Relieving Stress Through Fitness and Nutrition

Do this for 3 to 5 minutes when you feel tense.

Progressive Relaxation

This help technique help to relax tense muscles.

1. Sit or lie down on your back in a comfortable, quiet room. Close your eyes. 2. Make tight fists, hold for five seconds, then relax your hands. Do this three times. Pay attention to the different sensations of tension and relaxation. 3. Repeat Step 2 with all of your muscle groups: arms, shoulders, chest abdomen, back, hips, thighs, lower legs and feet. At first, it may take you 20 minutes to do this but with practice, you will be able to do this in about five minutes.

Stretching Exercises

Stretch No. 1

1. As you stretch, think about the area being stretched; imagine the tension leaving as you gently take these areas to their comfortable limit. 2. Exhale into the stretch; inhale on the release. Breathe deeply and slowly and do not hold your breath. 3. Close your eyes for better awareness of your body's responses.

Stretch No. 2

This is a great stretch to relieve stiff muscles.

1. Sit up straight and inhale. 2. Exhale letting our head move down to your chest. 3. Roll your right ear toward your right shoulder while inhaling. Drop your chin to your chest again while exhaling. Repeat to the left. 4. Drop your arms to your sides and push both shoulders forward. Slowly rais them towards your ears and circle them back and downward to the starting point. After two or three rotations, change directions.

Getting a good night's sleep is very important to stress reduction. If you are having trouble sleeping, get up and into a chair and read a book , watch T.V., play Solitaire or just stay up and enjoy yourself and eventually, you will feel sleepy. If that fails, at least you will be relaxed and anxiety is reduced. Resist the urge to nap during the day and do not exercise during the evening. Spend your evenings "winding down" rather than "reving up". Avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cola) past 2:00 p.m. Hot milk before bed can help you get a good night sleep.

Remember physical fitness, positive thinking, healthy lifestyles and feeling good about oneself promotes better well-being.

Go To Page: 1 2