Relieving Stress

Relaxation for many of us means flopping on the sofa and spacing out at the end of a long day in front of the TV. But this does nothing to reduce stress's adverse effects. Instead, the normal calming response of your body needs to be triggered, a state of deep rest that puts tension on the brakes, slows your breathing and heart rate, reduces your blood pressure, and brings your body and mind back into equilibrium. By practicing calming methods such as deep respiration, meditation, rhythmic exercise, yoga, or tai chi, you can do this.

For example, while you can prefer to pay for a professional massage or acupuncture session, most relaxation techniques can be performed on your own or with the help of a free download of audio or a cheap smartphone app. However, it's important to note that there is no single method of relaxation that works for everybody. We're all distinct. The best strategy is the one that resonates with you, suits your lifestyle, and can concentrate your mind to evoke the reaction of relaxation. That means that finding the technique (or techniques) that works best for you can require some trial and error.

Deep breathing exercise

With its emphasis on absolute, cleansing breaths, a simple but effective technique of relaxation is deep breathing. It is easy to read, can be practiced almost anywhere, and offers a quick way to manage your stress levels. Deep breathing is also the foundation of many other relaxation techniques, and can be combined with other calming components, such as music and aromatherapy. Although apps and audio downloads can direct you through the process, a few minutes and a place to sit quietly or stretch out are all you really need.

How to do

• Sit comfortably with your back straight. Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.

• Breathe in through your nose. The hand on your stomach should rise. The hand on your chest should move very little.

• Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting your abdominal muscles. The hand on your stomach should move in as you exhale, but your other hand should move very little.

• Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to inhale enough so that your lower abdomen rises and falls. Count slowly as you exhale.

Try lying down if you find it hard to breathe from your abdomen while sitting up. Place your stomach in a small book, and relax so that the book rises as you inhale and falls as you exhale.

Progressive muscle relaxation

A two-step method in which you gradually tense and relax various muscle groups in the body is progressive muscle relaxation. Through daily practice, it gives you an intuitive knowledge of what discomfort feels like in various parts of your body, as well as total relaxation. This will allow you to adapt to the first signs of stress accompanying muscular tension. And so will your mind as your body relaxes.

For additional stress relief, progressive muscle relaxation may be paired with deep breathing.

How to do it

If you have a history of muscle spasms, back pain, or other severe conditions that could be exacerbated by muscle strain, contact your physician first.

Start at your feet and work your way up to your face, trying to tense just those intended muscles.

• Loosen clothing, take off your shoes, and get comfortable.

• Take a few minutes to breathe in and out in slow, deep breaths.

• When you’re ready, shift your attention to your right foot. Take a moment to focus on the way it feels.

• Slowly tense the muscles in your right foot, squeezing as tightly as you can. Hold for a count of 10.

• Relax your foot. Focus on the tension flowing away and how your foot feels as it becomes limp and loose.

• Stay in this relaxed state for a moment, breathing deeply and slowly.

• Shift your attention to your left foot. Follow the same sequence of muscle tension and release.

• Move slowly up through your body, contracting and relaxing the different muscle groups.

It may take some practice at first, but try not to tense muscles other than those intended.

Body scan meditation

This is a type of meditation that concentrates your focus on different parts of your body. You begin with your feet and work your way up, just like progressive muscle relaxation. But you simply concentrate on the way and part of your body feels, without marking the sensations as either "good" or "bad" instead of tensing and relaxing muscles.

How to do it

• Lay on your back, legs uncrossed, arms on your sides relaxed, eyes closed or open. Focus for about two minutes on your breathing before you begin to feel relaxed.

• Switch your attention on your right foot's toes. Note any feelings that you experience while still concentrating on your breathing as well. Imagine every deep breath that runs down your toes. Remain centered for three to five seconds on this area (or more).

• Shift your attention to your right foot's sole. In that part of your body, tune in to any sensations you experience and visualize each breath streaming from the sole of your foot. Shift your attention to your right ankle after one or two minutes and repeat. Switch to the calf, knee, thigh, hip, and then repeat the left leg series. Step up the torso from there, through the lower back and belly, the upper back and chest, and through the shoulders. Pay careful attention to every part of the body that produces pain or discomfort for you.

• Relax for a moment in silence and stillness after finishing the body scan, noting how the body feels. Then open your eyes slowly and, if possible, stretch.

Visualization

Visualization is a twist of conventional meditation that includes imagining a scene where you feel at ease, free to let go of all stress and anxiety. Visualization or directed imagery. Whether it's a tropical beach, a favorite childhood location, or a peaceful wooded glen, pick whatever environment is most relaxing for you.

To lead you through the imagery, you can practice visualization on your own, or with an app or audio download. If you have selected a beach, for example, you can also opt to do your visualization in silence or use listening aids, such as calming music or a sound machine or a recording that suits your chosen environment: the sound of ocean waves.

How to do it

Close your eyes and visualize your place of rest. Picture everything as vividly as you can: you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel everything. It is not necessary to just "look" at it in the eye of your mind as you would a photograph. If you add as many sensory information as possible, visualization works best. If you are dreaming, for instance, of a dock on a quiet lake:

• See the setting of the sun over the water

• Hear the singing birds

• Smell the forest of pine

• On your bare feet, feel the cool water

• Taste the clean, fresh air

As you slowly explore your restful spot, enjoy the feeling of your worries drifting away. Gently open your eyes when you are ready and come back to the moment. Don't worry if, during a visualization session, you often zone out or lose track of where you are. It's usual here. You can also experience sensations of heaviness, muscle twitches, or yawning in your limbs. These are, again, natural responses.

Self massage

You're probably already aware of how much a professional massage will help to alleviate stress, relieve pain, and ease muscle tension at a spa or health club. What you may not be aware of is that by practicing self-massage, or trading massages with a loved one, you will enjoy some of the same benefits at home or work.

To help you relax before sleep, consider taking a few minutes to massage yourself at your desk between activities, on the couch at the end of a hectic day, or in bed. You may use herbal oil, scented lotion, or combine self-message with mindfulness or deep breathing exercises to increase relaxation.

Mindfulness meditation

In recent years, mindfulness has become widely popular, attracting headlines and endorsements from celebrities, business leaders, and psychologists alike. What is mindfulness, then? Instead of thinking about the future or focusing on the past, mindfulness changes your attention to what's going on right now, helping you to be completely interested in the present moment.

To relieve stress, anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions, meditations that promote mindfulness have long been used. By concentrating your attention on a single repetitive movement, such as your breathing or a few repeated phrases, some of these activities carry you into the present. Other ways of meditation on mindfulness allow you to follow and release internal thoughts or feelings afterwards. It is also possible to extend mindfulness to things such as driving, exercising, or feeding.

It might seem easy to use mindfulness to remain concentrated on the moment, but it takes practice to reap all the advantages. You'll definitely find that your mind keeps wandering back to your concerns or regrets when you first start training. Don't get disheartened, though. You are reinforcing a new mental habit every time you draw your attention back to the present, which may help you break free from thinking about the past or stressing about the future. Using an app or audio download, especially when you're starting out, can also help focus your attention.

Yoga

Yoga includes, together with deep breathing, a sequence of both moving and stationary positions. Yoga can also promote flexibility, strength, balance, and endurance, in addition to reducing anxiety and stress. It is better to learn by attending community classes, hiring a private instructor, or at least following video instructions, because accidents can occur when yoga is performed improperly. You can practice alone or with others once you've mastered the fundamentals, tailoring the practice as you see fit.