Gloomy? here are 4 exercises to boost your joie de vivre

The body scan

To be done when you wake up, this exercise only takes 10 minutes to start the day on the right foot. Through a sequence of muscle contraction and relaxation, it focuses on physical relaxation to better activate psychic relaxation. Because striving not to think that you are stressed is useless: the negative imagination being always stronger than the will, you must first induce a break in the thought process.

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– When you wake up: lying in bed, head flat, body relaxed, close your eyes and breathe calmly.

– Hold this breathing rhythm and successively contract/release your calves, thighs, glutes, abs, forearms, arms, shoulders, neck and finally your face. Be aware of each muscle contraction, because this is how you will be able to release them effectively and calm the mind.

– During the day: do this seated exercise quickly, concentrating only on your arms and shoulders or on your thighs and glutes.

The commanded smile

When the opportunities to smile spontaneously are rare, it is important not to deprive yourself of forcing nature: the smile on command activates the same brain areas “as in real life”, offering the same cascade of benefits: reduction of cortisol , so stress, release of endorphins which are the hormones of well-being, feeling of happiness, joy…

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– Practice the commanded smile as often as necessary, including once in the morning when you wake up. It only takes 1-2 minutes

– Take a few deep, wide breaths, then smile physically and mentally.

– Close your eyes without ceasing to smile with your lips and imagine this smile going up, flooding your skull and then going down flowing throughout your body.

The Castafiore

Whether you sing like a diva or a pan doesn’t matter! Vocalizing loud and clear is sovereign for de-stressing and regaining fishing: it mobilizes the diaphragm (respiratory muscle which restores breath in every sense of the word) and above all, it awakens the vagus nerve which crosses the pharynx and the larynx and whose tone is vital to nervous balance.

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– Sing loudly for 5 to 10 minutes whenever you have the chance, in the bathroom, in the car, whatever. Just avoid sad songs!

– Intersperse a “vowel song” from time to time, chaining them as follows and maintaining the sound as long as possible: A-È-É-U-OU-EU-O. This sort of yoga of sound makes it possible to accentuate letting go by the resonance effect of the vibrations of the voice.

The Emotion Washer

To practice in the evening or at bedtime to deprogram the negative emotional residues and not to ruminate all night or as soon as you wake up, the exercise consists of redoing the film of the day in reverse. By trying to remain a spectator and detached so as not to emotionally relive the sequences. Not easy at first, but you get there quickly!

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– Lying in bed, neck on a flat pillow, one hand on your stomach, the other on your heart, review the past day starting from the present moment and going back to waking up.

– When you encounter a pleasant event (compliment, giggle…), stop for a few seconds and mentally say to yourself “I feel this pleasant feeling and I keep it in me”

– When you encounter an unpleasant event (fear, argument…), tell yourself mentally “I am aware of what happened, I know that I will do better next time”

>> Thanks to Doctor Yann Rougier, doctor specializing in psycho-neuro-immunology, author of My chrono biblebiology, Editions Leduc.