7 Tips for Relaxation and Stress Relief

Relaxation is one of the best things you can do for your body and
your mind. Unfortunately, most people don't know how to relax. Most go
through life stressed, tense, out-of-touch with themselves. But you
can learn valuable strategies for getting in touch with your body and
releasing harmful tension and stress.1. Become more aware of your
body. Most of us aren't very aware of ourselves. We've learned not to
feel pain, or tension, or even pleasure. A relaxed and healthy body
needs to be acknowledged and given what it needs to stay healthy. To
do this, you must be relatively aware of what's happening inside
you.2. Discover where you hold tension. We all carry tension and
stress in many places throughout our bodies. You can learn to feel
each place deeply and take specific steps to relax it. You can become
proactive in your approach to relaxation and clear tension and stress
before they bring the body harm.3. Learn to quiet your mind. Most of
us listen to our busy minds constantly, not knowing how to quiet them.
We are thinking creatures for certain, but we can learn to still the
mind somewhat, and pay less attention to all it has to say. Your body
relaxes better when it's not being constantly distracted by
thoughts.4. Practice feeling your body's energy. We all have a
continuous flow of universal energy through our bodies. It's the life
force which keeps us alive, yet most people are fairly unaware of it.
By becoming more aware of this energy and how it feels inside, you can
learn to harness it for your relaxation and well-being.5. Learn to
move gently and fluidly. Most of us no longer move as we were intended
to move. Such factors as tension, stress, weight, age, pain, illness
and injury conspire to keep us from experiencing free movement. Yet
with practice and some guidance you can relearn how to move more
fluidly and easily whatever your body's age and condition.6. Learn to
manage chronic pain. Some pain tells us we need to address an acute
condition. But other pain, caused by such things as tension, emotions,
and memories stored in the body, is chronic pain. By working with
chronic pain, you can become more relaxed and comfortable physically,
and ultimately you will be more healthy.7. Practice being more
present. We can learn to be more present each moment, more accepting
both of change and of how things are, more aware of body and mind. You
can relax into your essential self, instead of being all the things
you may have believed or thought about yourself.By using these 7 tips,
you can learn to relax more deeply and let go of many of the things
keeping you from being more centered and balanced in your body. You
can learn to deal with stress and tension, have less chronic
discomfort, and be more of your real self.