It is no secret that we live in a high stress world.  From the home to the workplace and all the drama in between it is important to take time to “calm down” and relax.  Stress is unhealthy for the mind and body; it can cause premature aging and disease. Avoiding stressful situations is a good concept, but is not always practical, stress is everywhere. So how do you go about relieving stress without changing your lifestyle? Here are some tips to a more relaxed way of life.

Breathing:

Even the simplest breathing exercises can make quite the difference in a stressful situation.  Taking control of your breathing and not causing yourself to hyperventilate under pressure is important. When you are in a stressful situation, slowly breath in through your mouth and out through your nose.

Distraction:

Sometimes an issue is so stressful that it gets "under your skin" and makes you sick to your stomach until you figure out how to solve it. In many of these cases the stressful situation is out of your control, if you have already exhausted your options and are still stressing then sometimes it can be helpful to distract yourself by keeping your hands busy. Rested hands cause a wandering mind. So take your mind of things and do a crossword or a simple craft project to fill your time.

Visualization:

Take yourself out of the situation completely and take yourself to a peaceful “happy place.”  Whether that be a golden wheat field on a sunny day, or a day at the beach. Visualize yourself there stimulating all of your senses, see the waves, smell the air, touch the sand, taste the salty ocean air in your mouth, hear the waves crashing against the beach. If done properly this can be the most effective relaxation technique because you can take yourself anywhere. To a grassy plane where you run your fingers through the silky fur of a unicorn.

Muscle relaxation:

Much like visualization this technique requires a lot of concentration. For this you tense your muscles and then relax them slowly, doing this throughout the different muscle groups of your body.

Staying relaxed and lowering your stress is very beneficial for you and your healthI it can help with slowing your heart rate, lowering blood pressure, slowing your breathing rate, increasing blood flow to major muscles, reducing muscle tension and chronic pain, improving concentration, reducing anger and frustration, and boosting confidence to handle problems. So do yourself a favor and find some peace of mind.