Simple ways to release stress

We are already in the much-awaited "ber" months but there seems to be no particular reason why we should start holiday preparations early. Sales executives are worried about how to reach their year-end quotas, managers their targets, CEOs their bottom-line. Even housewives are much stressed trying to make ends meet with constant budgeting.

Anxiety, worry, and stress will not get us anywhere. As my favorite prayer book says, whether good or bad (because any extreme is quite stressful) "this too will pass." In the last two weeks, we shared with you dietary tips from Dr. Andrew Weil. Now, as it is truly timely, let me share with you his simple tips on how to manage stress.

Breathe It Out

A simple way, according to Dr. Weil, is to shift your focus from thoughts that create worry and anxiety to your own breathing. A breathing exercise is calming and even energizing. He describes his deep, prolonged yogic breathing:

• Sit up, with your back straight (eventually you’ll be able to do this exercise in any position).

• Place your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth and keep it there throughout the exercise.

• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.

• Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.

• Hold your breath for a count of seven.

• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.

• Repeat this cycle three times for a total of four breaths.

He recommends doing this breathing exercise at least twice a day. It can be repeated more often than that but without increasing the number of repetitions each time to more than four breaths. He explains that this is because this breathing exercise is intense and doing more is not necessarily beneficial.

Dr. Weil attests that this exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. "Unlike tranquilizing drugs, which are often effective when you first take them but lose their power over time, this exercise is subtle when you first try it but gains in power with repetition and practice," he vows.

Walk It Off

Another favorite of Dr. Weil is regular aerobic activity. Even a brisk walk of up to 30 minutes five days a week qualifies. Other options are biking, swimming, jumping rope, or bouncing on a trampoline.

"One of the reasons I recommend regular aerobic exercise is for its moderating effects on emotions. This is a long-term benefit, but exercise, both aerobic and nonaerobic, can also work in acute situations. If you feel angry or upset at other people, yourself, or the world in general, a brisk walk or run or a half hour of lifting weights will often put you back in a good mood," he explains.

Dr. Weil is partial to yoga as a non-aerobic exercise to complement brisk walking (or any other aerobic exercise of your choice). He claims that yoga is an excellent promoter of relaxation as well as a good form of body conditioning.

Soothe It Away

Massage and bodywork can provide you the relaxation you need. But in order to gain full benefit, you need to totally surrender to the touch of a skilled therapist, Dr. Weil clarifies. There are various kinds and you have to discover and experience the type that soothes your frayed nerves.

Combined with aromatherapy and soothing balms, a massage can be a very relaxing treat not only for knots in the muscles but even for all the senses.

However, Dr. Weil qualifies that like exercise, massage provides more of a temporary relief than a lasting change. "It is also limited in its application, since few of us are able to go to a massage therapist on a daily basis, and most of us need to practice relaxation skills every day," he explains.

Bask In Peaceful Memories

I developed a game I play with my kids on long trips to escape having to tell stories all the time. We take turns recalling happy thoughts. Sometimes we veer to the embarrassing, exciting, or frightening. But the happy and peaceful thoughts are my favorites.

Visualization and guided imagery are techniques that can help you keep your sanity and peace of mind in a fast-changing and difficult-to-fathom world. If you are the type who can easily close your eyes and imagine a serene setting like by the calm sea or a brook, then picture yourself in that place, taking in all the peace and quiet to soothe not only your body but also your mind and spirit.

If you are not imaginative enough, don’t fret because Dr. Weil makes it simple enough:

• Recall a scene from the past when you were supremely content, secure, and centered.

• Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and picture yourself back there. Try to make the image bright and clear and try to hear, feel, and smell the surroundings too. How long you focus on it is less important than how regularly you do it.

If you spend a few minutes every day practicing your visualization, you will reap greater benefits than if you spend an hour at it every so often. The best times for practice are the transition states between sleeping and waking. Just before falling asleep and just after waking up, try to concentrate on your peaceful image. At these times it passes more easily into your unconscious mind, where it can relax your nervous system and body.

Arrest It With Meditation

"Meditation is directed concentration. Meditators learn to focus their awareness and direct it onto an object: the breath, a phrase or word repeated silently, a memorized inspirational passage, an image in the mind’s eye. Researchers have documented immediate benefits in terms of lowered blood pressure, decreased heart and respiratory rate, increased blood flow, and other measurable signs of the relaxation response," Dr. Weil says.

He also clarifies that meditation’s goal is not just to stop all thoughts. That is not possible in the first place. "What you want to learn is to withdraw attention from the endless chains of associated thoughts that stream through the mind, putting attention instead on the object of meditation. Whenever you become aware that your attention has strayed to images, sensations, thoughts of dinner or whatever, gently bring it back to your chosen object. The tedious work of meditation is just this constant running after your attention and bringing it back," he explains.

Having personally tried this, I can say that the rewards are great but just like any discipline you should really devote time to it. Even Dr. Weil professes that if he fails to do his 30-minute meditation in the morning, he finds it hard to squeeze it in during the day. He is already too tired at night to practice it as well. That has also been my experience.

Peace In Repetition

Usually connected with meditation is the use of the mantra. "This is the practice of repeating over and over in the mind certain syllables, words, or phrases that help unify consciousness and counteract negative mental states," Dr. Weil defines.

Almost all religion incorporates meditation and the repetition of words. This should not really be falsely identified with one religion or cult, Dr. Weil says. He believes that you can get the benefit out of mentally repeating "Peace, peace, peace, peace..." or "The sky is blue, the sky is blue..." or "Day by day in every way I am getting better and better." The use of a religious verse increases the calming power because of the association to one’s faith and belief system. This could be anything from "Abba" to "My Lord and My God" to "Hail Mary."

Lift It Up To Him

I cannot end this piece without adding this most simple but most important tool to managing stress. Whatever burdens you, just surrender everything to the Lord and lift it up to Him in prayer. Just the thought that He is bigger and mightier than all our problems is enough melt away our worries and anxieties.

A calm peace envelops you when you acknowledge that a Supreme Being who loves you unconditionally is interested in the situation you find hopeless. And that whatever may be impossible to us, is always possible with Him.

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E-mail mylene@bender-and-strands.com for questions and suggestions.