Being stressed and tired (and sometimes skipped meals) used to be the signs and symptoms of a person who is extremely hardworking and dedicates his whole conscious moments to his job. At least he wants his boss to think so. But today, tiredness is not a fashion statement anymore, and the star employee is a powerhouse of energy who is alert and active the whole time, ever ready to face challenging situations at work as well as juggle personal life and still have time to frequent the gym and be in shape. How does he keep the clutters in his head in check? Here are 3 tips to start with.
#1. Breathe Easily
“Breathing from your diaphragm oxygenates your blood, which helps you relax almost instantly,” says Robert Cooper, Ph.D., the San Francisco coauthor of The Power of 5 (Rodale Press, 1996), a book of five-second and five-minute health tips. Shallow chest breathing, by contrast, can cause your heart to beat faster and your muscles to tense up, exacerbating feelings of stress. To breathe deeply, begin by putting your hand on your abdomen just below the navel. Inhale slowly through your nose and watch your hand move out as your belly expands. Hold the breath for a few seconds, then exhale slowly. Repeat several times.
One activity that helps tremendously in breathing exercise that I've discovered through experience, is yoga. Not only that it benefits through stretching and relaxes the muscles and softening the joints, I found that by doing yoga frequently, it makes me calmer and more composed, thinking clarity is better and I don't get irritable or annoyed easily. Must be all that oxygen in the brain.
#2. Try Tea
By now most of us know about the calming properties of chamomile tea. But a steaming cup of catnip, passionflower, skullcap or kava kava also work, according to Dr. Duke. Whether you use tea bags or loose tea (one teaspoon of tea per cup of boiling water), steep for about 10 minutes to get the full benefits of the herbs.
I don't doubt the calming and health effect of herbal tea, but for me, it is the mind associating tea drinking to relaxing environments. Coffee would do it better in my case. I enjoyed the days when I can just sink into the sofa, with soft jazz playing in the back ground, and sipping on a mug of hot mocha. So when I'm stressed an need to chill a while, just by holding a 3-in-1 mug of coffee in my hands, and closing my eyes for 10 minutes will bring me back to that moment of calm and comfort.
#3. Soak it Up
“When I have the time, nothing is more stress relieving for me than a hot bath,” Dr. Weston says. “But when I don’t have time, I do the next-best thing: I wash my face or even just my hands and arms with hot water. The key is to imagine that I’m taking a hot bath. It’s basically a visualization exercise, but the hot water makes it feel real.”
Beggars can't be choosers. Not many of us have a bath tub at home, but most of us do, however, have a swimming pool in the condo that we never seem to utilize. We might be tired from gym or burdened by stress from work and the last thing we (most of us anyway) want to do is to go do laps in the pool. Don't have to swim, just dip! Let yourself float in the water and listen to your own breathing. I promise, it will totally rejuvenate your soul!
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