
2) Close your eyes
3) Breathe out one longer breath than normal (count during a normal out breath then make this one a few counts longer- but don’t hyperventilate or make yourelf feel uncomfortable. that would be totally missing the point….)!
4) Breathe normally for a few breaths. Enjoy the sensation of resting your eyes.
5) Breathe out a longer breath again. This is having the effect of helping you take more air into your lungs and breathe more deeply without over breathing.
6) Repeat this twice more. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.
7) Carry on as normal, but hopefully a little more refreshed!
Do Nothing!
Here’s an idea – do nothing! Yes, really. Sometimes the best thing we can do about a problem is to do nothing at all.
You may well have been told to ‘sleep on it’ by parents, friends etc and they are right. Haven’t you noticed how really good ideas seem to ‘just come to you’ in the moments before you drift off to sleep? Or the answer to a question that has been niggling you all day just suddenly comes to you? For example, ‘What was the name of that actor in that film, the name of which I can’t quite remember!’
Visualisation
The technique of visualisation also allows us to tap into our subconscious to find solutions and improve our performance. Sportsmen have been doing it for years. Good coaches will give their student an instruction like ‘Now close your eyes and see the golf ball soaring down the fairway and landing perfectly on the green’. They do this because it’s like a mental rehearsal.
If you get really good at relaxation and visualisation you can actually bring the body to that state of relaxation we reach just before sleep. You become very relaxed allowing your subconscious space to work, yet you are still mentally alert.
The reverse also works, so an unsporting player might point out all the potential obstacles: “Watch out for that particularly nasty bit of road on your run, everyone comes a cropper there” The person immediately starts to see themselves falling or tripping at that point giving their competitors a distinct advantage!
Relax
I use the techniques of relaxation in my seminars and books because it works. In ‘When Work isn’t Working’ I have written one specifically to help readers tap into what they really want from a career, with a visualisation of your perfect day at work.
So if you find yourself stuck for an idea, stop trying. Allow yourself to relax, do nothing, but simply sit and stare for a while! Even Albert Einstein claimed he didn’t really have any special talent at all, other than the ability to visualise so you will be in good company.
Music While You Work.
Turn on your radio and work better!
When I was a child I was often chastised for playing music while studying. My defence was always a plaintive ’It helps me work better’, and, I might have added, blocks out the noise of my two younger brothers!
It was with great pleasure that I later found out that there is scientific evidence to back up my claim of working better with music! (Although I am not sure if what I am about to tell you applies to the music of the 70s…..) However, I now use music regularly in my seminars, usually the music of Mozart, and here’s why.
George Lozanov
The first clinical evidence of the effect of Mozart’s music on the human body was noted by Dr George Lozanov, a Bulgarian medical researcher. He wrote:
“that a very specific form of music can induce a relaxed state in the body- but, with one very major difference. The music induced relaxation and, at the same time, left the mind alert and able to concentrate.”
Natural Rhythms
Subsequent research has shown that the natural rhythms of the body – breathing, heartbeats, and brain waves – tended to synchronise themselves to the underlying beat of the music. The results were amazing! Heartbeats slowed by an average of 5 beats per minute, blood pressure decreased and beta waves in the brain decreased.
All Music?
A wide range of music was tested but Lozanov’s results showed that music with a very slow, stately, restful rhythm of 60 beats per minute was best for inducing a heightened state of alert, focussed relaxation.
Subsequent studies have supported this original research and demonstrated the profound effect of Mozart’s music on creativity, learning and relaxation. For example, one study at the University of California found that students who listened to Mozart’s music for 10 minutes prior to an exam did better than those who hadn’t! Although maybe listening to any music would have had this effect!
Relaxation
If you want to try this out for yourself here are some suggestions, all written by Mozart:
Piano Concerto 27 in B flat major KV595, Larghetto
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra 21 in C major KV476, Andante
Divertimento 15 in B flat for two Horns and Strings KV287
Try it out and let me know if you experience the so called Mozart effect!
