Practice breathing techniques.
Slow down your breathing and actively concentrate on it. This is always the easiest way to self calm, provided you remember to resort to it.
- Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Inhale deeply, count to five, then exhale slowly, counting to five. Do this ten times to relax your muscles and nerves. Always relax on the out-breath.
Make Healthy Food Choices
- Avoid excessive sugar found in granola bars, pastries or soda. Carbohydrates, such as pasta, convert easily to sugar. These can cause severe ups and downs and agitation, upsetting your body’s ability to efficiently utilize energy.
- Avoid excessive coffee. Instead of regular coffee, switch to decaf or an herbal tea with little or no caffeine. Warm water will help you to relax.
- Eat fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains that are free of refined sugar, such as apples, grapes, carrots, broccoli, brown rice or whole grain breads.
- Eat plenty of low-calorie protein, such as chicken, fish, whole grains, legumes, dark leafy vegetables or low-fat dairy. These proteins are a better source of energy.
- Take a multi-vitamin. Some vitamins relieve stress. Vitamin B and Vitamin D are especially good for stress.
Exercise Every Day
- Try at least thirty minutes per day of moderate activity.
- Walk in the park, in the woods, or on a treadmill.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Park a little further away from the entrance of a store.
- Ride a bike.
- Go swimming. Try your local pool, a nearby lake or a friend or relative’s home.
- Increase your activity, once you’ve built endurance, if desired.
- Stretch. Lower your shoulders to help relax. Be more consciously aware of the tension that is quick to accumulate in your shoulders and neck region.
Try traditional, respected and known relaxation techniques
- Do yoga. Yoga relaxes your body and clears your mind of the stress and rush of the day.
- Try tai chi, ki, or aikido.
- Ask your local gym or spa for a relaxing workout suggestion – some places will even build a program suited to your body type and energy levels.
Try A Massage
Go to your local spa for a great massage. Undoing the body knots is a good pathway to undoing the mind knots.
Join us next week as we go over ways to relax your mind.