Here are five tried and tested ways to beat stress, calm your nerves and just relax.
Taj Spa at Taj Exotica, Goa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
1) Make an appointment at your favorite spa for a relaxing head massage and wash, followed by a manicure and pedicure. There’s nothing as relaxing as just sitting back and giving yourself over to the magical fingers of your therapist as she massages the knots out of your shoulders. Bliss! Follow it up with a manicure and pedicure – apart from making you look like a million bucks, it will leave you feeling totally lucid. I promise.
2) Don’t have time for a leisurely spa treatment? Never mind. This next strategy takes just 5 minutes. Put on some soothing music (optional) and deep breathe. In and out. Watch your breath. Focus on it. If you start thinking of something else, gently bring your mind back to your breath. It will leave you feeling re-energized and filled with energy.
Central Park Bridges (view from Bridlepath looking southwest), Gothic Arch, Spanning bridlepath south of tennis courts at nort, New York City, New York County, NY (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
3) If action’s more to your liking, plug in your iPod and go for a walk – preferably in nature. There’s something calming about all that greenery.
4) If you find yourself unable to step out of the house try listening to some instrumental music. Classic overtures are excellent at taking us out of the humdrum of our daily lives and transporting us to a different state of being.
5) If all else fails, turn to the telly, more specifically, comedy. What’s your favorite funny movie of all time? Pop it into the DVD player and watch it. Mine is The Birdcage, by th way. No matter what my mood when i start watching that movie, 20 minutes in I’m laughing so hard my tummy hurts!
Now it’s your turn. What are your favorite stress busting strategies?
My favorite thing to destress is plop down in bed and pull out the laptop and just browse 😉 lol… true addiction at best.
lol! Surfing the net can help you change your focus, especially if you find some good eye candy or a particularly beautiful article.
These are all great and The Birdcage is on my top 5 funniest movies list. I love it!
Yay! Another Birdcage fan! 🙂
All great tips!!!!! I also like to take a nap…. sometimes stress has a root cause of exhaustion and taking the edge off can be tremendously helpful…
That’s one I hadn’t thought of before. Great tip! I’ll try it next time. 🙂
All great tips! I should go to the spa more! 😉
Stopping in from SITS!
Oh yes! Nothing like a spa treatment to make everything seem all right! 😉
Quick, easy tips to follow! I especially love the last one, because, let’s face it, sometimes all we can muster is the couch, the remote control and the tube! Personally, going for runs always helps me… as do massages, but they aren’t free like running is 🙂 Stopping over from SITS!
Ah yes, exercise and that heady shot of dopamine. I should get into my running shoes more often!
Great tips! I like to hop on my bike (if the weather is agreeable) and go for a spin, break out the yoga mat, listen to a guided meditation, or shut the door and take a nap. Thank you! Awesome post!
You’ve got some great tips there too. I’m going to give some of them a try next time. I’ve got a ton of guided meditations both on my blog and in my iPhone, but I don’t do them often enough.
Yes, I have tried a few of these and they work. Good reminder 🙂
Yeah, they’re tried and tested strategies that worked for me! 🙂