Try And Relax, My Friend...

As the pace of life gets faster it is easy to start feeling the negative effects of stress taking its toll. Ongoing stress has been shown to have a negative effect on health and increase risk of some illnesses. Stress also affects sleep, concentration, mood and relationships. Using proven relaxation methods to combat stress can help you improve your health and well being. These three easy relaxation methods will get fast results and are easy to learn and use.

Learn Abdominal Breathing
Often when people feel tense or anxious they get told to "take a deep breath" and relax. Many people say that this does not help them to feel relaxed. Taking a deep breath can actually increase stress and make relaxation more difficult. The key is to learn a technique called abdominal breathing. Learning abdominal breathing when you feel calm is one of the most effective relaxation methods. Don't try and learn it when you are upset or stressed, it won’t work.

Place one hand on your chest and the other on your lower abdomen. Now take a deep breath in. Which hand moved? Concentrate on breathing in slowly so that your abdomen goes out with each inhalation and keeping your chest still. Practice this twice a day in front of a mirror and you will soon feel the positive relaxation effects. Just do a few breaths so you don't feel dizzy. When you feel stressed, use abdominal breathing to calm the mind and body.

Use Stretching Techniques
This is a very simple and fast relaxation technique. When you are feeling tense or anxious your body will send extra blood to the muscles which makes them tight and tense. You may feel your shoulders or head begin to ache, or your jaw clench as stress increases. The tense muscles in your chest may restrict your breathing.

A fast relaxation technique is to move your body and stretch out. This will relax the muscles and also allow you to breathe more deeply. Stretch muscles out regularly through the day to reduce stress. Yoga exercises include these types of relaxation techniques.

Use Relaxation Audios
Like any new skill, learning relaxation techniques takes some time and practice. One way to reduce the time it takes is to use audios each day for several weeks. Then you can use them once or twice a week to maintain the benefits. Relaxation audios work by helping you to concentrate on the sensations of relaxing your body and slowing down your busy mind.

Subliminal relaxation self help audios are very effective as they work at the pre-conscious level. Most people report that this is the fastest method for learning relaxation skills and reducing general feelings of stress. Set aside half an hour when you won't be disturbed, lie on a comfortable bed or chair and just listen. At first you may not feel very different but daily use for 2-3 weeks gets very good results for most people. Daily stress can quickly build up and cause health and relationship problems. Learning effective relaxation methods can help you to reduce stress and improve your health. Use these easy relaxation methods for fast stress relief.

Now that you are all relaxed...let's get some fresh coffee.