Learning how to relax can greatly improve your health and well-being. That’s why it’s so important to find ways to introduce more relaxation into your everyday life. If you don’t learn to manage your stress, stress will manage you, and left unchecked, stress can be draining, exhausting, cause anxiety, and may even create health issues.

All of us look for ways to counter stress on a regular basis, sometimes without even being aware of it. Some of us go to the gym to work off stress. Others go to the pub and try to drink stress away. There are the couch potatoes that zone out in front of the TV to eliminate stress, and then there are those who use smoking or drugs as the answer. But drinking, smoking, or drugs are toxic and can be damaging to your body and mind.

The key to finding true relaxation is balance. If you are use to a hectic lifestyle, you may feel that relaxing might make you lose your edge. You may also be addicted to the effects of
adrenaline, and find it problematic to relax. But remember your body can’t remain on high alert all the time. It will eventually lead to burn out, and possibly physical ailments.

So, the best time to discover how to bring more peace and relaxation into your life is before the lack of it becomes a problem. Practice ways to relax anytime you get a chance, or whenever you feel the need to release stress.

Here are some effective relaxation positions. You have probably seen some of them before. Some are variations used in yoga exercises, and are very helpful in reducing feelings of stress and anxiety.

1. Legs Across a Chair
Begin by getting a chair. Now lay on your back on the floor, and place your legs on the seat in a sideways position. Make sure the chair is right up against the bend in your knees. This is good for the lower back. It also allows your whole body to let go of tensions and your muscles to begin to relax. Slow down your breathing too. If you really want to go deep into this relaxation position, try covering your eyes with a moist warm towel or cucumbers slices.

2. Bottom Against a Wall
Next, put the chair aside and move your buttocks up to the base of a wall and extend your legs straight up the wall. Make sure your bottom is as close to the base of the wall as possible, and that the small of your back is flat against the floor. You can place your arms straight out on either side, or just keep them by your sides. Again, keep your breathing slow, or do some breathing exercises. The point is to do whatever feels most relaxing to you. There is no right or wrong way.

3. Knees Against Your Chest
Now bring your knees down close to your chest. Hold your legs to your chest with your hands if you can. That really helps stretch the lower back. If it feels more relaxing to you, just keep your
knees in a bent position as close to your chest as possible. Close your eyes, and breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. Do whatever makes you feel more relaxed.

4. Blanket Under Shoulder Blades
Now here’s the last one. Slowly move away from the wall. Don’t jump up quickly, that is counterproductive to everything you just did. Instead, roll over on your side, and use your arms to push yourself up into a sitting position. Now take a blanket, towel or cloth and roll it into the shape of a log. Place it on the floor and lay back on the cloth so that it’s horizontally straight across your shoulder blades. You can increase the range of this position by stretching your arms out on either side, tucking the small of your back against the floor, pulling your knees up in a bent position and placing your feet flat on the floor. Most often, stress and tension gets stuck in your neck, shoulders and lower back. This relaxation position really helps to release those stress knots that can form in those areas.

There you have it. Simple, easy positions to help release stress. Remember, when you’re done, don’t get up quickly. Roll over on your side, and use your hands and arms to push yourself up into
a sitting position, and then continue to get up slowly. Do any or all of the positions whenever you get a chance, and share them with a friend. To your health!

Here’s a look at some exercises that will help to ease
tension. And, by the way, these are great exercises to do
if you can’t sleep!

What happens when we are under tension?

Our bodies trigger the ‘fight or flee’ response – the
natural reaction to a perceived threat. This generates
extra adrenaline to give us a burst of energy so we can deal
with the threat. It also thickens the blood to stop us
bleeding more quickly in case we’re injured while ‘fighting
or fleeing’, and tenses up certain muscles so we can defend
ourselves more effectively. We have no control over this –
it’s totally natural and instinctive.

In ancient times when we faced danger we used up the extra
energy by fighting the danger or running away from it, but
in modern times we can’t do that. .

The causes of stress or tension in modern times often come
from the office or home – an unreasonable boss, a
relationship breakdown, a new job or a death in the family.
In these cases we don’t remove the danger by physically
fighting or fleeing. As a result we don’t disperse the
adrenaline or allow our blood to thin out – our bodies
remain in a permanent state of readiness to deal with the
danger.

What is the effect of this?

This permanent state of readiness over time leads to tension
headaches, stiff neck and shoulders, stomach upsets, back
pain and other symptoms of stress.

What can we do about this?

When we are under physical threat the body naturally tenses
up certain muscles in order to protect itself. It basically
hunches and curls up into a ball to protect vulnerable areas
and expose the better-protected ones.

Remember – the body reacts to stress in the same way as it
reacts to perceived danger. So when we are under stress the
body will naturally try to react in the same way. While we
don’t normally curl up into a ball in the middle of a
meeting if we are under tension, the same muscles that would
allow us to do so are the ones that become tense.

These are the muscles that tense up under stress:

We tend to frown We tend to clench our jaws Our shoulders tend to hunch up Our chest tends to close Our arms tend to come into our sides Our hands tend to bunch into fists Our legs tend to close Our knees tend to be drawn up Our feet tend to be drawn up, so our feet are pointing upwards

So how do we relax these muscles?

Muscles tend to resist external pressure that’s forced onto
them. Try this: rest your wrist and hand on a table, palm
facing up. Your fingers will be curled inwards. With your
other hand try straightening out your fingers. Your will
feel a resistance and, once you let go, your fingers will
bounce back to their original position. We need to find
another way to relax those muscles.

Each joint in our body is supported by muscles on both
sides. This enables us to move the joint in many
directions. If we move a joint in one direction the muscles
on the opposite side of the direction we’re moving in have
to relax so as to allow the movement. For example: if we
bend our knees the muscles at the front of our upper legs
have to relax to allow the movement. If they didn’t relax
our legs would stay straight.

Here are 8 relaxation exercises:

In order to relax the muscles that tense up under stress we
need to move the affected joints in the opposite direction
to the natural danger response.

Here are some relaxation exercises to release tension:

Try to move your forehead or hairline backwards over the top of your head – the opposite of a frown. It may help to imagine your hand stroking backwards from your forehead over the top of your head and down to the back of your neck – but don’t actually do the stoking. Open your mouth as wide as you can, hold and release Push your shoulders down and back, hold and release Stretch your arms up and link your hands above you head. Open your hands as wide as you possibly can, hold and release. Lie on your back and roll your knees outwards. No need for a big movement on this one – a few millimeters is all that’s needed to relax your inner thigh muscles. Straighten your knees so that your hip is opened out and stretched. Point your toes downwards as far as you can. Hold and release.

The ideal way to start learning these exercises is to lie
flat on your back. Once you have got the hang of it you can
do them at any time: sitting at your desk, waiting in a
queue, waiting at a stoplight. Wherever you have a few
moments to wait.

Good luck and remember: if we don’t do anything different
we’ll keep getting the same results!

Athletes are most vulnerable to physical and psychological reactions to stress and anxiety. There are certain relaxation techniques that can help players to relax and these techniques if followed regularly can help them improve their game these techniques can e followed before a match and even during a match to control stress.

The different techniques that can help the athletes are breathing, meditation, muscle relaxation and visualization exercises. It is a known fact that sport is more a mental than a physical feat and to be ready mentally for a big game, athletes can rely on these relaxation techniques.

Step 1. Deep breathing

It is common for sportsmen to succumb to anxiety before a match; the athletes experience muscle tightening and an increased heart rate as a result. These side effects of anxiety act as a handicap and come in way of the performance of the players. They find it difficult to concentrate on the game and lose focus and concentration. Deep breathing can immensely help them to relax and loosen their tight body muscles.

Deep breathing help the players to get rest and this technique when used in combination with other techniques proves all the more powerful.

Step 2. Meditation.

Meditation is another useful technique that can help a player to reduce stress and to perform at a peak level. This technique emphasizes that one concentrates only on the present thought and blocks out all the other thoughts that confuse the mind. The catch is to focus on a word or a manta that will help the athlete to forget about all his fear and anxiety and help him to concentrate better on his game.

Step 3. Muscle relaxation.

The most damaging effect of stress on athletes is that it causes the muscles to contract and the breathing to slow down. This causes the hear rate to increase and a lot if energy is consumed. Muscle relaxation technique should be practiced by an athlete on a regular basis. This way he can relax the tensed muscle whether it is a clenched jaw or a still fist.
While taking deep breath the athlete should focus on tightening the muscles and relaxing then when he is exhaling.

Step 4. Visualization.

The key to win a game is to believe and visualize that you can actually win the game. Confidence or the lack of it can make or break the athlete. The athlete must take some time and in a quiet place to visualize the proceedings of the game. For example if he is a basket ball layer he should visualize how his muscles tense up when he is about to shoot the ball and how his fingers react to it when the balls are about to leave the finger tips. Visualizing a perfect match and a win can make all the difference to your confidence and like wise to your game.

If you’ve gotten to the point where stress is killing you (and even if it’s not), a few instant relaxation exercises could come in very handy!

Of course, managing stress in your life means balancing your life with pleasurable, relaxing activities to counteract negativity and stress. It sure doesn’t do anyone any good to keep it all bottled up until it boils up and blows your head right off! It’s messy too.

Stress is a part of life whether it’s positive stress or negative stress. An example of positive stress could come from the challenge of playing a game. Negative stress could come from working at a job you don’t enjoy.

Especially with negative stress, it’s essential to have some things to do that act as a “pressure relief valve.” Here are a few suggestions for some instant relaxation exercises to help you.
Go take a walk Get out and look around at things in your environment. Stress tends to draw our attention inward, so this instant relaxation exercise will go a long way towards “chilling you out.” This is nice to do with your mate or family or by yourself, whatever is most relaxing for you. Don’t walk with your head down, thinking about the things that are stressing you out! Look around at your environment and do this until you feel refreshed. If you’re stuck inside, at least find a window and look out for a few minutes. Laugh! Laughing is probably the most instant relaxation exercise and stress buster of all. We all find different things funny, so whatever makes you laugh, keep those things easy to access and refer to them when you need to distress. For example, I found some Steve Martin clips on YouTube and boy, they get me rolling! Smile This is deceptively effective and very simple. It’s fantastic as an instant relaxation exercise and doing it may very well cause you to start laughing! Just smile and keep on smiling at least until you feel more relaxed. Try this out for yourself and see what happens! Close your eyes and take a few deep, natural breaths When you experience stress, your muscles tense up and your breathing becomes more shallow and rapid. This can increase tension even more and reduces the amount of oxygen you’re taking into your lungs, which your body needs to create energy. Breathe naturally and deeply through your nose (breathing through your nose helps you breathe more deeply and is more natural). Try not to force yourself! That will defeat the purpose. Recall a time when you felt good Recalling pleasant moments won’t necessarily solve the problem that may be causing you stress, but it will help you feel better and more able to deal with it. Try to do this one in a relatively distraction-free place — go into the bathroom if that’s the only quiet place around!

Finding ways to relax to counteract stress is vital to your mental and physical health. The more you practice relaxing yourself, the easier it becomes and the better you will feel.
These instant relaxation exercises can be done practically anywhere and it sure beats the ol’ stress monster into submission for awhile!