LEARN TO RELAX

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21167, 17 July 1940, Page 5

LEARN TO RELAX

Don’t Keep That Upper Lip Too Stiff J FEEL like a good cry. Oh. Ido feel miserable ! I’ll burst into tears at any moment. All right, cry. Go on—cry ! Relax. Take out your handkerchief, run to your bedroom, flop—cry. It is good for you. When you’re het-up like that nothing is better for you than to open up the sluice gates and let the tears flow. For you know yourself how much better you feel after a nice comforting howl. Your troubles melt into nothing more than a wet patch on your pillow. Before we go any further, let me assure you that there is nothing to be ashamed about in crying. Don’t take for granted the stiff-upper-lip philosophy, for there comes a time when repressing tears does you harm. On the same principle as houses are provided with lightning-conductors, Nature has given you safety valves—and these are called tear ducts. Why do we want to cry ? To ease the tension; that is, quite simply, the reason for all our tears. We create tension in our minds and bodies when we touch extremes of happiness and unhappiness, and tears relieve that tension. Sometimes we work ourselves into a “state” without the excuse of a major tragedy : something quite trivial starts it—our head aches, our shoes pinch, we have the blues, and an overwhelming impulse to bang someone over the head with an inkpot. Well, it’s much better for you to open the safety valves than to chuck the inkpot. Ease your feelings. Cry, if it helps; relax. Keeping a stiff upper lip usually results in doctor's orders and that refrain : “Take a holiday. Leave your worries behind. Get right away from it all.” Sometimes you can manage to do the things which doctors so blithely command (doctors treat all women as if they were debutantes with rich fathers and an unlimited allowance to squander on holidays). You go away to the ssaside; to your aunt’s vicarage or to your friend in the country. Yes. you go away, but like the cow with a tin can tied to its tail, you take your worries with you. You find as little balm for your tired mind among your aunt’s hollyhocks as you did among the clatter of typewriters. Why ? Because you haven’t the first idea how to relax ! Tears do relax you, but only to a certain degree. By the time you are shaking hands with a nervous breakdown, you have created so much tension and strain in your make-up that only a thorough understanding of the processes of relaxation will restore you. Only the practice of this relaxation will give you back relief in yourself, rest to your body, and peace to your mind. Why was that holiday so futile ? Because as you watched the sun sink over the sea you were thinking : “Will they keep my job open for me ? Will the children manage without me ? Oh dear, I forgot to pay the laundry bill!” You took the tin can along with you, and it banged even louder in the stillness. Learn how to relax your mind and you will find life still has a kick. At the moment I am pretty certain you are using twice as many muscles as you need. Both your mind and body are subjected to ail sorts of unnecessary tension. Is the chair on which you are sitting taking your full weight ? Or are you supporting yourself by the muscles in your calves and ankles ? Are your hands lying relaxed or are they fidgeting ? Are your shoulders contracted while you read, or are they resting against your chair, relaxed ? And your face—are you wrinkling your forehead, puckering your mouth, gritting your teeth ? Must you hold this page so tightly ? Why are your legs twisted round one another ? Even in bed few people are “completely relaxed.” In fact, not even while they sleep do most people relax. Although your legs are stretc’. ?d out, you are tensing the muscles in your calves. The muscles down your spine are working, for your back is arched. Also you are not giving your mind any peace. While you are reading this article your brain is working overtime, trying to concentrate on these words, and also attempting to work out such problems as—what shall I wear tonight ? Does he love me ? Has the butcher over-charged me again ?