Reclaim Your Powerful You! – Day 4

5 Simple Techniques to Relieve Stress

by Veronica Lee

Whether we are doing something that is joyful or miserable our bodies can experience stress.   For example, planning a wedding or birthday celebration can be joyful to our emotional bodies, while our physical bodies undergo stress from the activity. In fact, we don’t have to be doing anything at all; our bodies experience stress simply because we exist. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life.” Between the combination of external forces (life’s demands) as well as internal expectations (our should’s and judgments), our bodies can spend more time in a stressful state than not.

When we are feeling stressed, we are not in the present moment, or consciously aligning with our Higher Power.

To clarify, our bodies may be experiencing normal physical stresses through exertion – like holding a strenuous yoga pose – as we simultaneously feel completely connected to Source. On the other hand, when we feel stressed we are actually experiencing our disconnection from Source.

Obviously, one thing we can do to reduce emotional and mental stress is eliminate, or at least decrease, the factors that cause it.  Most of us have room to substantially simplify our lives. Maybe we don’t engage so often with negative influences including unpleasant media, angry people or overly hectic schedules. Imagine creating a To Do list which is prioritized by things you actually enjoy!

To counteract the effects of stress, and to create more balance in our lives, many have discovered relaxation techniques such as yoga, tai chi, and meditation.  These practices allow us to relax our minds while nurturing or resting our bodies.  But what do you do if you find yourself feeling stressed and have to skip your meditation class or don’t have the time or space to dive into a Sun Salutation?