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. Read more…
Millions of people would love to live a healthy lifestyle. Everyone talks about getting on a healthy lifestyle but not many are successful in doing so. First, let us discuss what a healthy lifestyle is. It can be determined by four things. These items include the following actions: cutting out smoking, reducing your weight, eating better, and increasing the exercise you do.
Most people want to make good lifestyle choices and be trim and healthy. The problem is most people have plenty of excuses. They cannot, will not, or do not want to change their current lifestyle. One of the biggest excuses or reasons for not making the change is not having time to exercise. Many times, we come home and say no exercise today, I am too tired, or I do not have time to do that today. Another popular excuse is I am too tired today. I do not feel like cooking diner; let us just go get some fast food tonight. Being short of time is an epidemic as it affects a great number of people.
Have you noticed how we have time for the boss, people we work with and time to travel to work but have no time for ourselves and for those we love. You can do a lot in ten minutes and you certainly have ten minutes a day to spare for your own use. Read more…
By now, it’s almost a cliché to reiterate that smoking is the chief cause of preventable death in the United States. Yet approximately 46 million Americans are still lighting up, according to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With New Year’s resolutions still fresh in people’s minds, U.S. News spoke to clinical psychologist Daniel Seidman, director of smoking cessation services at Columbia University Medical Center, about his new book, Smoke-Free in 30 Days: The Pain-Free, Permanent Way to Quit (Fireside Trade Paperback Original). In it, Seidman draws on his 20-plus years of experience with thousands of patients and walks people through the quitting process—including how to prepare for the “quit day” and how to maintain their success. Here are edited excerpts from the chat:
Are you a reformed smoker?
My story is that both my parents were smokers and died very young from it, so I’ve been very concerned about this issue. My father was 47, and my mother was 59. My mother had lung cancer. She smoked [Kent brand] cigarettes. It was later found that [the brand's specialized filter contained] asbestos. [According to a 1995 article in the journal Cancer Research, the filter contained a form of asbestos for several years during the 1950s.]
What does your monthlong program entail, and what makes it unique?
It outlines what to do each day. What we’re saying to people is rather than think about this as just being [about] willpower, focus on things you can do each day that will help you change your behavior, change your attitude, [and] use medicine to the greatest effect. It’s sort of like playing the piano. Nobody says, “If you have enough willpower, you’ll be a good piano player.” They say, “Practice.” [Quitting] isn’t just about being strong. That’s sort of a trap that people believe: “If I’m strong, I can do it. If I’m weak, then there’s nothing I can do and I just have to smoke.” We’re saying [that] if you make these efforts and do these exercises and follow these daily recommendations, you can be successful. Read more…