So what are some of your best stress relievers? Is there a certain thing you do during the day that helps to relieve your stress level. The following article contains a few tips that you may or may not have thought of. Please share your thoughts or ideas on some good stress relievers at the end of the article.

Technorati Tags: Stress, Relaxation, Stress Reduction, Stress Management

Progressive Relaxation For Stress Relief and Management

Develop Your Personal Stress Reduction Program

A multi-faceted approach to managing your stress will bring you satisfying success in reducing your level of overall stress. The primary parts of a successful stress management program are:

Exercise 20 to 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per day is an important element of your stress reduction program. You can do any type of physical activity you enjoy, as long as it gets your heart rate and breathing rate up –- walking, biking, sports, swimming, jogging. Do something you enjoy -– you’ll be more certain to stick to it. Remember, it’s best not to work out vigorously in the 4 hours before you go to sleep.

Sleep Most people need an average of 8 hours of rest nightly for good health. Many Americans are intensely sleep-deprived! Restful sleep is the time that your body restores itself, and makes ready for tomorrow’s challenges. A sleep deficit is correlated with increased levels of depression and anxiety, weight gain, decreased immune system effectiveness, and increased stress levels.

Diet A healthy, balanced diet helps your body fight off the corrosive results of stress. An effective multiple vitamin tablet daily is also a good idea, particularly one with plenty of Vitamins A, C, and E –- for enhanced anti-oxidant support. Try not to eat a big meal too close to bedtime, as your digestive processes may interfere with your rest.

Moderate use of alcohol It is tempting to indulge in several drinks to relax after a tough day, alcohol has some effects that can be problematic, particularly with more than one drink per day. Negative moods, increase in body weight, negative effects on family relationships, and insomnia can result from overuse of alcohol. There are better ways to unwind!

Relaxation Deep Relaxation provides the most efficient way to quiet your thoughts and allow your body to fully rest. Twenty to thirty minutes per day is ideal. Meditation or other contemplative activities such as yoga, listening to a relaxation cd, or simply observing your breath will allow your body to experience the Relaxation Response.

“When am I supposed to do all this? I am too busy to just exercise and relax and take it easy every day. How is it possible to accomplish this?”
It’s certainly challenging to fit it all in! So, search out how you can do at least some kind of self-care on a daily basis.

See if you can squeeze a half hour daily into your schedule for taking care of yourself and dealing with your stress. That’s great! You might take a walk one day, listen to a relaxation cd the next day, ride your bike the next day, meditate for thirty minutes the following day, and so on.

If it’s not possible to do it all every day, don’t get discouraged and give up! If you at a minimum do thirty minutes of your stress reduction program every day, you will soon begin to feel tangible results.

Scheduling to make sure you will be able to eat nutritious food at reasonable times through your day won’t take any more time –- in fact, it will probably take less time than if you wait until the last minute to figure something out.

Sleeping even an extra thirty minutes –- which probably means going to sleep a bit earlier –- will actually increase your efficiency. Studies have shown that persons who are well rested get more done in a shorter time and with higher quality, than do persons who are not rested.

As your level of stress begins to diminish, you’ll find yourself looking forward to your thirty minutes of daily self care. You’re treating yourself –- to relaxation, to physical activity, to good sleep.

You will feel stronger and function better as your stress level diminishes. You’ll find yourself being more flexible when dealing with daily hassles like traffic, difficult people, bills. And you will be more effective, accomplishing more in a shorter time with less wear and tear on yourself than you ever dreamed!

Relax.
Let go of Stress.
Take care of yourself.

About the Author:

Sandi Anders, M.Div., R.Y.T. http://www.SandiAnders.com is a yoga and meditation teacher and life coach in Nashville, TN. Her relaxation CD The Alchemy of Peace and Love http://www.imagery4relaxation.com combines a gentle and effective relaxation meditation with a powerful guided imagery experience to boost self-esteem and self-acceptance. She recommends Stress Management and Relaxation resources at http://www.Books4SelfHelp.com/stress-management.htm.

I Hope you enjoy this article about some easy to do breathing techniques that
can make a huge difference in your daily stress levels. I encourage you to leave
your comments at the end.

Learn How To Use Breathing To Relax

It is really not necessary for you to be in a permanent state of stress. By
using breathing techniques you will be able to relax both your body and your
mind. Yoga will assist you to understand the natural state that your body and
mind much prefer to be in, namely a position of relaxation.
Deep breathing
will have a calming and energizing affect on you. The type of energy you will
feel after just a few minutes of careful breathing is not that of a hyper or
uptight nature, but the calm and steadying variety which we are all in need of.
A message to be calm is received by your nervous system when you carry out
gentle, steady and quiet breathing exercises.
Although you can read a whole
book on the subject of yoga breathing here is a five minute breath break but
make sure you read the instructions through a few times before you begin to
practice the exercises.

1. With your spine as straight as possible and in a
sitting position on a chair as long as you do not slump into it, place your feet
flat on the floor with your knees bent immediately over the center of your feet.
If your feet do not comfortably reach the floor then rest them on a book or a
cushion. Place your hands on the top of your legs.
2. Now close your eyes
gently and rest them behind closed lids.
3. Focus on your ribs, behind which
are your lungs, at the front, the back and the sides of your body.
4. Sense
your lungs filling up as you breathe in and your ribs expanding out wards and
upwards. Feel your lungs emptying as you exhale and in turn your ribs coming
back downwards and inwards. Don’t force the breath at any point during the exercise.
5. Do this for
two to three minutes the first few times and then increase the duration to
between five and ten minutes. Start by following this procedure once a day and
soon you will appreciate how good it makes you feel and you will want to do it
more often.

When you practice this form of relaxation for a few minutes each
day it will gradually have an affect on your daily activities, life in general
will be much improved and your stress levels will be remarkably lower.

About the Author:

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of My-Personal-Growth.com, a site that provides information and
articles for self improvement and personal growth and development.

Technorati Tags: Wellness, Yoga, Relax, Relaxation, Breathing, Stress Management, Being, Relaxed State

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