Relaxation Lessons from Around the World

For more than two decades, my approach to recovery has been shaped by three parts of my life:

Lessons from sport

The sporting world has long understood the relationship between recovery and performance. Sporting teams and world-class athletes invest as much money in recovery as they do in training and competition. I worked with David Misson when I first started at NSW Cricket. Misso and the medical team at the Sydney Swans (Matty Cameron and Dr Nathan Gibbs) lead the way in recovery in Australian sports conditioning. And while travelling the world with the Australian cricket team, I was immersed in the way other successful teams approached training and recovery. I call this my ‘practical PhD’ working in elite sport.

Recovery science

Dr Tom Buckley, Strive Stronger Research Director, and I have assessed thousands of employees, in multiple industries, to see exactly what is going on inside their bodies and brains. Our Human Performance Lab has taught us that recharging in the business world is about building in regular periods of strategic recovery, which we define as having two aspects:

• Parasympathetic activation (the relaxation response)
• Psychological detachment (switching off the brain)

Travelling and learning from other cultures

The third cornerstone of my approach to recharging comes from travelling around the world over the past five years and presenting at conferences – adventuring, searching, learning as I go. I love exploring what different cultures do to balance the ON and the OFF, the yin and the yang.

I know we are longing to see borders reopen so we can start travelling again. And when we are in that position, little planning can turn travel into adventure and fun. Look up and get off your mobile phone. Wake up and get out of bed to go for a walk, cycle, lift or swim and see the city come alive. And shake up your habits and stop playing the Same Game and simply eating in hotel restaurants; get outside and explore different areas of each city you visit.

Recovery strategies around the world

Let’s take a spin around the globe to see what I’ve observed about how other cultures get the balance right between ON and OFF . . .

• Russia: Russians love a trip to the banya, or bathhouse. The hot steam has many benefits, such as clearing the skin and fighting sickness, and the activity reduces stress and brings people closer together. If you can’t make it to a sauna, try having a hot shower or bath while you visualise a calm or peaceful image.
• Thailand: The ancient form of Thai massage starts with a meditation, followed by manipulations to relieve tight muscles, reducing sympathetic activation and leading to overall stress reduction in the body and brain. While the science behind massage therapy is still evolving, research suggests even a single session can reduce anxiety, lower high blood pressure and settle an increased heart rate. Massage has been associated with reductions of anxiety and depression, providing benefits similar to those of psychotherapy.        [1]
• Switzerland: Go for a hike! How good do you feel after a walk in the woods, or flushing your lungs with icy cold air on the side of a pristine mountain? Exercising outdoors results in reduced blood pressure, increased self-esteem, reduced tension, improved mood and enhanced problem-solving ability and creativity.        [2]
• Africa: Ngoma ceremonies, which incorporate rhythm from drums and dance, are used throughout Africa to help people address ‘difficult issues’, including chronic and mental illness. A recent study found that those who engaged in the ceremony experienced a reduction in stress and feelings of group support, giving credibility to dance as a therapeutic practice.        [3]
• Sweden: A Swedish tradition that’s been around since the 1700s is the fika, which describes taking a break for coffee and a small bite to eat. But it’s much more than a quick run to your morning java joint. It’s an opportunity to relax, catch up with friends or colleagues, and refresh before heading back to your day’s work. Try scheduling regular breaks into your day and catching up with friends a few times a week: it boosts creativity and productivity and prevents diminishing returns, which happens when concentrating on a project for too long.
• India: Yoga is thought to have originated in the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation in India more than 5000 years ago – well before activewear and kale smoothies. Although we typically think of yoga as a physical discipline, it incorporates mental and spiritual practices in addition to the asanas (postures). Studies have reported multiple benefits, including reduced tension and anxiety, greater physical strength and flexibility, better posture, higher executive function and better attention and processing speed and accuracy.        [4]
• China: With its roots in Chinese medicine, qigong is a collection of coordinated body postures, breathing techniques and meditations used for health, spirituality and healing purposes. The goal is to balance and cultivate your ‘life energy’. To experience the restorative effects of qigong for yourself, try ‘wave breathing’. Place one hand on your lower belly and one hand on your chest. Inhale and focus on filling up your lower abdomen first, then move into the ribs, with the chest being the last to expand. As you exhale, slowly reverse the movement, letting your chest drop down first, then ribs, and finally pushing all the breath out of your abdomen. Continue breathing like this for up to five minutes to feel calmer and more centred.
• Italy: The Slow Food movement is all about slowing down the pace of life and taking time to enjoy things that give us pleasure. The focus is on reconnecting with good food, with loved ones, with places, with life: these are the things that offer meaning. Slow Food is an antidote to the ‘throw it down as quickly as you can’ phenomenon of fast food. Oh, I do love Italy!
• Romania: By the Black Sea coast is Lake Techirghiol, famous for its mud bath treatments. The accumulation of salts in the water, due to the lake’s connection with the sea, creates a hypersaline environment that makes you feel as relaxed as a pig in mud!
• United States: While ice baths have become popular in recent years as a recovery technique for elite athletes, the Polar Bear Club in Massachusetts has been advocating jumping in icy water since 1903. The sports science behind ice baths suggests that exposure to freezing cold water helps combat microtrauma (small tears in muscles) caused by intense exercise. Ice baths are purported to constrict blood vessels, reduce swelling and flush waste products out of the system.        [5]

Andrew May

Notes:

        [1] C.A. Moyer, J. Rounds & J.W. Hannum (2004) ‘A Meta-Analysis of Massage Therapy Research’, Psychological Bulletin, 130 (1), 3–18.

        [2] A. Ewert & Y. Chang (2018) ‘Levels of Nature and Stress Response’, Behavioral Sciences, 8 (5), 49.

        [3] A.L. Vinesett, R.R. Whaley, C. Woods-Giscombe et al. (2017) ‘Modified African Ngoma Healing Ceremony for Stress Reduction: A Pilot Study’, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 23 (10), 800–804.

        [4] T. Field (2016) ‘Yoga Research Review’, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 24, 145–161.

        [5] J.M. Peake, L.A. Roberts, V.C. Figueiredo et al. (2017) ‘The Effects of Cold-Water Immersion and Active Recovery on Inflammation and Cell Stress Responses in Human Skeletal Muscle after Resistance Exercise’, The Journal of Physiology, 595 (3), 695–711.