Do you sometimes look at your cat and wish that you too could live a life so leisurely? Although you might not be able to sleep all day long, you can take a few hints from your cat on how to be more relaxed.
1. S-t-r-e-t-c-h
Have you noticed how, sometimes, your cat gets up from a nap, stretches s few times, and then lies down to carry on sleeping? She does that to get her muscles moving after being inactive for a while.
Lesson for you When you are inactive for a long while, like sitting and working at your computer, take a break every now and then and do a few stretches. This will keep your blood pressure from dropping to low levels.
What to do Take a deliberate break of about five minutes every hour. Get up and stretch your body with your hands in the air, as high as you can. Take a deep breath. Brings your arms down and bend over while clasping your hands together. And stretch every muscle that you can. Exhale slowly.
Put your hands in the air again and move your body first to the one side and then to the other, while inhaling and exhaling slowly. Then, bring one knee to your tummy and hold it there for a few seconds, while balancing on the other foot. Swop around and bring your other knee to your tummy and hold it there for a few seconds as well. And relax. Now, continue with what you were doing.
2. Yawn
Cats yawn quite often, especially after they’ve just woken up.
Lesson for you Sometimes our bodies need some extra oxygen and that’s why we yawn.
What to do Have a deliberate, long yawn. Then, breathe in and out slowly. You can even close your eyes and focus on your breathing. This will help you to relax. You can do this as often as you feel necessary.
3. Just chill
Another thing cats are good at is to just sit and chill. They will happily sit on a windowsill and watch what’s going on outside.
Lesson for you Taking a mental break is sometimes necessary. You can see it as giving your mind a rest from constantly having to think and worry about things.
What to do Get yourself comfortable by sitting in your favourite chair, with a view that is relaxing. Switch off your TV and devices, and just enjoy the quiet. Try not to think about anything – just stare into space for as long as you feel comfortable doing so.
4. Practice makes purrfect
Stop feeling guilty about everything that you still need to do and take some time out to relax a bit. Watch how easily your cat does it, and follow her example.
