Sunday, December 07, 2008

More Ways to Banish Holiday Stress

Stress really can be a joy-killer, so you owe it to yourself to do all you can to banish it.

One good way is meditation. You don't have to be formal about it, or follow any rules. You don't even have to sit cross-legged on the floor. Just settle down in a comfortable chair, close your eyes, and begin to relax.

To clear your mind of all distracting thoughts, concentrate on numbers. Visualize the number 3, then take a deep breath and as you slowly exhale, see the 3 and say "three" in your mind 3 times. Then do the same with 2 and 1.

Take a few more deep breaths while repeating the word "relax" a few times.

Now, while taking deep breaths and exhaling slowly, count down from 10 to 1.

Next, concentrate on feeling your body parts relax. Some people start with their toes and work their way to the top of their heads. I like to do it the opposite. As you concentrate on feeling, you automatically shift your attention away from whatever had gotten you wound up. Believe me, it feels wonderful!

Once you're completely relaxed, just sit there and feel how good it feels. When you're ready to stop, you can count back up from 1 to 5 while telling yourself that "At the count of 5 I will open my eyes and be wide awake and feeling better than I felt before."

The next two methods are so simple that many refuse to believe that they'll work. But they do.

When something is really eating at you, take it out on paper. Write down all your feelings - telling the absolute truth because no one but you will ever see this. Be angry, hurt, resentful - whatever is the truth. When you have it all out, crumple up the paper and burn it. This method, known as "write and burn," works incredibly well to release anger.

When you're in a social situation and can neither meditate nor write and burn, take a breath and let it out in a sigh while shifting your eyes toward the heavens. This releases pent-up negative energy.

Using these methods along with Feel5ive, or a custom blend created just for you, will help you to enjoy the entire holiday season - perhaps more than you've enjoyed it since childhood.

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