Relax with Yoga

Some people begin yoga for the health benefits and some for the calming, relaxing effect. I find yoga to be almost like a meditative practice. I gain strength, flexibility and relaxation. It can be intimidating to those who have never tried it… looking at photos of people twisted like pretzels, especially for men. It’s more important to honor your body and only do what is comfortable for you. If you’re not ready to start a class, try a video in the comfort of your home. Yoga for Stress Relief & Flexibility by Ashley Turner gives clear instruction and her voice is so calming. Have you tried yoga and did it relax you?

Body Scan Meditation

If you think meditation is only sitting with a quiet mind, try this technique. Sit comfortably or lie down and breathe slowly and deeply for a couple of minutes. Start to scan your body, focusing your attention on each body part from the top of your head all the way day to your toes. Notice any sensations in each body part, whether it’s discomfort, tight muscles, warmth or relaxation. When you find an area of discomfort or tension, imagine breathing warm or relaxation into that area. What area might be tense or uncomfortable in your body scan__________?

Turn Your Mood Around

If you are feeling overwhelmed at work (and we all have those days), you can make a few choices: you can moan and groan to your colleague, send a complaining text to your spouse or you can turn your mood around.
On your next break, listen to some upbeat music; at lunch, take a brisk walk outside, even if it’s cold; do some stretches and breathe; play a game on your phone (but keep track of your time) or call a friend to meet you after work for fun time to recharge. What works for you?

Comfort Food Substitution

If you are a comfort food overeater, reaching for food when upset, anxious, worried or sad, what do you do instead of eating when you have those uncomfortable feelings? This is the #1 reason so many people continue to depend on food to feel good. First of all, it does make you feel better… temporarily. But then you may feel guilt, shame or frustration. The answer lies in finding a healthy way to manage the oncoming feeling without food. What can you do in place of eating… that you would also enjoy.

Are You More Prone to Stress?

Certain characteristic traits may make you more prone to perceiving stressors. Do you catastrophize situations- expecting the worst-case scenario? Do you should all over yourself- having a rigid list of shoulds and should nots and feeling miserable if you don’t follow it? These are just a couple of the traits that will make you more stressed than your laid back friend. As always, awareness is the first step. Then learning to take charge of your stress is next. How do you manage your stress?

Sleep-inducing Ear Rubbing

If you’re lying in bed attempting to drift off to dream land after a very hectic, harried day, you may want to try this technique. The ears have reflexology points, like feet that correspond to body parts. Rubbing your ears can be very calming, relaxing and help you to sleep. Using your thumb and index fingers, gently rub your ears for 1-2 minutes from top to bottom. Bonus: add some deep belly breathing. See you in the morning…

Where Do You Feel Tension?

What if you could catch your tension just as it begins and stop it before it’s had a chance to take hold of your body and mind? Begin the process by starting to notice where in your body you often feel tension or stress. Does your belly bother you? or maybe your neck and shoulder muscles tighten and eventually start to ache? or perhaps the dreaded headache? We all carry stress in a particular part of our body and once we become aware of the area, the moment we feel it, we can use a calming technique like deep abdominal breathing or listening to relaxing music to break the cycle. Where do you feel tension?

Are You Enjoying Right Now?

Much of our tension and worry is based on our future-focused thoughts. What if this happens? I can’t stop thinking about ___. Worries about finances, our children, job security and a myriad of other anxiety-producing issues are all because we focus on the “what-ifs” and imagine the worst possible scenarios. What if… instead of doing that, you focus all of your energy and attention on what is happening right NOW. Otherwise, you may miss out on some amazing moments. Expend your energy here, right now and worry about what ifs, IF they ever happen. Are you present-time focused?

Holiday Traditions

The malls are packed, the highways are busy and people are getting cranky from tension to get all the holiday “to-do’s” accomplished. To get back to the simpler, less stressful holiday times, rekindle some of your family’s traditions as a focus, rather than the hustle and bustle of “spend all you can”, hit every party and have the most up-to-date decorations. We hang a very special ornament on our tree every year that belonged to my husband when he was a little boy. He would lay under the tree and blow under the bottom of the ornament and watch with delight as it spun around inside. What tradition do you follow?

Music and Pain

Probably partly because it distracts us, listening to music can help reduce pain. There are theories that it may affect how we perceive pain by causing the body to release endorphins. Listening to slow music does slow down breathing and heart rate. A study done at the University of South Alabama, Mobile was able to show that listening to either classical or self-selected relaxing music resulted in significant reduction in anxiety and anger. What do you like to listen to?

The Perfect Snack

Walnuts are not only a good source of monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, but this snack could help us better respond to stress. What more could you ask of a snack food? According to a study published in the Journal of the College of Nutrition, walnuts and walnut oil reduced blood pressure during stress. This was accomplished with the participants consuming 1.3 ounces of walnuts… a perfect snack size. Move over chips!

Fix Your Worries

If you are a chronic worrier, take charge of your worries by making a list of your biggest worries and putting them into 2 categories: solvable or unsolvable. The solvable ones you can brainstorm and take productive action; you have the power to make changes. But the unsolvable just waste your energy. Instead of worrying, embrace your feelings (i.e. anger, fear) and challenge the anxious thoughts that lead to your worrying. Which list is bigger… solvable or unsolvable?

Stress Backache

If you’ve been experiencing a backache, chronic stress could be the cause. Unless you have done something to injure your back, it may be the response of your back muscles to tension. Instead of their normal contracting and relaxing state, when you are tense, muscles can contract tightly causing spasms. When you are stressed, you also deal with pain less effectively. Besides relaxation techniques (always important), walking will help alleviate the discomfort.

Speak Softly and Be Calm

Even if you are not feeling calm, speak softly and more slowly and you will begin to feel less stressed and more relaxed. When you speak quickly and loudly, your energy is distressed and anxious, making it difficult for you and those around you to be calm. You’ll be amazed how that one conscious change shifts your feelings. The body/mind connection… our body reactions convince our mind “all is good”. Try it the next time you are tense and stressed.

Clutter-free and Stress-free

When you arrive home after a stressful day, your home should be your sanctuary of calm and peace. But if clutter is the first thing you see, it may be difficult to kick back and relax. Make it easy to be neat and organized with a place to unload everything as you walk through the door. Where do you hang your keys, put your mail, post notes of things to remember, lay the new magazines and newspapers? Once you get a system in place, no clutter dumped at the door and no searching for keys and papers.

Pet Therapy

Medications can cause an increase in the level of serotonin and dopamine that produce a sense of pleasure and calm. But according to a study done at the University of Buffalo, they are also released when we interact with our pets. There are a lot less side effects from petting Buddy than taking drugs. Which would you prefer?

Female-Female for Better De-stressing?

When it comes to coping with stress, women tend to be more social. Females band together to confide in each other, provide emotional support and encouragement. Men are more likely to deal with stress with either aggression or withdrawal. One study at UCLA suggested that a woman turning to another woman rather than her male partner in times of stress was the most beneficial. What do you think?

Relax and Unwind

After the long weekend, if your work day was non-stop, playing catch-up and stressing you out, don’t take that home with you. Do brief 10 minute stretches, walks or stairs during break time or right after work. Take 5 deep belly breaths every hour to slow down your autonomic nervous system. Tonight before you go to bed, try this yoga position (legs up wall pose) to relax you mind and body- see photo -> close your eyes and breath deeply for a few minutes. What else do you do to unwind after a busy day?

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Do you sweat the small stuff? It’s easy to fall into that spiral down when little things frustrate us. Next time, as soon as the first annoying thing sets you off, take out a sheet of paper or open a word document on your computer and write down 3 positive things in your life right NOW. No matter how bad things seem, we all have those good things: a pet that loves us unconditionally, sun shining in on our desk, luscious fruit from the farmer’s market, a baby’s smile… What positive things are in your life?

Videotaping Your Tantrum

Small annoyances seem to start your day off on a bad note- car out of gas or spilled your coffee. These minor daily aggravations can turn into major stressors, if we let them. Is it worth our health? Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, author of A Happy You suggests before snapping, pretend your are being videotaped. Although I don’t think we should be overly concerned about others opinions, we do behave differently when we know we are being taped. It may give a time to pause before we react…