Almost any time of year can be stressful for some reason or another, but the holiday season brings with it stress that we all succumb to. Stress relief tips are a great thing to keep on hand all year long, but these might just help in keeping you shining at your best through this stressful holiday season.

The point is, stress attacks in all sorts of ways — and at the worst times. The holiday season is hectic and chaotic, but you can learn to thrive under pressure. We’ve spent the past several months devouring studies and cross-examining experts to find the best stress-busting tips of all time. And when we read the advice we’d compiled, we suddenly felt much, much better.

Excerpt from ’10 tips to kick holiday stress in the jingle balls’ by Steve Calechman

Read the full article here.

Among the stress relief tips offered in this article, a few of my favorites are taking vitamin C, getting out to exercise, and going out with friends. I have to admit that the idea of spending time with a canine might appeal to a lot of you, but those of use with allergies to canines can substitute some wonderful time spent with a feline instead. Over all, these tips looks like a bunch of common sense ideas that we should all keep in mind.

 

Holidays can  be an especially stressful time of year. This makes it a fantastic time to revisit ways we have of dealing with stress. Learning some new relaxation exercises is always welcome.

As always, remember that different suggestions appeal to different people. If you don’t like a suggestion, or if it doesn’t seem to work for you, don’t stress over it! Pass over it and move one to trying another new relaxation method. The important part is to learn what works for you so that you can find your best ways of coping with stress.

Here are a few ideas to relax with:

1. Focus on past experience. A sunny day at the beach. A cool fall day in New England. Your wedding day. Whatever memory makes you happy and puts you at ease, go back there for just a moment. Imagine yourself soaking up that sense of relaxation and ease, and apply that empowerment to the present situation.

2. Make a fist. No, not to take a swing at someone! In this technique, you let the emotion wash over you before capturing it in your hand, figuratively speaking. Make a fist with your right hand, tighten it, then release, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Then vigorously shake those feelings right out of your system.

3. Just breathe. Deep breathing is the key to true relaxation. Here’s how it’s done: Put your right hand on your abdomen and your left hand on your chest, then breathe deeply so that your abdomen rises slightly under your right hand. Take up to 5 deep breaths this way to calm yourself.

4. Tickle your funny bone. Stressors usually aren’t funny, but sometimes being able to laugh can defuse a situation. Select three to five memories that make you laugh, and store them away in your mind. Then when something is upsetting you, go to your funny bankand chuckle to yourself.

5. Make like a monk. Chanting may seem like a strange way to relax, but experts swear by it. The chant can be a religious phrase or just a few words, such as “I am a good person,” “All will be well” or “I will be well.”

6. Walk away. The easiest way to calm down and gather yourself in the face of a stressor is to take a break from it, if only briefly. Get up from whatever you’re doing and walk away. Take deep breaths, shake out your shoulders, stretch your arms and legs, and perhaps go get a cup of tea or coffee — preferably decaf.

7. Grin to bear it. Have you ever seen a football or basketball coach crack a smile at one of the tensest moments of a game? Maybe he or she has heard this advice about how to handle a pressure-packed situation. Close your eyes and allow yourself to gently smile. Your brain will respond by recognizing that you usually smile when you’re feeling relaxed and happy. Even if there’s nothing to smile about at a given moment, taking a few seconds to consciously smile will send positive signals to your brain.

Taken from ‘Outsmart stress: 7 relaxation techniques’

You can find the full article here.

Gather your relaxation tools now, and then sit back and enjoy your holiday season. With these relaxation exercises for dealing with stress, you are sure to have a wonderful time.

There has been a lot of talk lately about how positive thinking can improve your life, but did you know that simple positive thinking can affect your health too? Amazingly enough, studies are being done that prove that positive thinking can help strengthen our immune system and keep us healthy!

The question often asked is “if your glass is half empty or half full?” The way in which you answer this question often determines your outlook on life. If your negative thinking and attitude is extreme it can even affect your health.

Hara Estroff Mano the editor of Psychology Today states that by training ourselves in cognitive thinking we can eradicate negative thinking. We can do this by changing our negative thoughts to positive thinking. This process can assist in preventing depression. In order to change how you feel you must first change the way that you think.

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With the cold weather of winter close at hand, colds and flus seem to always be around us. Now is a fantastic time to work on your positive thinking. Your positive thinking can affect your health, letting you enjoy the holidays with your health in tact!

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Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

Where does morality come from — physically, in the brain? In this talk neuroeconomist Paul Zak shows why he believes oxytocin (he calls it “the moral molecule”) is responsible for trust, empathy, and other feelings that help build a stable society.

Original: TEDTalks (video)

I have put duality away, I have seen the two worlds are one; One I seek, One I know, One I see, One I call. He is the first, He is the last, He is the outward, he is the inward. – Rumi

Original: The Meditation Society of Australia

Of course, I love everyone I meet. How could I fail to? Within everyone is the spark of God. I am not concerned with racial or ethnic background or the color of one’s skin; all people look to me like shining lights! I see in all creatures the reflection of God. All people are my kinfolk – people to me are beautiful! – Peace Pilgrim

Original: The Meditation Society of Australia

I do not envisage God other than truth and non-violence. If you have accepted the doctrine of ahimsa without a full realization of its implications, you are at liberty to repudiate it. I believe in confessing one’s mistakes and correcting them. Such confession strengthens one and purifies the soul. Ahimsa calls for the strength and courage to suffer without retaliation, to receive blows without returning any. – MK Gandhi

Original: The Meditation Society of Australia