Finding ways to relax isn't just good for your soul: it's vital for your work too.
BY JULIAN LEATHERDALE
W
e all know that 'all work and no play' makes Jack and Jill dull people, but did you know it can also make you physically sick? Not only is relaxation critically important to your health and wellbeing,
but some forms of it are much more effective than others. "It's about balance," says Sugata David English, a professional
masseur with high-profile business clients in Byron Bay and Sydney. "People in high-pressured situations feel like they don't have enough time and have physical stress from it." Sometimes the things we do to relax only leave us feeling
more tired. Lying on the couch watching TV with a glass of red while updating your Twitter feed can leave you exhausted rather than recharged. On the other hand, extending yourself on that challenging bushwalk, concentrating on a yoga, language or music class or focusing during meditation can deeply relax and refresh both mind and body. One of the main reasons for this is that work, 'busyness', daily
tasks – any activity where you feel scattered and under pressure – increases production of cortisol, the hormone responsible for the primal 'fight or flight' response. "When you switch off the stress response, you switch the nervous
system from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic system," Sugata explains. "That's when all the repair happens in the body."
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