It becomes necessary to relieve stress unless it has far reaching and serious consequences on your physical as well as mental health. The most common physical symptoms of stress are pain the different parts of the body like the neck and the back as well as a feeling of tiredness all the time. Physical stress can also lead to sleeplessness at night and also indigestion problems like constipation. Mental problems include frequent memory lapses as well irritability and a feeling of loneliness.

Everyday Techniques

There are a lot of ways to relieve stress and you should select the techniques that suit you best get rid of stress. For example deep breathing everyday for just 15 minutes can relieve stress significantly. You have to inhale air through your nose and then exhale air through your mouth. In case you are not able to perform this exercise in the morning, you can do this exercise anytime in the day. Also once in a while take a break from your usual work routine. Get up from your chair and take a walk down the aisle of your office. Chat with your colleagues or just look out of the window. A simple 10 minute break at regular intervals of the day can do a lot to free your body and mind of stress. You can take a vacation with your family once in 6 months and also go for a picnic once in a month.

Value of Positivity

The next step to relive stress is to be as cheerful and positive as possible. Learn to take different situations of your life in your stride and learn how to solve problems effectively and quickly. Researches have found out that laughing helps to reduce stress. You can join a laughter club or you crack a joke and then simply laugh aloud. You can play a game that can relive stress and also exercise with a stress ball. Music is also a great stress reliever. You can buy cds of soft or instrumental music and then listen to it for half an hour everyday.

Yoga and Meditation

Yoga and meditation are a great way to relive stress. You can practice yoga and meditation in the morning. Yoga works great for the body while meditation works great for the mind. A good combination of yoga and meditation techniques helps you to relieve stress. As far as possible do not over exert your body and take unnecessary tasks and work at hand.

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Yoga is a set of hundreds of different exercises and each exercise is geared towards healing a certain malady of the body and also targeted towards a particular part of the body. For example standing asanas build up flexibility and resistance of the body. Yoga is also very beneficial for the mind as it keeps the mind cool and fresh all the time. There are many asanas in yoga categorized under different groups. Asanas are the same as yoga positions and poses. It is necessary to take expert help in the beginning if you would like to start off with yoga. You can either take help of a yoga instructor or refer to yoga related information on the internet. You can also purchase yoga videos in which all the asanas in yoga are performed by an expert instructor.

As mentioned before you can do yoga anywhere. You just have to ensure that the place is quiet, serene and free from any disturbance. You can use a mat, a towel or a blanket that will support and give you added comfort in your standing and sitting positions. You should wear loose and stretchable clothes like shorts, t-shirts, sweat clothes and leotards. Yoga is generally practiced bare foot, however if you are not comfortable with doing yoga barefooted then you can wear socks or soft shoes. Before starting your yoga session you should completely empty your stomach, clean your nostrils and consume a glass of warm water 15 minutes before your session.

A basic yoga session consists of:

1) Warm up exercises – These are important as they prepare you for further yoga exercises. Warm up exercises loosen the shoulders, the spine, legs, hands, hips and the lower back.
2) Standing poses – Standing poses are essential for the alignment of the feet and the body. They facilitate digestion, blood circulation and weight loss.
3) Sitting poses – Sitting poses give you a feeling of calm and quietness. They help in shaping your buttocks and legs.
4) Twist Exercises – These remove the pain in your spine and back and make them more flexible.

There are other poses also like backbends and inverted and balanced poses.

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