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Ivan Petkov

We are all exposed to stress and tension that we feel only when they defeat us and start manifesting themselves with all their might - headache, extreme irritability, insomnia, overall fatigue. Because of chronic stress and tension our immune system weakens, we start falling ill more often, and sometimes we may collapse mentally or physically and sometimes completely. The overall change in life that reduces stress and tension sounds like a measure that will work, but in practice very few people undertake it as a prophylactic, and we only think about it when our doctor recommends it and when it is absolutely necessary. I will not tell you how to change your life, but I can share with you 5 very simple and effective methods for relieving stress and tension. They can serve both as a safety valve through which you can "let off steam" and as a preventive measure to reduce the impact of stress on us.

The advantage of each of these methods except the last one is that they can be performed (almost) anywhere and at any time of day. We do not need any special conditions nor additional clothing or equipment. You carry them with you and use them as an emergency aid at the onset of stress. It is very likely, that after using them for a while, some of us who oten take pills against headache, notice that increasingly they do not need them. But enough simply praising them, let me describe them to you, and you will just try them and see whether they really are as I present them to be.

First method: Relaxed and natural breathing. That's right, you read that right. Two quick facts. First, modern man cannot breathe properly. Stress, standstill, tension, poor lifestyle seem to wean us from the correct way of breathing. We become stiff, shallow breathing. Second, breathing very accurately reflects our emotional and physical condition. We feel it only under more extreme conditions when we run or become greatly excited. But except for being the result of our emotions, breathing may precede them and even make them calm down and balance them. I mean that if a person is excited and begins to breathe slowly and deeply ("Take a deep breath!"), this will calm him down. Here is what the method comprises: a long exhale. If there is no one beside you, you can also exhale loudly, as a sigh. If you feel the need, you may exhale several times this way. Then inhale and exhale slowly and naturally, without forcing yourself, so as not to gasp for breath because of shortness of breath. With each breath, imagine that you are breathin in peace, power and light, you may even tell yourself silently "peace" and with each exhalation, you exhale tension, fatigue and grey. You can imagine the tension and stress "flowing" out of you. Some people may find it difficult to breathe and they may feel tightness in the lower part of the lungs where the diaphragm is located. This tightness and stiffness is caused by accumulation of much tension in this area. With some practice and some time later, this tightness will decrease or even disappear. You can do the breathing exercise with your eyes closed or open, as you prefer, and as you see fit. Try it, you will not regret it. As I said, you can do it anywhere, anytime - while waiting in traffic, in the subway or bus, in the morning, at night, during breaks at work. This is a quick and easy way to freshen up and relieve the tension.

Second Method: Relieve the tension in the neck. The area of our neck is a place where great tension builds up. Many people are literally numb in that area. In most cases, it is the stiffness of the neck muscles that causes headaches, because it presses the blood vessels that supply the brain with blood and oxygen and a shortage occurs that causes headaches. I'll describe a very simple but very effective exercise for reducing and releasing tension in the neck. Relax your head back slightly and bend your neck as if to huddle up. Inhale and exhale slowly several times, then stretch your neck to its normal position. Repeat this several times. At the end of exercise you may bend your neck during inhalation and stretch it to its normal position during. On your own you can decide how to breathe and how long to hold your breath. The aim of the contraction of the neck is to relax and stir the stiff muscles. To enhance the effect, again you can imagine light and calm when you bend your neck and breathe in and when you breathe out tension and grey when stretching your neck. You can also imagine how in the centre of your neck a flower is blossoming. Any such picture, that you imagine amplifies the effect and influences on a subconscious level, helping to bring more stress to the surface.

Third method: stretching yourself to stretch the muscles and relieve stress. This method is very similar to the stretching that everybody does after waking up from sleep. The idea is to use the beneficial effect of morning stretching throughout the other parts of the day when our body needs exercise and infusing a little life-giving power. Everyone knows how he feels when stretching, nothing complicated. The only difference is that you have to breathe in when stretching your arms up and hold the end position when you are most stretched. Hold your breath for several seconds together with the tension in the body that stretching brings. Stretch as far up as possible. Then with the exhalation, relax rapidly. You will feel a pleasant feeling of relaxation of the whole body. Repeat several times.

Fourth method: shaking out tension from your entire body. This method is also extremely easy to perform and at the same time very effective. It is done as you stand up on your tiptoes, but without stretching and then you suddenly relax on your heels. You have to repeat this without stopping several times. The idea is to shake the whole body, as if you are shaking something out of it - in this case, it is the tension and stress. Such a shake out also serves as a massage of the internal organs and helps to remove toxins from the body. The method can be done more dynamically or more slowly and smoothly, according to our inward feeling.

Fifth method: Complete relaxation of the body. This method requires a little privacy and it is suitable for performing in the evening before bedtime. It serves as a complete relaxation of the body and relief of the tension accumulated throughout the day. You could say that it combines some parts of most of the above described methods. Lie on your back on a hard surface, preferably on a mat on the ground, or perhaps on a firm mattress, without pillows. Relax your whole body and relax your breathing. Begin to relax from the top of the head through the neck, shoulders, chest, torso, hips, down to your fingertips. Imagine that a smooth and gentle wave of relaxation is passing through your body freeing you from all tensions. Finally you can complete the exercise with the kind of breathing from the first method, during which we drove the tension out during exhalation and visualize light and peace during inhalation.

You can practice all the methods together or you can choose only one. You can use the most appropriate for the occasion or alternate them. They are extremely easy to perform, but are very effective, fault-free and are a powerful tool for dealing with accumulated stress and tension. The good thing about these methods is that they do not require a lot of time as each one is done literally in a few minutes, and most of them can be performed anywhere, anytime. Lastly, you can take them everywhere with you and they are completely free! Even if you do not need them at the moment, remember them. Knowledge is power and when you need them, you'll have a few simple and effective practices that can help. You can share them or recommend them to a friend.