Stress Reduction
by Ken Marlborough
To ensure well-being, it is very important to reduce stress levels. Stress reduction does not entail totally eliminating stress, it serves to ensure proper levels of stress easily managed by the body. Probably the best stress reduction techniques are the most basic ways to care for the body; these are eating a well-balanced diet, maintaining one's ideal weight and exercising.
Exercise is perhaps one of the best physical stress-reduction techniques available which may easily be done and does not entail expensive costs. Aside from improving one's health, it also relaxes tense muscles, and improves blood flow to the brain, which in turn brings extra sugars and oxygen needed in intense thinking. Thinking too much and too hard works the neurons of the brain that produces toxic waste products which may case foggy thinking. Exercising speeds up clearing these wastes faster. Further, exercising causes the release of the chemical endorphins, responsible for feelings of happiness and well-being.
Before moving on to "higher" forms of stress reduction techniques, practicing deep breathing and being able to control it is very important. Aside from being an effective method of relaxation, it is works well when used with other relaxation techniques such as progressive muscular relaxation, imagery and meditation.
Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR) is a physical technique that relaxes tense muscles, reducing pulse rate, blood pressure and respiration rates. PMR entails tightly contracting specific muscles and holding them in a state of extreme tension for a few seconds before relaxing them. Practicing PMR will allow you to consciously relax your muscles and works well with breathing techniques and imagery.
Visualization and imagery may be used to overcome negative feelings by using your imagination to focus on images that are happy and serene. Using all your senses to create your intended "happy" place makes visualization even more realistic and the experience to be more helpful. Relaxing your brain will also send signals to your body also allowing it to relax.
Meditation has also become popular with a lot of people in the past years. It espouses the idea of focusing your thoughts on a relaxing thing or event for a sustained period of time that allows your body to relax and recuperate from the wear and tear of the day's stress.
Stress provides detailed information on Stress, Stress Management, Stress Reduction, Stress Tests and more. Stress is affiliated with Hypertension Symptoms.
Recommended Resources
Relaxation and Breathing for Meditation : This DVD consists of two sections, each approximately 30 minutes long. The first one ("Conscious Relaxation") is devoted to several easy, relaxation-inducing poses and the second ("Conscious Breathing") focuses entirely on the breath itself.
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