How to subtly relax on a date
Dating can be a very nerve racking experience, you have agreed to meet someone you have no idea as to whether or not they are going to like you.
You don’t want to be pulling a stretch right in front of them or worse, having a panic attack. It’s perfectly normal to feel tense – you may suffer any of the following symptoms:
• tense muscles
• heart racing or pounding
• hyperventilating; feeling light-headed or faint
• persistent tiredness or exhaustion
• aches and pains
• loss of appetite or not eating well, perhaps with our stomach “in knots”
• developing minor ailments such as headaches, migraines or stomach upsets
• mind in a whirl; can’t think straight, concentrate or work effectively
• sense of rush and pressure, lack of time
The Solution
If you can start to feel yourself getting tense and feeling awkward the most effective way to relax without indicating you are feeling the way you do is through your breathing and subtle excercises.
BREATHING - When you are tense, your breathing tends to become faster and shallower. So, allow your breathing to come from lower down in your abdomen (this doesn’t mean inhaling a lot of air - rather, just a little air, but from low down) and this will help you to slow your breathing down a little (but don’t actually hold your breath). Let it become gentle, easy and regular. Once it is comfortable, you may be able to slow your breathing a little more.
FACE - There are many muscles in our face - used, of course, for speaking, eating, facial expression… This is one of the areas most likely to show tension. As with other muscle groups, it is possible to tense up and then relax these muscles. However, do not do this if you wear either contact lenses or dentures as they could be damaged. So here is an alternative method, which has the additional advantage of being less obtrusive in company.
Let all expression go from your face: let your forehead become smooth, your jaw sag with your teeth just apart (though your lips may still be closed), your eyes looking straight ahead and into the distance, and not squinting.
It may help you to do this if you think of a word which describes this particular expression -“vacant”; “empty”; “relaxed”; “gormless” are some possibilities! Put this particular expression on your face.
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READER COMMENTS:
great advice thanks, I always get nervous on a date. It gets worse the more you think about it and I guess the way out of that is to use relaxation techniques. I’ll let you know how I get on!!!
Posted by james T on Tue 23rd January 2007 at 03:03 PM | #