Breathing: The Real Secret To Stress Relief
It has never occurred to most people that something they do everyday, every night – continuously – can be a source of powerful stress relief.
I remember when my father’s friend was doing an awards presentation. For entertainment he said he was going to test how observant we were. He then told us NOT to look at our wrist watches and asked questions about the color, the type of watch is was, were the numbers Roman Numerals or regular English numbers and so on. NO ONE was able to answer all the questions.
Another, better known, story is about Christopher Columbus. When Columbus arrived in the new world and landed on his rowboat…the natives could not see his ship out at sea! Their familiarity with their environment and the ocean in particular was such that they couldn’t perceive the ship. An elder medicine man who had the flexibility of perception had to describe the ship to his fellow tribesmen before they could see it.
This same familiarity applies to how we perceive our breathing.
Our breathing is something that we have become so familiar with that we are almost completely unaware of its effects. Consider this, our breath bridges our conscious and unconscious i.e. unconsciously we are always breathing and at any time we can consciously focus on our breathing.
This is important to remember because all our emotional states are reflected in our breathing. If we are stressed our breathing tends to be shallow and focused in our upper lungs.
In fact jerky breathing itself will actually increase anxiety and stress. While when we are relaxed we tend to breathe fully into our belly. Practicing belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) can be extremely beneficial.
Simply knowing this can make a big difference like remembering to breath deeply if you are stressed to feel better. In other words, you had an unconscious shallow/jerky breathing pattern when you were stressed and by consciously taking control you can choose a breathing pattern that is better for your mind and body.(which would be diaphragmatic breathing)
In Yoga, breathing is considered to be so important that before any task a yogi first prepares his/her breathing. Proper breath control is considered the key to healthy living. In fact, learning to do proper diaphragmatic breathing has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety permanently.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Sit or stand with your back straight, put your hand on your belly and breath in a slow and deep pattern. Don’t try to overfill the lungs or empty them – just breath softly – expanding your belly on the inhale and contracting on the exhale. Keep your attention focused on your breathing. You will find that your mind will tend to drift. That is normal. Simply return your attention to your breath when you notice you got distracted. Allow the relaxation from this breathing pattern to spread through your body and just enjoy yourself.
Practicing diaphragmatic breathing on a regular basis will alleviate stress and give you the ability to manage your stress better. All because of some deep and slow breathing.
By Abbas Abedi
Learn how to reduce your stress in 2 minutes, remove stress with a thought and more from my free e-course “4 Days to Break Free From Stress”. Join now by visiting, Free e-Course
Stress Relief For Moms: What Can You Do?
Perhaps you’ve always thought that a toolkit was something men liked but wasn’t something you ever wanted to own for yourself. Well, if we’re talking about the clanking sort that is used to repair things then I’m not surprised. However, there is another kind of toolbox and it is the mom life saver kind, the one full of resources that you can use to give yourself a break or a quick pep up in order to continue on with what you were doing.
While the standard things like coffee, cakes, chocolate and alcohol maybe your first port of call when things get tough, they really aren’t the best things to use. There is no denying that they can be great short term fixes but they carry a price tag in the form of reduced performance later on. Instead of relying on these things to get you through it is better to find better solutions and enjoy a glass of wine because you want one not because you ‘need’ it.
What exactly ought to go in your stress relieving toolbox?
. websites that you enjoy visiting – they could be your favorite mom stress relief blogs, magazines, parenting sites, celebrity gossip – just make sure that they make you feel better about yourself and life and don’t stress you out further.
. music – get a collection of your favorite music together and keep it in one spot.
. healthy food in the fridge and freezer so you aren’t tempted to go for the quick sugar hit when you get low on energy
. flower essences – Bach’s Rescue Remedy is one you could try. You don’t have to wait until a specific event sends you into overdrive, you can try taking it morning and night as a preventative.
. essential oils – mix up your own soothing blend.
. exercise options – from stretches to relieve specific aches to full cardio workouts – match your mood to your exercise of choice.
. list of relaxing activities you enjoy and the phone numbers/contact details to make it happen. Set a page aside in your diary and list out the activities you find relaxing and your preferred venue. That way you always have options and not being able to get an appointment at your first choice won’t make you feel more stressed.
You may find it helpful to draw up a list of all the items that are in your toolkit (at least the headings, if not the full list of activities/resources) and place it somewhere you’ll see it. On the fridge, noticeboard or office wall are all good places so that when you get stressed you can instantly find relief.
Being a mother today is more demanding than ever before because we have higher expectations for our children and there are more demands on our time. Moms need stress relief! And they need it now. For stress relief tips and options visit Stress Relief
Categories: Stress Relief Tags: Moms, relief, stress
abdominal breathing exercise for stress relief & panic attacks
Do you find yourself holding your breath? Do you suffer from stress. This breathing exercise is based on the ancient practise of Hatha Yoga. It is an isometric exercise for the stomach, and may also help with the relief of stress and panic attacks. Pulling the belly button towards the spine engages and retrains the deepest abdominal muscles. This also has a strengthening effect on the spine. At the office and at home, take a 3 minute breather when you start to feel the negative effects of stress. The video has been encoded with the Schumann Earth Frequency Resonance for added benefits.
11 Simple Yet Powerful Meditations For Immediate and Long-Term Stress Relief & Management
To achieve long-term stress relief and management, meditation has been shown to be the most effective technique to use. There are many types of meditation beginning with simple breathing to using visualizations and images to help focus and/or relax the mind and body. Doing these exercises can help you give your brain a “charge”, helping enhance your memory, focus and ability to relax, as explained in the following article from Time Magazine http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1147167,00.html
Exercise: Basic Meditative State “The Empty Mind”
The Empty Mind Preparation:
The key to this meditation is to focus on your breathing and everytime you notice your mind straying to any thought just bring your attention back to your breathing.
Relax your body completely by visualizing each major muscle group relax and let go. Now do a 4 to 1 count as follows:
Take in 4 deep breaths, repeating “4″ to yourself as you exhale. Then take 3 deep breaths, repeating “3″ when you exhale. Now take 2 deep breaths, repeating “2″ when you exhale. Finally, take 1 deep breath, repeating “1″ as you exhale.
. Imagine that you are a passive observer of something very relaxing where there is repetitive motion. For Example: relaxing on the beach, watching the waves go back and forth or just lying in the grass and watching as the clouds move by overhead.
. Finally, now you want to cause your mind to go completely blank. As you are focusing on this repetitive movement, begin to envision a blank form.
. Maybe this blank form will arise as ‘gaps’ in your thoughts. I.e. there are always gaps in thought, become aware of yours. Allow these gaps to expand.
. If you get lost in thought and notice, then you are already succeeding in the meditation. As you NOTICED getting lost.
. Allow each thought to pass as easily as it came in, expanding your awareness of the ‘gaps’.
10 Quick and Effective Meditations For Stress Relief Management
1 Breathing In Colors
Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight. Then choose a color. You can pick any color you like, from blue, to gold, to red. Breathe in each color till it feels like your body and mind are filled with the color. Continue to meditate on colors that make you feel wonderful or relaxed or peaceful.
2 Your Special Place
Pick a place you feel safe and comfortable. Visualize this place clearly and step in, following the steps in Exercise 10. Spend some time meditating as if you are actually there.
3 A Deep Pond
Imagine a deep blue pond. Notice some fish below the surface darting around. Take a silver coin from your pocket and toss it into the center of the pond. As the coin slowly drifts down allow yourself to relax.
4 Walking Meditation
While walking start becoming aware of your breath. Expand this awareness to include the feel of the clothes on your body and the feel of your feet on the ground. While continuing your awareness of your breath and body, become aware of the place you are walking and the scenery around you. Finally, being aware of breath, body and surroundings add the huge dome of the sky above you and the earth below you. Breathe deeply and relish this expanded sense of awareness.
5 Eating Meditation
It helps to be grateful before you eat as this prepares your mind to enjoy the meal. Take each bite consciously and enjoy the taste and texture. Chew slowly and take your time.
6 Candle Flame Meditation
Light a candle and sit comfortably in front of it. Focus only on the flame allowing any thoughts arising to just pass by. Watch how the candle dances. Then close your eyes and continue to focus on the flame in your minds eye. If you lose the image open your eyes and gaze at the candle again. If you like you can imagine any thought arising to go and burn up in the flame. This will help you attin a focused meditative state.
7 Breathing In A Smell
Smell is very important to us and easily alters our internal states. Pick a flower or food that smells extremely good to you. Breath in this smell deeply and slowly. Take your time enjoying the feeling of the smell “fill” your body.
8 Mirror Meditation
Get a mirror and sit comfortably in front of it. Look into your eyes and repeat any affirmation you would like to meditate on. For example, “I feel relaxed” or “I am confident” and so on.
9 Mental Rehearsal
Professional Athletes spend time not only practicing but also mentally rehearsing their moves. Studies have shown that this mental rehearsal improves actual performance. Think of an activity that you would like to excel at. Spend time visualizing each move exactly how you want o do it. Do this in detail. Then repeat several times. You can enhance this ability by doing the candle flame meditation before this.
10 Smile Meditation
Studies have shown that a genuine smile releases endorphins into your bloodstream, relieving stress and even rejuvenating your entire mind and body. The smile meditation is easy to do and very effective at feeling really good, quickly.
. Think of something funny to start you smiling. It could be an event, a movie, a cute baby or even a puppy. Anything to bring a good smile on your face.
. Imagine this smile spreading over face, down your neck and into your body.
. Meditate on the smile till your whole body begins to feel like a big smile.:-)
All the above meditations can be done quickly and easily (for a few people it may take a little practice). Practice on the train, sitting in a waiting room, or just when you need a quick burst of stress relief, relaxation and energy.
Categories: Stress Relief Tags: Immediate, longterm, Management, Meditations, Powerful, relief, simple, stress
Anxiety, Stress, Fear, Anger, Mental Health & Nutrition
Be My Friend – www.myspace.com Nutrition by Natalie The Truth about Anxiety, Stress, Fear, Anger, Mental Health & Nutrition Part 3 in series about Stress. Stress is an emotional reaction of anger or anxiety. The effects of stress on your physical health, mental health and emotional health. The symptoms of stress. Stress information. Stress management. Stress relief. Future videos will discuss stress reduction, anger management, Stress management, anxiety management. The Psychology of Anxiety, Stress, Fear & Anger www.youtube.com Stress, Anxiety, Drugs The Truth about; Nutrition by Natalie www.youtube.com Nutrition and Your Mental Health www.youtube.com Natural Stress Relief Tip – Nutrition by Natalie www.youtube.com Phobia, Social Anxiety, Xanax, PTSD, Psychology by Sandy www.youtube.com How Stress Affects Health – Austin Wellness www.youtube.com Truth about Caffeine, Nutrition, Austin Wellness www.youtube.com Xanax (anxiolytic addiction and withdrawal) www.youtube.com Please visit Natalie’s website at www.nutritionbynatalie.com This video was produced by Psychetruth http www.youtube.com ©Copyright 2008 Zoe Sofia. All Rights Reserved. This video maybe displayed in public, copied and redistributed for any strictly non-commercial use in its entire unedited form. Alteration or commercial use is strictly prohibited.
What is Stress Relief: part 1
Here is a simple definition of stress, one which you won’t find in a dictionary….
‘Stress is anything you expend energy on’
Yes, everything you do is stressful. Why? Because it uses up energy from the body.
With society being the way it is, traumatic events, catastrophes, etc are deemed to be stressful, which they are. But these are huge traumas; it is the day to day minor stresses that cause most of your problems.
It is these small accumulating stresses that eat away without you knowing. It is like the proverbial straw that breaks the camels back. Each day things increase until one day some minor event happens and all hell breaks loose.
Most people have noticed a friend, family member, co-worker go completely crazy after what seemed a minor event. It would have seemed bizarre, as from your perspective the event didn’t warrant that huge reaction. This is how ‘road rage’, domestic violence etc occurs.
It is the accumulation of stress that one day allows a minor stress to cause a complete snap. Then the body reacts.
But day to day these stresses are eating away at your health also. Stress is attributed to most of your life shortening diseases. Why?
Because stress eats away at your core level, it affects your ability to heal, recover, resist and prevent disease.
So like I said, “Stress is anything you expend energy on”. But there is also good stress.
Good Stress is where you expend energy on an activity but it returns a greater volume of energy to you. Either immediately, or with time as you continue the activity. For example, exercise is stressful on the body, but done correctly is a good stress.
Bad Stress is where you expend energy on an activity and get less or nothing back. Worries, fears, anxieties, work pressures and deadlines, and many others. Bad Stress is the main cause of your ill health. It is the stress that affects you most and the one you must learn to deal and cope with.
So if everything is stressful, can you group stresses to make it easier to combat and prevent. Sure.
In part 2, I will group the different types of stress, why? Once you where stress comes from, it is easier to work out a plan to combat it.
Fast Stress Relief is dedicated to teaching you ways to remove stress; simply, easily and quickly. Using a combination of Eastern and Western techniques – stress can be removed, repelled and prevented … fast.
For all the Tips & Techniques to Reduce Stress and Boost Your Energy simply click here…
Categories: Stress Relief Tags: Part, relief, stress
What is Stress Relief: part 2
Knowing what stress is, is the first step at knowing how to deal with it. Knowing what types of stress there is helps even further.
There are a few simple groups you can place stresses into…
Physical…Immune…Emotional…
Physical Stress: Are stresses that tax your physical frame. Injuries, falls, bumps, sprains, strains etc. These put undue stress on your joints, muscles, ligaments etc. If there is too much stress then injuries in sport, home or work may happen.
Gravity fits into this category. So you need to look at ways to reduce Physical stresses, so that injuries are less likely. But also if you have less physical stress, you expend less energy combating it, which in turn releases energy back into your system to use elsewhere.
Immune Stress: is stress which affects your ability to prevent disease, infection but also includes stresses on most of your organs. Liver, bowel, lungs, kidneys etc.
Food and all its additives, colorings are stressful to the body. Fast foods, junk foods, foods high in fats, sugars etc.
But also, environmental stresses affect the immune response. Allergies, whether it is the Hay Fever season, pollens, grasses etc tax the respiratory system. Pollution does also.
Infections that go through the school yard, community and work place are all immune stresses.
Emotional Stress: this is always the area you attribute most stress to. The work place antics, the home life with all its pressures, families including the extended family, including in-laws etc.
Is depression for example a stress?
No. It is a result of your inability to deal with stress. Grief, sadness, depression, anger etc are all reactions to stress. If your ability to deal with emotional stresses increase, then you tend to respond to stress rather than react to it.
The emotional stresses around you are numerous; they tend to be pressures exerted on you from work mates, bosses, family, work commitments etc. Can you eliminate these? Mostly you can’t, you still have to go to work, and deal with the people around you.
But if you have the mechanisms to deal with emotional pressures then like I said before, you should be able to shrug off the emotional pressures without feeling their ill-effects.
If you deal better with the day to day pressures emotionally, then the major upheavals will be managed better. Life is emotional, if you have a death in the family, lose your job, divorce/separation; these will always knock you around emotionally.
However, if you have a better resistance to stress then the physical effects of emotional stress shouldn’t happen. Major stresses will be emotional, but should not hit you physically, the immune system should still function correctly, energy should remain high etc.
Look at emotional stress this way….
If you were put in front of an audience of 10,000 people, asked to give a speech on something you knew little about. Most of you would be nervous, agitated, and stressed completely. You would have an upset stomach, feel jittery and jumpy, probably snap at people, etc.
However, if you took away all the physical ill-effects of stress, the nervous stomach, the jumpy muscles, and the quivering voice etc. If there was only the emotional stress, but no physical effects. Then the speech wouldn’t feel stressful.
You would have nothing going wrong physically, mentally your brain was calm, energy was high. Then the speech would be no problem at all.
Dealing with emotional stresses allows this to happen. Can you eliminate emotional stress? No. But you can learn to deal with it better.
So stress is all around you and also within you (emotionally), can you change this and make life better. Sure!
Learn to deal with all stresses, not just the emotional, the physical and immune stresses. Learn to reduce stress quickly and easily, use techniques that cover all stress. Stress is said to be the number 1 killer today. Reducing stress is a life saver; you just need to know what to do and how to do it.
Fast Stress Relief is dedicated to teaching you ways to remove stress; simply, easily and quickly. Using a combination of Eastern and Western techniques – stress can be removed, repelled and prevented … fast.
For all the Tips & Techniques to Reduce Stress and Boost Your Energy simply click here…
Categories: Stress Relief Tags: Part, relief, stress
Yoga and Meditation for Stress
www.sikhnet.com In this video Gurucharan Singh talks about the effects of stress on our mind and body and gives a Kundalini Yoga excercise and meditation to help you deal with this stress. Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, Ph.D., is a yogi, psychotherapist, teacher and writer, and a recognized expert in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. He is also the founder and the Director of Training of KRI (Kundalini Research Institute).
Categories: Yoga Tags: meditation, stress, Yoga
The Office – Steve Carell Interview – Stress Relief (Super Bowl Special)
funniest episode ever
Categories: Stress Relief Tags: Bowl, Carell, Interview, office, relief, special, Steve, stress, Super
Factors Affecting Stress Relief for Women
Women experience more stress than ever. They are more active than ever before and have far more to do in the process of a day than ever before. With all of the things to do, there is even more stress to deal with. Women need stress relief more than ever. When it comes to stress, it can be hard to deal with and if it isn’t taken care of, women can experience major health problems in the long run. Not to mention that if you already have health problems, stress can make things even worse.
Given the very different chemical and hormonal make-ups of the two genders, women’s health has emerged as a very specific branch of medical research. Thanks to all of this research, better and better answers have emerged for the problems that women of all ages face. The growing knowledge and popularity of women’s health issues have spawned an entire product line of supplements and things that are specifically designed for women.
Doctors have found out that the natural estrogen that a woman’s body produces can be effectively replaced, thus reducing the difficult symptoms of menopause. Research has shown that stimulating a woman’s natural progesterone levels is particularly beneficial in numerous ways, most notably regarding troublesome conceptions. Even osteoporosis, which threatens all older women, has become a lot clearer in recent years.
Even cosmetic complaints, like the effects of aging and weight problems can be addressed in various ways. The most gentle and independently proactive solution is to help your body to help itself through the use of effective health supplements. Of course, you also have to eat right and exercise if you are interested in your overall health. When it comes to women’s health, there are certain afflictions that are specific to women. Some of the most common problems women face are: hormonal imbalances, cervical cancers, uterine complications etc.
Because of the changes in women’s attitudes toward health, beauty, fitness and feminine strength, women are also challenging long-held ideas about aging and sexuality. Women don’t just look younger and sexier longer these days; they are living longer as well. Enhanced awareness of nutrition and proper diet keeps our bodies healthier on a cellular level. Aerobic exercise keeps our hearts and vascular systems in peak condition. Weight bearing exercise increases our bone density, making us stronger, more resistant to injury and even some illnesses. All this exercise can help you with stress relief, more positive attitudes and a better ability to grapple with anxiety and depression.
By Abbas Abedi?Discover how much stress you have in your life at my blog Stress Test
