An Easy 5 Minute Relaxation and Stress Reduction Activity
Stress is becoming one of the most common words in our day today living so it figures that stress reduction is also becoming a part of everybody.
Even children nowadays have stress related issues. Who would have thought that grade school level kids could experience stress in school.
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As our world becomes smaller, technology becomes more advanced, knowledge becomes more expansive, our lives become more complicated.
Our efforts to simplify day to day living with modern technology are not enough to cover for all the stress that we experience. Relaxation and stress reduction should be as much a part of our lives as work and other essential activities.
There are a lot of techniques for relaxation and stress reduction. But one of the best ways, especially for a busy type of person is a five minute technique which covers breathing, relaxing the muscles and visualizing.
The first step is proper breathing. It is only natural for us to breathe shallow as tension arises. This creates stress which hinders our capabilities to work 100 percent since our body gets deprived of oxygen.
When feeling tension, try to breathe deeply from your mouth, uttering a comfort word to your choosing. Think of a word that relaxes you most. Then try to exhale slowly through your mouth, uttering the word again.
Do this several times until your breathing becomes normal.
After your breath normalizes, try to start tensing your muscles from head to toe, starting with your forehead muscles. Tense each muscle for 5 seconds and then release. This functions as a mini massage and is very effective.
After the last muscle is tensed and relaxed, breathe slowly again.
Then finally, do it as Peter Pan does – think of happy thoughts. No, it will not make you fly, but it will certainly rid your mind of stressful thoughts and emotions.
Let your senses fly and feel the surroundings of your happy place. If anxious thoughts interrupt you, don’t mind them, just try to go back again to that happy place.
Try to follow this 3 step technique for relaxation and stress reduction and it will greatly affect your well being. Of course, every once in a while, you should indulge yourself with other relaxation and stress reduction activities such as going to the spa.