Here are a few ways to maintain a sense of well-being and stress-free living.
1)Do something to calm your mind (pray, meditate, yoga)
2)Do something to simplify your environment (at home-get rid of clutter, at work-stay away from negative people)
3)Do something to feed your spirit (go to church, help with an organization/cause)
4)Do something good for your body (exercise, get a massage-facial-pedi/mani)

Do these things and it’ll lessen the stress level in your every day life.

Welcome back!

“A cheerful heart is good medicine” ~~ Proverbs 17:22

When you’re feeling stressed or upset, try laughing…laughter helps release anxiety, tension, fear, anger.
It’ll transform your outlook on life at that moment.

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. ~Yiddish Proverb

Laughing releases bottled up emotions and pent up feelings. Laughter releases endorphins which help reduce pain. Laugh every day, and you’ll feel better…physically and mentally.

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cummings

With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die. ~Abraham Lincoln

For the most part we think of nap time for little children and toddlers, but did you know there are many advantages to power napping for teens and adults!

If you lack sleep, it can affect your performance, motivation, ability to deal with stressful situations, judgment, reaction time, short term memory, information processing, and patience. If you’re tired, you could also be moody, aggressive and candidate for burn out, all of which will add unneeded and unnecessary stress to your life.

Napping isn’t being lazy, it’s a quick refill for your brain and body so they can continue to work effectively and efficiently.

So, when you’re feeling like you a need a pick me up, grab a 20 minute power nap and recharge.

When you awaken, you’ll feel less stressed, invigorated, will be able to think better, boost your creativity, you’ll be more alert & productive.

Granted, you’ll want to find an appropriate time & place for your power nap. In middle of high school or college class probably isn’t going to be the most opportune time, nor would it be appropriate in the midst of a big business conference. However, the benefits are there for you if you can swing a power nap without being a distraction to others.

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.
~~Anne Frank

Exercise is one of the best stress management tools accessible to you.
Though, many won’t make the time or fit it into their schedules-not realizing if they exercised for even twenty minutes they’d be able to function more efficiently and actually be able to save time and be stress free to boot!

Exercise releases beta endorphins that actually counteract the effects of stress in the body-it signals the body that the danger (stress) is gone and the body can begin to relax.

You don’t have to go out and join a gym or run a marathon right away to feel the stress relieving benefits of exercise. Find something you enjoy and can do easily without added stress.

Walking-it’s fun, it’s easy and gives you a chance to get out in the fresh air. You can walk alone and spend time in thought, prayer or grab a friend and make a social event of it.
Bicycling-there’s something about the wind in your hair and the breeze hitting you that is exhilarating and refreshing. Find a bike path or go to a park or hit the bike trails and enjoy.
Yoga-some quiet time to build your coordination, flexibility, circulation, posture, strength and complete body conditioning and de-stress at the same time.
Swimming-if you love the water or want something you can do that’s easy on the joints, muscles and bones try swimming.
Dance-dance at home or go out dancing with your friends or significant other. Get those feet moving and enjoy the music!
Running/Jogging-no, you don’t need to go run a marathon immediately-but do get those running shoes on and take an invigorating run. Enjoy the sounds and scenery as you go (yes, you can run and enjoy it without constantly being plugged into your ipod)-brings you closer to the environment around you.

Whatever form of exercise you enjoy, make time to do it!

The benefits of exercising are countless but here’s a few:
~Improved ability to manage and deal with stress
~Decrease in the effects of stress
~Increased energy
~Improved self-esteem and self-image
~Improved quality of sleep
~Decrease in body fat
~Strengthening of your immune system
~Improved heart & lung efficiency
~Decreased risk of developing heart or lung disease
~Reduced blood pressure
~Reduced cholesterol levels

So, what are you waiting for?
Get up and get exercising and reap all the wonderful benefits!

Your work/job makes up a large portion of your life. Whether you work for yourself or have a J.O.B. most people spend 8-10 hours a day dealing with work. Your life can be more stressful from situations at work if you don’t know how to deal with certain stressors. No worries though, you can have a more balanced and less stressed out life if you can manage, balance, avoid, confront or better yet eliminate the stress in the work environment.

Here are a few quick tips to help you:
1)Eliminate the stressor–if it’s a task you hate, delegate it to someone else or share with a co-worker, partner.
2)Avoid the stressor–is there a co-worker that just drives you up a wall? Avoid them as much as possible.
3)Manage the stressor–give yourself a reward after accomplishing a task that is stressful, that way you have something enjoyable to look forward to.
4)Confront the stressor–if a co-worker, supervisor or someone else is making your job more stressful or difficult, confront them and get it worked out, they may not even know what they’re doing or saying is stressing you.
5)Learn how to balance–if you have no other options, then deal with the stress but once you’re away from the work place you’ll need to practice some form of stress relief techniques or hire a stress management coach to help you along the way to a calmer, more balanced, less stressful life (in and out of the work place).

Naturally Reduce Health-Threatening Stress, Enjoy Better Sleep, Even Improve Your Relationships, In Just A Few Minutes Each Day

Are you suffering from stress-related symptoms, including…
Moodiness
Trouble sleeping
Poor emotional control
Chronic fatigue
Change in appetite
Change in sex drive
Weight gain
A feeling of helplessness
Feelings of dependence
Feeling stressed out

It’s hardly surprising. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), up to 90% of all primary care visits are related to stress symptoms like these.

And more startling, stress is responsible for 80% to 85% of ALL human illnesses.

From depression to heart disease, strokes to migraines, and even chronic pain and reproductive issues, stress is responsible for some of the most debilitating — even life threatening — illnesses we know.

But what if you could FREE yourself from stress, and the troubling symptoms that accompany it, just by spending a few minutes doing something that’s actually FUN and ENTERTAINING?

By using a scientifically PROVEN, non-invasive method of stress relief that literally thousands of people are already taking advantage of to enjoy healthy minds and happy bodies?

A method that will begin to show you results within the first 15 minutes?

End Your Stress, and Relieve Your Stress-Related Symptoms, With Help From The Leading Innovators In Natural Stress Reduction

This is a Program That Will Equip Anyone With The Ability To Manage Their Time So Effectively, It Will Seem As Though You’ve Literally Created More Hours In Day

Do you feel that you can never get things done simply because you just don’t have the time?

Do you often wonder where the hours in the day go as you realize that yet another project was either delayed or not even started?

Are you having trouble taking action to achieve goals that you know would enrich your life because right now you’re trapped in a time frenzy?

If you answered yes to any one of these questions, don’t worry because you’re not the first person who has experienced these feelings and you certainly won’t be the last.

Time is the only thing that each and every person on the earth is equally equipped with.

No One Can Create Any More Time In Their Day Than Anyone Else… It’s What You Do With Your Time Will Separate You From Everyone Else

With the new “Time Frenzy” program, you become the master of time rather than allowing time to control you.

How Laughter Yoga Reduces Mental stress
compliments of http://www.laughteryoga.org

Our breathing is connected to our state of mind. It is apparent that the state of mind directly affects breathing. When in a stressful emotional state or turmoil, the breathing pattern alters drastically. It becomes faster, shallow and irregular. Sometimes people even hold their breath under stress which leads to an accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood.

Mental stress occurs due to arousal of sympathetic branch of over autonomic nervous system which is very sensitive to carbon dioxide levels in the blood. Laughter Yoga provides an excellent cardiac workout and triggers a breathing pattern that offers significant respiratory benefits. It lowers the amount of residual air in the lungs, replacing it with oxygen-rich air. This reduces the level of carbon dioxide in the lungs and prevents the stress arousal system.

Diaphragmatic breathing

The best way to reduce mental stress is to activate parasympathetic system which is opposite of sympathetic system. This can be done by changing the way we breathe. If we can learn to breathe from the diaphragm mental stress can not occur even if you have stressful thoughts in the mind. You body simply will not react to stressful thoughts.

The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscular partition between the chest and the abdomen. It plays an important role in the most vital function of respiration. During inhalation the diaphragm contracts and pulls down to make a space for expansion of lungs and during exhalation it relaxes and pushes the lungs to facilitate exhalation.

By shifting the breathing pattern from shallow to deep diaphragmatic breathing, it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which is the cooling branch of the autonomic nervous system and is the opposite of the sympathetic stress arousal system. This scientific phenomenon coupled with ancient yogic wisdom of breathing makes this concept a unique exercise regime to loosen stress and relieve anxiety.

One of the prime objectives of Laughter Yoga is to learn how to move the diaphragm and shift the awareness of breathing from the chest to the deep abdominal breathing. With the movement of the diaphragm we can bring our emotions under conscious control.

Bliss means supreme happiness, utter joy or contentment.
Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

“Stress is not what happens to us.
It’s our response TO what happens.
And RESPONSE is something we can choose.”
Maureen Killoran

“When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question:
Will this matter in 5 years from now?
If yes, then do something about the situation.
If no, then let it go.”
Catherine Pulsifer

Which would you prefer?
a feeling of total bliss or stress?
Apply the two quotes above in your daily life and you can lessen your stress.