It’s easy to feel stressed from time to time. People take very little time out for themselves nowadays. Smartphones and the like have made it even easier to continue working when you’ve finished work. Then there’s family life and all your other responsibilities to deal with. But you know what, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy... or have a nervous breakdown, the more likely result in this day and age. So, here are some stress-busting relaxation tips to make sure you don’t become one of the 40% who get ill due to stress.
1 Yoga
Did you know that the practice of yoga is over 5,000 years old? And if people have been doing it for that long it must do some good! Yoga does indeed provide a variety of physical and mental health benefits. Physically, yoga helps with strength, flexibility and balance. It helps ease aches and pains too. Mentally, yoga helps to relax your mind, while improving focus and concentration. Studies have shown that it helps to control stress response systems thus reducing stress and anxiety.
2 Meditation
Practising meditation is all about focussing and freeing the mind. There are several forms of this ancient practice including mindfulness meditation which centres on being in the present moment. The many benefits of meditation include a greater amount of compassion and creativity as well as less stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that beta waves in our brains are reduced during meditation. These waves indicate that we are processing information, meaning that we essentially slow down the brain while meditating.
3 Addressing Your Problems
Write down what it is that’s making you stressed in a sort of stress diary. This way you can work towards reducing the problems. There may be ways of managing these problems that you hadn’t thought of. For example, you may simply need to manage your time a little better. Or you may need to talk things through with a close friend or family member. Your mum used to say ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ for a reason you know...
4 Activities
You spend so much time doing things for other people, it’s about time you did something for yourself. There may be certain relaxing activities that you enjoy like listening to music or reading. Pamper yourself and take a bath. Soak Yourself has a lovely range of products that can help you to relax and recharge.
If you feel that your stress levels are affecting your well being then do something about it today!
Image: Deb Stgo
1 Yoga
Did you know that the practice of yoga is over 5,000 years old? And if people have been doing it for that long it must do some good! Yoga does indeed provide a variety of physical and mental health benefits. Physically, yoga helps with strength, flexibility and balance. It helps ease aches and pains too. Mentally, yoga helps to relax your mind, while improving focus and concentration. Studies have shown that it helps to control stress response systems thus reducing stress and anxiety.
2 Meditation
Practising meditation is all about focussing and freeing the mind. There are several forms of this ancient practice including mindfulness meditation which centres on being in the present moment. The many benefits of meditation include a greater amount of compassion and creativity as well as less stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that beta waves in our brains are reduced during meditation. These waves indicate that we are processing information, meaning that we essentially slow down the brain while meditating.
3 Addressing Your Problems
Write down what it is that’s making you stressed in a sort of stress diary. This way you can work towards reducing the problems. There may be ways of managing these problems that you hadn’t thought of. For example, you may simply need to manage your time a little better. Or you may need to talk things through with a close friend or family member. Your mum used to say ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ for a reason you know...
4 Activities
You spend so much time doing things for other people, it’s about time you did something for yourself. There may be certain relaxing activities that you enjoy like listening to music or reading. Pamper yourself and take a bath. Soak Yourself has a lovely range of products that can help you to relax and recharge.
If you feel that your stress levels are affecting your well being then do something about it today!
Image: Deb Stgo