Thursday, July 17, 2008

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.

9 comments:

blondie said...

Good advice today Jim.
I also learned from a therapist that deep breathing expanding the back muscles helped with a pinched nerve I had just under my shoulder blade.
Much the same like your abdominal test, and once you figure it out, works very well.

Of course, I'll have that coffee with ya now ;))
blondie

Anonymous said...

This is good stuff indeed. . . And so much of our physical sense of well being can be influenced by tension or lack thereof. Breathing technique that works for me is breathe in through nose to the slow count of three, then out through the mouth, with lips pursed as if you are whistling, for the count of four. Good informative blog! Love you much - Mom

HermitJim said...

Hey Blondie...glad you could drop by. I think that relaxation could possibly be the best thing for any situation. I know from personal experience that it works well for me.

Good for anger management, also!

See ya Girl!

HermitJim said...

Hey Mom...welcome to the coffee club! Maybe that's where I got the deep breathing from...watching you deal with us as kids and now having to deal with the grandkids without losing it!

Yoga experts have for years been telling all that would listen how important the breathing is. Some of us are just slow to catch on, I guess

Thanks for coming by. Love ya, Mom

Manu said...

Hi Jim,
wether experiencing life or drinking coffee... it's just better when you do it relaxed. All your techniques are great but in the end the key is taking the time. In this fast and busy world we live in it 's hard to make it a happit. Personally i've been doing the last option, the link i had sent you in our chat was leading to a wide variety of such meditations. I will post the link again for everyone who might want to check it out. http://www.brainsync.com/pilot.asp

Have a relaxed day.

Cat Melton said...

As always, very good information. So applicable to our daily lives...

Thanks, Candidate Jim!

Happy Cat

HermitJim said...

Hey Manu...thanks for dropping by and of course, for the comments. Relaxation is very important, or should be for us all. I appreciate the links you sent and resent for those that missed it. Good stuff!

Hey Cat...glad that you could drop by and that you enjoyed the post. Our blogs seem to run along the same lines from time to time, huh? I guess it's true about what they say about Great Minds and all that! Now if we could only find out who they are!!

See ya guys(or I should say Girls!) and thanks again for dropping by!

js said...

Another two techniques to add to your list Jim:

1. Twirling. Stretch out your arms and twirl in position, preferably on some grass. clockwise or counterclockwise, whichever makes you feel better.

2. Polarity screens (look them up in google). There is a position for gaining energy, and the other for relaxation.

3. Stress release gold matrix plates. Must be regenerated for five minutes each day in the sun. It teaches the body and the whole chakra system to relax and reduce stress. I have maybe a couple left for $40 USD each at wholesale. I also have one or two for Environmental Protection, and Food Energizer. I had one specifically made for my Hep B and after a few months of wearing it I had tests done and Hep B completely vanished, including antigens and antibodies. So it works.

HermitJim said...

Hey John...thanks for dropping by and as usual, for the interesting information. It always fascinates me that so many of my readers know the greatest and most helpful things. Kinda makes me feel like we are doing a good thing by writing about these different kinds of exercises.

Thanks again, JS