Stress can adversely impact your health. Try some of these stress relievers to help you on stressful days.
Belly Breathing
This is easy to do and very relaxing. Try this basic exercise anytime you need to relax or relieve stress.
1. Sit in a comfortable position.
2. Put one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other hand on your chest.
3. Take a deep breath in through your nose and let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.
4. Breath out through pursed lips as if you were whistling. Feel the hand on your belly go in and use it to push all the air out.
5. Do this breathing 3 to 10 times. Take your time with each breath.
Morning Breathing
Try this exercise when you first get up in the morning to relieve muscle stiffness and clear clogged breathing passages. Then use it throughout the day to relieve back tension.
1. From a standing position, bend forward from the waist with your knees slightly bent, letting your arms dangle close to the floor.
2. As you inhale slowly and deeply, return to a standing position by rolling up slowly, lifting your head last.
3. Hold your breath for just a few seconds in this standing position.
4. Exhale slowly as you return to the original position, bending forward from the waist.
Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation involves a two-step process in which you tense and relax different muscle groups in the body, beginning with the feet and working your way up to the face. To practice this, loosen your clothing, take off your shoes and get comfortable. Relax and take a few deep breaths. Starting with the right foot, take a moment to focus on the way it feels. Slowly tense the muscles in your right foot, squeezing as tightly as you can. Hold for a count of 10. Relax your right foot. Focus on the tension flowing away and the way your foot feels as it becomes limp and loose. Stay in this relaxed state for a moment, breathing deeply. When ready, shift your attention to your left foot. Follow the same sequence of muscle tension and release. Slowly move up through your body, contracting and relaxing the muscle groups as you go.
