Stress Relief

The best stress relief techniques I have ever found are all very straight forward and simple. Most of these things are skills you have likely seen before, or at least heard suggested. A few are going to seem a little new, perhaps strange, but they still work, so at least consider giving them a chance.

Here’s the list, because if you are stressed, you don’t need me to draw this out too much!

• Progressive relaxation: This is a fancy term for slowly relaxing each muscle one at a time. Start with one finger at a time and let go of the tension, move on to body of each hand, one at a time. Progress through each limb to the center of your body. Finish with your neck and head. The concentration it takes to relax each muscle, one at a time, is enough to place you in a light state of self-hypnosis. A few suggestions to yourself about how relaxed you feel can really help at this point as well!
• Tense to relax: This is really what it sounds like. You tense each limb, then relax! The initial tension will allow you to notice the relaxation more easily. This works very well if you are already REALLY stressed out and frazzled. It takes very little concentration or thought to do.
• Aromatherapy: If you have the time, go smell something pleasant. Flowers that have meaning to you or a few table spoons of cocoa powder boiling in water can work as well! Scents that have meaning to you personally, that create relaxing internal feelings will be of more value to you than just following the guidebooks. If you’re on a budget, go to a health food store and smell the free samples of essential oils!
• Listen to music: Most music that soothes will do. If you need an extra boost, pick up some Baroque music. This form of classical music sounds a bit funny, sometimes creepy, to the modern ear, but it incorporates specific beats into the music that will help entrain your brainwave patterns to a relaxed and focused state. Look for things in 4/4 time for greatest effect.
• Listen to SapienMed: There are several audios on the youtube channel that induce a very relaxed state of being within minutes of listening. After having a bad day or even beginning to fall into a pattern of negative thinking, I listen to the positive uplifting energy for your environment  . It does exactly what it does it does… Saturates my being and environment with positive energy and puts me in a positive state of mind. Better yet, I don’t even have to listen to it consciously and it works! Just play it at low volume and it will work wonders for your state of being. I also recommend the schumann resonance audio and love and gratitude audio.
• Go running: It may seem counter intuitive, but running, or any other exercise that is somewhat difficult and takes longer than 40 minutes, will release endorphins. Endorphins will help you relax and feel happier!
• Take a warm bath: Soaking in warm water will allow your muscles to relax. If you can fill the tub enough water to cover you, it relieve the pressure of gravity at the same time. You will be able to relax and let the warm water support you.
• Leave the stressful situation:This does not work in the long run, perhaps, because you still have to deal with your real life. In the short run though, it can really help to get away from stressful people and situations. Think about the situation first of course, but if it can be done without making things worse, give it a shot. This is not to say you should avoid things forever! Just take a break of a few minutes to collect yourself and your thoughts, before jumping back in.

Now for the psychic techniques!

• Shield: Many times when we deal with others, whether we admit it to ourselves or not, we are bombarded with the feelings of others. Good shielding will help keep the others out and make sure the stress you feel is your own! (If you don?t know how to shield yet, please read “Empathic Shielding” by Dale Power)
• Generate a field of happiness: This is easier than it sounds. Relax and remember a time when you were happy. Replay the feelings and let them grow stronger. Hold on to this for a few minutes. This will build a psychic field around you that will help to keep both you and others happier.
• Entrainment therapy: Get a friend with skills to help you out, or hire a professional. when you focus on each other, the person with less synchronized brainwaves will match the more unified state of the other. This will almost instantly relieve stress and garner peace of mind for you. The person doing the entraining does not even have to be a “psychic”. An advanced practitioner of meditation can do this as well. It is the deep state of mind, the level of synchrony, that matters.
• Commune with nature: Go to a natural place, or a nice park, and open yourself up to the experience. Plants have a stress relieving quality, when interacted with on a psychic level. They simply run to a feeling of calmness that soothes!

If you are stressed, pick one that seems easy to do, give it a good half hour to take effect. If that doesn’t work for you, try another!