Stress Relief
Stress is a word we hear all too often nowadays. Everything is stressful in our lives and we feel it from our stiff backs to our pounding heads. We have stress at work, stress at school, and stress during our commute to and from them. The one place we should be able to relax (our homes) has stress written all over it. It's in the laundry, the dishes, the dirty floors, and the kid's messy rooms. Some days you feel you are going to just blow your top or maybe pack up and run away to some tropical island where stress has never even been invented!
As wonderful as a tropical island sounds, it isn't realistic. Though there are things you can do to help alleviate some of the tension in your life. Relaxation practices that reduce stress are an easier alternative to hauling a suitcase overseas. Techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, visualization, meditation, and yoga can help you prompt a relaxation response, which is the body's natural antidote to stress. These activities lead to a reduction in your everyday stress levels when practiced regularly; boosting your feeling of joy and serenity and teaching you how to stay calm during those tough times in your life.
Deep breathing is a very good place to start if you are a beginner. You breathe all the time, sometimes even deeply, but this is a bit different. You want to slow down, breathe from your abdomen, taking in more oxygen. The more the input of oxygen, the less anxious and tense you feel. Sitting comfortably with your back straight, breathe in through your nose. Exhaling through your mouth, push out as much air as you can while contracting your abdominal muscles. In a slow, rhythmic pattern, continue to breathe this way until feel your tension melting away.
Progressive muscle relaxation for stress relief is another effective and widely used strategy. You tense and relax different muscle groups in the body, starting at the feet and working your way up to the facial muscles.
A variation on traditional meditation is Visualization, which can help relieve stress. Imagine a peaceful scene in which you feel calm, and let go of all tension and anxiety.
Meditation that promotes mindfulness is the quality of being fully engrossed in the present moment, without worrying too much about the experience. Rather than worrying about what happenned or what could happen, mindful meditation switches the focus to what's currently happening.
An excellent stress relief technique is Yoga. It involves a series of both stationary poses and motion, joined with deep breathing. The physical and mental benefits of yoga counteract the stress, and strengthen the relaxation response in your daily life.
No one deserves the tension and frustration stress can put on our daily lives. If stress has become a burden in your life and you don't know how to reduce its effects on your lifestyle, try one of these relaxation techniques, and you will no longer feel the need to run away!