How to Relax According to Relaxation Experts
In a world full of burnout, hustling and side gigs, relaxation may feel like a distant memory. But it doesn’t only feel good to take a break. Research shows that relaxation is fundamental to our health. In fact, studies have found that relaxing not only reduces stress and anxiety, but affects everything from our blood pressure to our heart rate and oxygen consumption.
What is the best way to relax? Everyone is different, and so different relaxation techniques work for different people. One of the best ways of finding what works for you is by reading about different techniques and then applying them to your life to see what fits.
That’s right. Not only is reading itself relaxing, but you can actually learn how to relax from books. Don’t have the time to read? That’s where Blinkist comes in — the app that gives you key insights from nonfiction books, and is loved by Apple and 20 million users.
Instead of stressing over trying to find the right relaxation book for you — wasting time, money and energy — you can simply use one app to quickly get the key insights on many different techniques all in one place. Below, we’ve highlighted some powerful ideas from our favorite books by relaxation experts.
– 5-Star Review
How Blinkist Can Help You Relax
Blinkist gathers key insights from non-fiction books and shares them as 15-minute reads and listens. The app has 5,000 titles to choose from across 27 categories like mindfulness, psychology, and productivity.
Each bite-sized explainer shares everything you need to know about a book in a fraction of the time it would take to read it cover to cover. You can get tips, tricks, and insights from the world’s best books, no matter how busy you are.
But Blinkist helps its users achieve more than just boosting their reading. When the app surveyed 3,500 of its US users, it found that 87.5% of them make changes to their lives based on what they’ve learned on the app. To help them achieve this, Blinkist uses neuroscientific research methods to make its content easy to digest and hard to forget.
Our Top Picks Written by Relaxation Experts
Let’s look at some of the powerful ideas we can get from Blinkist’s library.
Lovingkindness by Sharon Salzberg
Lovingkindness
- 27 min reading time
- audio version available
Blink #2: A mind saturated with lovingkindness can’t be overcome by fear.
Salzberg, who has been practicing Buddhist meditation for 50 years, outlines the concept of lovingkindness, or what Buddhists call metta. The Blink says “Metta encompasses love, kindness, and friendship,” and shares the Buddhist teaching that metta can uproot negative forces, like anger or fear.
The Blink also guides you through a meditation to cultivate lovingkindness toward yourself, people who have helped you, and even people who have harmed you.
Forest Bathing by Qing Li
Forest Bathing
- 12 min reading time
- audio version available
Blink #1: Forest bathing is a Japanese practice based on the healing power of nature.
In this Blink, Li outlines what exactly shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, is. The Blink says that the practice involves “basking in nature and connecting with it in a healing way,” and shares that this could be as simple as a walk in the park.
This Blink also shares an insight into some of the health benefits of forest bathing, like reducing stress.
Fully Present by Susan L. Smalley and Diana Winston
Fully Present
- 15 min reading time
- audio version available
Blink #1: Eating mindfully lets you truly appreciate food.
It’s all too easy to eat dinner in front of the television, or rush through lunch at your desk. But Smalley and Winston share tips on slowing down and actually appreciating your food.
This Blink guides you through a mindful eating exercise you can do at home, starting with thinking about where a piece of food came from, moving on to noticing what it looks like before finally — finally! — taking a bite and savoring it.
Pause by Rachael O’Meara
Pause
- 12 min reading time
- audio version available
Blinkist #1: There are five common signs that you need a break, now.
With 13 years working at Google and now working as a stress management mentor, Author Rachael O’Meara knows what stress is and how to stop it before it starts. O’Meara’s solution? Knowing when you need to take a break is half the battle. In this Blink, O’Meara shares five signs to look out for. These include dreading something you used to look forward to, hating your job, poor performance, overusing technology, and feeling discontent.
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim
Blink #1: When your mind rests, the world rests.
Haemin Sunim, one of the world’s most influential Zen Buddhist teachers, shares a key teaching from the philosophy in this Blink: what our mind focuses on, becomes our reality. So instead of focusing on the past or worrying about the future, we should instead live in the now.
To manage your stress levels, Sunim suggests making a list of everything you need to do — from big work tasks to everyday chores. With these to-dos out of our minds and onto the page, you can keep things in perspective and start tackling them one by one.
Want to discover more powerful ideas from experts like these? Here’s how Blinkist can help.
A Book Explained in 15 Minutes
Reading a good book may be relaxing, but that doesn’t mean we all have time for it. Blinkist makes it easy to learn from books, no matter how busy your schedule is. The app shares key insights from nonfiction books in easy-to-digest explainers.
Each explainer contains actionable advice, real-life case studies, and entertaining anecdotes, so you not only learn from each one—but you enjoy them, too.
Learning on the Go
Want to turn your commute into an opportunity to expand your mind? Or add learning to your daily dog walk? Every explainer on the app is available in audio form, so you can listen hands-free while driving, cooking, or working out.
– Ian Warner, Olympic Athlete and FIXT Founder
If you like what you’re listening to, Blinkist offers the full audiobook of many titles right in the app. And podcast lovers can get key insights from their favorite episodes in just 15 minutes with Shortcasts.
A Whole Library of Powerful Ideas
Beyond these five books, there are more than 5,000 in the app to choose from. So, as well as relaxation, you can learn about everything from entrepreneurism to psychology, leadership to nutrition. Keep work-related skills sharp, upgrade your personal life with new ideas or learn more about topics that have always interested you.
Plus, the library is always growing; the Blinkist team adds 40 new titles every month, and best-selling books and trending titles are added weekly.
One of the World’s Best Apps
Don’t just take our word for it. Blinkist has won awards from Google and the UN and has been featured in Forbes, The Guardian, and The New York Times. Apple named it one of the top 20 apps for lifelong learning, and even Apple CEO, Tim Cook, is a fan.
– The United Nations
But, most importantly, it’s loved by users around the world — 20 million of them to be exact — who use the app to add learning to their daily lives.
Ready to join them and read up on relaxation? Download the Blinkist app to get started.