Finding the Balance Between Good Stress and Good Relaxation

It is important to find stress reduction techniques to counteract the negatives in life. With relaxation tips and changes to your daily routine, you can find the state of calmness that will produce a healthier you.
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Finding the right balance in life is the key being productive and healthy. When stress threatens to overwhelm our lives, it wreaks havoc with our routines and throws us off balance.

A little stress is good; it helps to charge our instincts, increase our creativity and spur us on to better learning. The harmful side of stress, according to the Mayo Clinic, comes when its effect become overwhelming. This leads to a buildup of tensions and frustration and takes away the state of balance we work so hard to achieve. Unfortunately, stress is everywhere today. It exists externally, with work, family and friends, and internally in how we deal with them all.

It is important to find stress reduction techniques to counteract the negatives in life. With relaxation tips and changes to your daily routine, you can find the state of calmness that will produce a healthier you.

Yoga Exercises

Yoga is a great way to balance stress and health. It is an excellent way to get fit but also has meditative qualities that encourage people to breathe deeply and soothe the mind. This deep breathing helps to minimize feelings of stress, tension, anger and frustration.

Hot Tub Therapy

Hot tubs are used all over the world, and while their relaxation properties are universally recognized, the health and medical benefits of hot tub products are somewhat less-known. The benefits of good hydrotherapy can be significant.

For those with aching joints from work-related conditions, hot tub soaks can reduce stress and tension on overworked arms and legs. It can even be beneficial for those who work on keypads all day, reducing stress on hands, wrists and forearms. Physiotherapist often use water therapy with hot tubs to:

-- limit soreness for people with arthritis
-- enable faster recovery from injuries

Meditation Works

Some people swear by daily meditation to keep their lives in balance and avoid stress and tension. To do this right takes some practice to eliminate the stress-inducing thoughts from one's mind to focus on the stronger, more positive elements. Key meditation tips include:
  • Find a quiet environment: Distractions and meditation do not go well together. Find a quiet, secluded space in your home before work, or a serene park at lunchtime. Make sure you have about five minutes of uninterrupted mediation time.
  • Focus on positive aspects: Center your thoughts on a part of your being that's positive. Visualize a place, person or thing and speak about it slowly and repeatedly. Enhance your "de-concentration" by closing your eyes and letting the meditation move you above the frustration.
  • Stay focused: You may experience some distracting thoughts as you meditate. Don't dwell on them, but simply re-focus your thoughts away from the distraction and onto the positive.

De-Stress with Sweat

Getting up and moving can relieve stress and tension, mostly by releasing endorphins. Start with a brisk walk after dinner a few nights a week. Or if you're more of a morning riser, take an hour to stretch and run outside. You'll be amazed at what physical activity can do for not only any underlying stress, but also your body, spirit and soul.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E, a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.

McGraw Hill published her first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress. Elizabeth contributes to blogs like Lifehacker, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the 99U blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of the Year by Stiletto Woman.

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