Stress Busters: Tips for Sinking Stress

In our modern world of relationships, responsibilities, and commitments, we are inevitably caught up in psychological stress. While a mild, healthy degree of stress in intermittent amounts is actually good for us, unrelenting stress can become a threat to both our physical and emotional well-being. The key to managing stress is to find ways to break the natural fight-or-flight response of our body to danger—perceived or real—that helped us survive as a species.

“We have survived as a species through the gift of fear, which gives us the ability to discriminate between what is life supportive and what is not life supportive,” says Jonathan Foust, co-founder of the Mindfulness Training Institute of Washington. “The basic rule of the jungle is that when you relax, you get eaten. The problem and challenge with this is that if you’re anxious about an upcoming presentation, your body believes you’re going to die.” 

Whenever the brain interprets an event as life threatening, we move into the classic fight-or-flight response. Stress hormones and neuropeptides are released into the body; blood is streamed away from the belly; capillaries dilate; the pulse quickens, and we’re ready to flee from danger. When the perceived event or threat ends, our physiology returns to homeostasis. But in today’s busy world, we often need a little help reminding our bodies what it’s like to feel relaxed and calm.

Foust recommends exploring different stress relief methods to find what works best for you. And keep in mind that the same technique is not appropriate all the time.

“If you’ve had a very stressful day at work and you come home to a chaotic jungle, sitting and watching the breath is not very satisfying,” Foust says. “You might prefer to try something active like going for a walk or a run, or lying down and deeply relaxing the body to let go of tension.”

The following are proven methods to reduce stress and promote relaxation:

1. Get moving
Walking, running, rowing, or biking, preferably outdoors, puts physical and mental distance between you    and the stress-causing environment. Be present in your body as the activity unknots muscles by putting them to work, and take in the environment. Simply tuning into the trees, flowers, birds, gardens, and skies refreshes the mind and renews the spirit. 

2. Use your imagination
Imagining yourself in a favorite tranquil place shifts you into a calmer state of mind. Pick a scene from your past or a place you’d like to go, close your eyes, relax your breathing, and take in your surroundings. Include all the sensations—sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Listening to audiotapes or looking at images from books or paintings can be helpful, but the visualizations we create from our own subconscious are often the most effective. 

3. Meditate
In 1971, Herbert Benson discovered the relaxation response while studying the effects of Transcendental Meditation. Learning to become present releases neuropeptides and hormones that leave us feeling relaxed, alert, and refreshed. 

Tuning into your breath is one of the most natural and easy ways to practice meditation. Simply sit in a comfortable supported position with a long spine, breathe in and out through your nostrils, and bring your mind’s attention to the breath, either at the tips of the nostrils or at the rise and fall of the body. If thoughts enter your mind, simply notice, let them go, and return the mind’s attention to the breath. Allow the breath to settle into its own circular rhythm.

Meditation can also be as simple as noticing what arises in awareness, noticing what passes away, and noticing your relationship to what arises and passes away. This type of meditation, Foust says, can be done at any time in any position. One or two daily sessions of meditations—preferably at the same time each day—will change the way your body responds to stress.

To download a free guided meditation, click here:http://www.jonathanfoust.com/audio-downloads.htm

4. Get a massage
Massage relaxes your muscles as well as your mind. While it’s nice to treat yourself to a massage session, you don’t have to visit a spa to enjoy massage’s many benefits. Ease away stress by gently massaging your scalp with circular motions of your fingertips for 15 to 20 seconds; make circular motions with the pads of your first two fingers over your temples; and gently squeeze and release the muscles between your neck and shoulders—common areas for holding tension.

5. Practice yoga
Hatha yoga, the form of yoga most commonly practiced in the west, focuses on the physical aspects of this ancient discipline. Through a series of poses known as asanas and breathing techniques known as pranayama, yoga relaxes the mind and body, sharpens concentration, and relieves muscle tension along with increasing body awareness, strengthening muscles, and improving flexibility. Stay present in your body and attune to your breath to avoid injury. 

6. Listen to music
Music can be used throughout your day to reduce stress and increase enjoyment from any activity. The right music can invoke the relaxation response. Pick background music for the morning to set the tone of your day; play your favorite music during your commuting or errand time to avoid getting stressed by traffic, play energizing music when cleaning or cooking, and listen to soothing music to relax yourself before bed. 

7. Progressively relax your muscles   
This stress buster involves systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups in the body. In addition to providing relaxation, the technique helps you become more familiar with your body and where you commonly hold tension so you can recognize the first signs of muscle tension in response to stress. As the body relaxes, so does the mind. Lie in a comfortable position, and then progressively tense each muscle group for 10 seconds then release. Start at the feet and move slowly up to the head: feet, calves, thighs, buttocks, stomach, chest, back, shoulders, upper arms, lower arms, hands, neck, face. After you’ve relaxed your entire body, lie still for several minutes, focusing on the breath to reap the fullest benefits.  

8. Think positively   
Thoughts create our reality, or, in other words, you are what you think. While some thoughts escalate stress levels, others can lower them. Whenever you find yourself thinking stress-provoking thoughts, try countering them with feel-good thoughts. For instance, if you find yourself fretting about a long line, think, “this too shall pass.” Counter self-defeating thoughts like “I’ll never get this finished” with “One step at a time.” You can also come up with a simple mantra to repeat throughout your day, such as “I am healthy, wealthy and wise;” Everything I need is easily coming my way;” or “I am letting go and letting God.” 

9. Use good scents
Aromatherapy oils, first recognized in the 16th century by the Swiss physician and chemist Paracelsus, are compounds extracted from seeds and flowers, roots and barks, and fruits and resins of plants. Chamomile, lavender, orange and sandalwood oil are especially good for combating tension and stress. Try adding a few drops of essential oil to bath water or massage oil, buy a diffuser to disperse the scent into the air, or simply put a drop of essential oil on a tissue and keep it with you to sniff whenever you need to relax. 

10. Laugh   
Adults laugh approximately 15 times per day, while children laugh about 400 times a day! Learning to smile and laugh again reduces stress by releasing pain-killing, feel-good hormones known as endorphins. It also releases the tension of pent-up feelings and helps keep things in perspective. Laughter is also thought to stimulate the nervous system and strengthen the heart and immune system. Try going to a laughter-inducing movie, get together with humorous friends, or simply let out a funny noise. Even fake laughter causes the body to respond as if the laughter is real, so practice laughing for five minutes every day and fake it ‘til you make it.