We all have stressful periods in our lives. A lot of us are walking around unconsciously holding stress in our bodies. It’s slowly eating away at our insides and at some point we suffer the consequences. I’m going to introduce you to the 60 second anti-stress exercise. Once you have rehearsed this a few times you will be able to significantly reduce your stress levels whenever you need.

Now, the important thing here is to note that this is a form of self-hypnosis … not in the ’spooky swinging-watch look-into-my-eyes’ type … but of the type that changes your internal state to something different to that of stress. (Shhhhh …. shifting state is one of the key secrets of hypnosis!)

So how do you change state in 60 seconds? You’ll have to rehearse a bit but the key is to immerse yourself in a real or imagined memory of something pleasant … not as an intellectual thing, but as a full sensory remembering.

Try the following:

1. Make sure you are in a calm, non-disturbed environment (at least when you start-off to practice this).
2. Close your eyes and recall a time when you experienced a wonderful feeling of release … perhaps walking in the hills one summer afternoon or when you first met you’re future partner and …
3. Imagine that you can see the scenario from a birds-eye point-of-view and as you do, float down into the ‘you’ in that scenario and look through the eyes of that person … as if you were there.
4. Run the scene in your imagination as a movie … as if you were there.
5. See things in color and as you do, recall any sounds that were there … sounds that you can hear now in this scene you are participating in.
6. Begin to notice those great feelings you are experiencing as you ‘re-live’ the scene and let them amplify through you.
7. Bask in the imagined memory, first person, surround sound, with the feeling you felt then welling through you in the present.
8. And open your eyes, taking a deep breath as you do so.

You should have quite dramatically changed your state by doing the above exercise. Learning how to hypnotize yourself isn’t as difficult as you might imagine! Practice it. Try different memories. Make up some fantasy imaginings if that works. Try out a few different imaginary scenarios and work out which one most improves your stress levels when used in the above exercise.

Make a promise to yourself to become more aware of when you are holding onto stress and use that as a trigger to do the exercise.

When we practice meditation that brings our attention to our bodies, we may become aware of many aches and pains in our bodies that we hadn’t noticed before.  These could be very subtle or they could be very noticeable.  A pain or discomfort in a particular area of the body we may be inclined to try to get away from it or change it somehow, which is a natural reaction.  If the pain isn’t a result of some specific physical problem, like in the knees for example, then this may be a chance to really deal with the potential for release and healing. Let this be your beginners guide to meditation.

Many unresolved issues are actually held in the form of tension or discomfort that is held in the body.  The subconscious holds the past that has not been healed.  The body is a kind of storage for the subconscious to keep things that have not been completed in our lives.  That is why in meditation we may discover pain from this, welcome it and use it to release the original hurt.

We may gain insight into what we were holding and how it came to be visible to us as we experience release.  If we have an ongoing pain in a place like our right shoulder, we may be able to find the source through meditating and becoming conscious of something from childhood connected to our father.  This memory of a childhood reflection related to the father can be the vehicle for giving us some insight into the self.  The real issue is not what the father’s actions were at all.  He serves as the reflection of something that already existed within the self.

We may draw some understanding from this insight about a childhood experience about a pattern that has persisted in our relationships with men.  We may notice a way of relating, or not relating to men.  In the end we will understand this as a distortion of our masculine polarity.  We will see, through examining the source of problems in the past in our lives, that the issues relating to masculinity were influenced by imprinting from the father, and to the feminine, by imprinting from the mother.  They are the basis for the reflection and imprinting that occurs in our lives, and following the laws of sympathetic attraction will pull us to the parent that will enable us to work out the karma we’re meant to focus on in our lives.

The case is the same for emotional pain.  If we really allow ourselves to experience our emotions in our bodies, to be present to ourselves and honor what is happening, we will be able to notice what develops during this process. This includes coping with anxiety and depression.

Whenever we experience any discomfort either physically or emotionally, we can’t take the time to just sit and meditate.  However, the practice of meditation will enhance our ability to really be available to the experiences we have in the rest of our lives that may be challenging, and through this we can become empowered. You can also look to learn yoga for stress relief.

Meditation has its origins in Eastern culture, but it has been practiced for centuries in cultures all over the world.  Meditation refers to a large variety of practices and techniques and includes guided meditation, transcendental meditation and mindful meditation practice.  Many different techniques can be used, such as the focus of the mind on certain objects or words, or on the breath.  Sometimes a particular posture can be used but isn’t necessary. Let this be part of your beginners guide to meditation.

Meditation can be simple to learn, does not require special equipment, and can be done in almost any location.  Meditation and yoga for stress relief can make a big impact. After only one session a person can experience stress reduction.  It has been found by most researchers that only 20 minutes a day will produce long-term health benefits.  The effects can be felt even with the practice of meditation for only 10 minutes a few days a week.

Psychological and physiological health can be improved by regularly practicing meditation.  Meditation can induce the pattern of brainwaves to achieve the alpha state, which is the state of consciousness that encourages healing to take place.  Meditation can be a way to relax, to promote mental clarity, to bring about psychological health, to assist in treating many different diseases and maladies, and for general health of mind and body.

It’s been found in studies that meditation activates the part of the brain that controls the autonomic nervous system, controlling the body functions like digestion and blood pressure.  Stress has a powerful negative impact on these functions, so meditation can help relieve the causes of stress-related disease, like digestive disorders or heart conditions.

A study reported in Psychosomatic Medicine described 90 cancer patients who practiced mindful meditation for seven weeks.  At the conclusion of this study, patients said they experienced less depression, confusion, anger or anxiety.  They reported having more energy and fewer gastrointestinal or heart problems.

At the Maharishi School of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, a group was studied whose members had meditated for four months.  Researchers found reduced levels of cortisol, which is known as the stress hormone, and these people who had meditated reported they could better handle stress in their lives, which includes tips on dealing with anxiety and depression.

Research can help confirm some of what we know about, but there are obviously many benefits we can claim without research.  Meditation offers benefits to almost everyone, and has no reported ill effects.

There are many ways you can reduce stress.  There are just as many reasons why you would need or want to reduce stress.  Life is getting busier and busier each day, week, month, and year.  And it all passes by so fast.If you have children, you sometimes look at them and realize how fast they grew up, it seems like your teenager was just learning to walk not to long ago.  And you add more stress when you think about how much work you have and how little you get to play with those 12 year olds.  Get some tips to help you reduce stress in your life and enjoy it a little bit more.

Ways To Reduce Stress

Sex is what brought you those teens in the first place, sex can also help you deal with some of the stress those teens cause you.Having more sex increases stress relieving hormones more often in your body.  Have sex 2-3 times a week and get closer to your partner.  If your sex life is getting dull and boring, spice it up.There are dozens of ways you can spice up your love life - get some pills to help with sexual performance issues, take a break and go on a much needed vacation, or start giving each other sensual massages to help get you in the mood.  Be sure to protect yourself as you don’t want to find another unexpected surprise to cause you another 18+ years of stress.

Another way to reduce stress is through aromatherapy.  You can buy some lavendar essential oil cheap on eBay and sprinkle it on a napkin and put it in your pillow case to help you sleep.  You can also put some in a diffuser to spread the aroma throughout the area you work in to calm your mood throughout the day.  Aromatherapy has plenty of other benefits in addition to stress relief. 

The last tip for today is to let go and laugh.  Life sucks sometimes, people suck sometimes, work sucks sometimes, but that is how it is.Accept the situations life throws at you, let those tense feelings go and laugh.  Force a laugh.Don't take this as too cold, but it could be worse, you could be dead.  If you think your life is hard, think about people who don’t have enough to eat and are dying of starvation.  Who has more stress, you or them?  Learn to let go of your troubles and laugh more. Follow these simple tips and you can be on your way to reducing the stress in your life and getting to know your partner better and have a better appreciation of the things you do have.