Prolonged exposure to stress can result in more than just a bad day, so finding ways to reduce it and its impact is an essential step to ensuring your health and well-being.
Chronic stress is one of those things that seem negligible, at least until they accumulate and affect you in a major way. Headaches and a lack of focus are among its mildest side effects, but when unaddressed, they can escalate to serious physical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and mental problems like anxiety and depression.
Medications formulated for stress relief are available in the market, but their widely known side effects make them into a terrible gamble. Fortunately, it's easy to find safe and natural stress relief methods that work without causing any harm. Among the most effective are exercises that you can easily follow.
Visualize your stress or pain
This method eases the stress or pain you feel, not to eradicate it, but to reduce it to a level you can tolerate.
- Define – Focus your attention on the pain or stress and the part of the body that feels it the most. See it as you would any visual stimulus and take note of its characteristics. What color does it have? Is it shining brightly or is it dim? Does it move or is it still? How does it feel – warm or cold?
- Find an exit – Visualize three dots on your body, one of which is the spot that feels pained or stressed. Create a “route” from the stressed spot to the other two points – these will serve as the exits. For example, if you are suffering from a headache, one of the three points will be on your head and the other two could be on either of your hands.
- Send the pain out – Make yourself aware of your surroundings and visualize healing energy all around. You can also imagine healing wind, light, or sound – whatever you're comfortable with. Concentrate on your three-point route and imagine yourself pulling this healing energy from the earth or the sky. Visualize it pulling the image of pain or stress away from your body. Feel yourself relax as the pain is pulled away.
Teach your body to relax
In this exercise, you will learn how to relax all of your muscles, from your head down to your toes. To get the best results, you can practice the exercise at least 10 minutes, two times a day. Doing so will make it easier to enter a relaxed state easily.
- Feel comfortable – Comfort is key to achieving maximum relaxation. You can sit or lie down, as long as your spine and neck are aligned so you can breathe easy. If it helps you relax, you can close your eyes, too.
- Pick a word – This word could be anything, as long as focusing on it helps you relax.
- Relax your muscles – Do this in one direction. You can start by relaxing the muscles in your head, your neck, and then going down. You may also start from your feet going up. Feel the tension melting away.
- Breathe through your nose – Feel your belly expand and fill with air every time you breathe in and contract when you breathe out.
- Repeat your chosen word – Say your word to yourself over and over every time you exhale.
- Focus – You may feel your mind wandering. When it does, gently bring your attention back to both your breathing and your chosen word.
- Relax – Visualize which part of your body stores stress the most. Imagine every part of your body and relax them one by one.
Once you feel more relaxed, slowly return your consciousness to your surroundings.
Discover other natural ways of coping with stress at Remedies.news.
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