How often do you find yourself saying, “I’m so stressed out!” If you’re like many people, such a statement is a part of our everyday lives. Often we don’t take the time to relax our bodies and minds, refresh our outlook, and give ourselves much needed time away from the pressures we face on a daily basis. Unfortunately, over time, ignoring the buildup of stress can affect both physical and mental health. Along with draining our energy and decreasing our level of performance, stress can also wear down our bodies, contribute to emotional imbalance, high blood pressure, decreased circulation, headaches, depression, and overall poor general health. Below are a few simple strategies you can bring into your life that can help you free your body and mind from tension.
1. Breathing
Breathing right can help improve your posture and lung capacity, as well as your peace of mind. The great thing about utilizing breathing techniques to decrease stress is that you can use them anytime throughout your day: at work, in your car, on the phone, even waiting in line at the supermarket. The first step to breathing properly is to become aware of how you breathe. Awareness is always the first step to making a conscious change. Most of us use our lungs sparingly; our breaths are shallow because they’re surrounded by tension. To try deep breathing, place your hand on your lower abdomen. When you inhale, concentrate on pushing your hand out with your belly first, then filling up the rest of your lungs so your breath comes in bottom to top. In this way, you are using the full capacity of your lungs. Inhale through your nose and exhale out through your mouth and take long, slow breaths. Even after doing this just ten times consecutively, you should feel your shoulders drop a bit, and your neck extend upward. (Note: if you become light-headed while deep-breathing, switch to your regular breathing pattern and resume deep breathing when the feeling has passed.) If you practice this type of deep breathing just once a day for five or ten minutes, you will soon become so familiar with the technique that you can put it to use anytime without even thinking twice. Soon you’ll be going through your day breathing deeply and feeling great.
2. Express Yourself
Pent-up emotions are a hotbed for stress. Granted, throughout the day when you are feeling certain emotions surface like anger or sadness, the environment you’re in may not be conducive to expressing them out loud. You wouldn’t want to scream at your boss, “HEY! I DO GOOD WORK HERE AND I DESERVE MORE RECOGNITION! WAKE UP!” But, at the end of the day, when you’re in your car or in the house by yourself, who’s to say that you can’t say exactly what you want as loud as you want. Get in a safe space where others won’t hear you, and let it all out in a healthy way that won’t hurt yourself or others. Scream at the top of your lungs. Hit pillows. Wave your arms around. Cry. When you experience an emotion and don’t want to let it out at the exact moment that you’re feeling it, give yourself the gift of expressing it later on. It clears your mind and body of emotional residue and will release the tension that accumulates from trying to hold it in.
3. Get Outside
Even if you’re not a “nature person”, getting outdoors and surrounding yourself with a natural environment is a wonderful way to release built-up tension. It can help put things into perspective and allow you to take a step away from the stresses you’re experiencing. Something as simple as sitting and looking at a tree or walking with bare feet on grass is very healthy for your mind and body. It can be relaxing, refreshing, and calming. Often times, it may be just what you need; to take a step out of your “life” and experience the bigness and simplicity of the world you’re living in. You are living in a beautiful world; give yourself a moment to experience that beauty and melt some stress away by doing so.
These are just a few ways that I relieve stress in my life. I hope they’re helpful to you and that you are soon feeling more relaxed and stress-free. You deserve it!