Stress, America's #1 health problem, is a leading cause of major illness. In fact, heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression are just some of the harmful effects of stress. Research has shown that releasing stress and learning how to relax promotes a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life.
Here are 3 easy ways to reduce your stress fast.
1. Breathe Deeply
Take 3 slow deep breaths. Taking the breath from your diaphragm, through your nose, holding for about 2 seconds and then slowly exhaling through your mouth. Why slow deep breaths? Because when we are under stress, we tense up, constricting the oxygen to our body. Taking slow deep breaths brings oxygen throughout our body resulting in feeling centered and releasing stress. Giving your body much needed oxygen will release tension and stress fast.
2. Meditate
The purpose of meditation is to relax and to release stress. Meditation allows the body to relax and permits a means to release the "chatter" in your mind. It is important for you to know that there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Meditation is simply a form of concentration and focus; it is a process that quiets the mind. Since much of our negative stress is caused by our own thoughts, this is an especially useful method.
Here are steps for a popular, quick, and easy guided mediation:
1. Get into a comfortable position and close your eyes.
2. Take 3 deep breaths.
3. Visualize all the stress in your mind and body as a cloud of gray smoke. Allow this cloud to be released through the crown of your head. Imagine the gray cloud floating into the sky and disappearing. Feel the weight of the stress being releasing out of your body and into the cloud. Allow your shoulders to drop and continue until you have no more gray smoke or for about 10 minutes.
4. Imagine a healing white light that has surrounded your body. Feel the warmth of this light and allow it to infiltrate your body. Slowly open your eyes.
3. Try Hypnosis
This technique involves sitting comfortably with your eyes closed while listening to suggestions. Hypnosis is relaxation, focus, and suggestion. Using these three elements your mind and body will enter into a deeply relaxed state that gives you an overall sense of well being and tranquility. Hypnosis is one of the oldest and most natural modes of healing dating back to 1000 B.C. . In 1958 the American Medical Association approved the therapeutic use of hypnosis. This brought mainstream recognition that hypnotherapy was a valid and legitimate form of healing. During this time hypnotherapy was respected and accepted.
Meditation & Guided Imagery are techniques that use the natural power of the mind in creating what you want in life. Einstein estimated that we only use 10% of our brains. In practicing Meditation and Guided Imagery, we have access to the other 90%. Since thoughts are one of the most powerful possessions we can have, it is important to keep the thoughts and images positive. Meditation and Guided Imagery works because the Physical Universe is energy, this energy is vibrating at different speeds. Energy is magnetic causing similar thoughts to attract other similar thoughts. What we dwell on, we will attract. Thoughts and ideas are high vibrating forms of energy and are very powerful. Form then follows ideas. This is the reason that thoughts and ideas in Meditation and Guided Imagery particularly must be in a positive form.
Here are some steps to make Meditation and Hypnosis more effective.
1. Desire- You must have the desire to make a positive change in your life.
2. Belief- You must believe in the power of the mind.
3. Acceptance- You must accept the process of Meditation and Hypnotherapy including the results.
4. Set you goal- Decide on what you want and be committed to it.
5. Create a Clear Idea or Picture- Create the vision in your imagination and make it clear.
6. Focus on it often- Keep the images of your goal in your mind as often as possible.
7. Give it Positive Energy- Keep your frame of mind and thoughts positive.
8. Look For the Positive Changes- Look for the subtle ways Meditation and Hypnosis are changing your life, and believe in the magic of life!
Marla Sloane, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved ? 2005
Marla Sloane, Ph.D. is a successful author and speaker. Her Positive Affirmation subscribers have reached world-wide proportions and her book: "The Masks We Wear and How to Live Without Them" is at the heart of her teleclasses; From Ordinary to Extraordinary?Unmask Your Potential; teaching individuals to remove limiting masks and labels. Marla has also produced Trilogy of Meditations for your Mind, Body and Spirit, which is distributing nationwide and in Europe. Dr. Marla Says?is a very popular Internet advice column giving answers to her reader's questions.
Marla has an extensive background in psychology and clinical hypnotherapy. She has written numerous articles about releasing stress, how to find your authentic self, and the importance of living in your truth.
You can contact Marla at: marla@marlasloane.com You can visit her web site at: marla@marlasloane.com
spotless home service Highland Park ...We all know what it feels like to have our... Read More
Self-Care Strategies:Substantial breakfast daily Regular sleeping habits (minimum of 7... Read More
Are you a "worry wart?" Is that term familiar to... Read More
It was a self-exploration that made me understand myself. It... Read More
We've all been there, right? We find ourselves living with... Read More
I have yet to see a scientist talk about the... Read More
What good is Personal or Business Success...if your Health is... Read More
WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYSExperts in the stress management field have... Read More
The predominant role human conditioning plays in a stressful environment.... Read More
1. The Law of StagnationThis is also known as first... Read More
All people experience stress and anxiety in one form or... Read More
We are not designed for long term stress.It causes us... Read More
I just got through reading some troubling news in the... Read More
It is an inescapable fact, we live in a stressful... Read More
Success in recovery, or rather, staying in recovery, is dependent... Read More
It has long been suggested that "music soothes the savage... Read More
Shit happens. I know this to be a fact, because... Read More
Q. I have just recently come to recognize that I... Read More
Is your stress level higher than it should be? Are... Read More
Life would be so wonderful if it weren't for other... Read More
Life can offer us many challenges having to do with... Read More
Looking for some quick stress relief?Edward W. Smith, motivational speaker,... Read More
1. Determine your "unique ability" and capitalize on itDelegate the... Read More
It's summertime and chances are you can remember a summer... Read More
Of all the forms of stress in today's world, computer... Read More
home cleaning services Wilmette ...You probably think I'm wacko, but it's true - stress... Read More
Imagine driving down the road. You are driving with a... Read More
We've all experienced it-computerized technology that doesn't function properly. PCs... Read More
Stressed? Relax Right Now with 5 Super-Simple Stress-BustersStressed-out? Don't know... Read More
Insomnia is usually the result of the modern way of... Read More
To combat modern day stressors, you need to realize that... Read More
Are you a person who has a keen imagination, a... Read More
Why Stress Management programmes don't work?It seems that every week... Read More
Work related tensions, personal issues and abnormal lifestyles are the... Read More
The day wasn't going well already. You know how it... Read More
Ask a hundred different people how to deal with stress... Read More
Let's face it! The majority of our time is either... Read More
I am worried. I have been biting my nails for... Read More
THE ENCHANTED SELF? teaches you how to access positive states... Read More
STRESS & TIME MANAGEMENT: Stress is either the source or... Read More
Everyone worries. As bothersome as it is, worry isn't all... Read More
We strive for excellence in our lives, going at full... Read More
A little stress is good for us until it becomes... Read More
Make stress less of an issue for you in your... Read More
When Army leaders fail to control battlefield stress, they lose... Read More
I was a psychotherapist for... Read More
Shit happens. I know this to be a fact, because... Read More
The fall season signals a shift in most people's minds.... Read More
The pace of life seems to quicken every year. More... Read More
We all know that stress levels in the workplace are... Read More
Stress Management |