5 Unusual Ways to Reduce Stress Now!

Stress is a common term, everywhere we go we hear it used. Everyone seems to be ‘stressed’ in one way, or another.

Sometimes stress can be beneficial; when we experience stress we get an increase in adrenalin, and this helps us to perform at our best when, for example, we have an important presentation to give or exam to take. It can also be helpful when we need to act quickly in times of danger.

But mostly, the stress we experience doesn’t need the adrenalin rush. Unfortunately, our body doesn’t recognise this and our often busy lives can make it tough to escape daily stresses of ‘too many tasks to do and too much information to handle. ‘

So, how can we reduce some of that unnecessary stress so that we feel calmer and ready to handle to world?

Here are some unusual ways to reduce stress and feel happier:

1. Find your bendy, giggly self!

Yoga could be a great way to release some of the stresses and strains of the day. But yoga doesn’t need to be all about humming and being bendy if you don’t want it to be!

A fairly new trend is something called laughter yoga! Now, this doesn’t involve stand-up comedians performing whilst you do the downward dog, laughter is a bodily function, and it’s something that is experienced through yogic movement. Laughter in itself is great therapy but when it’s combined with another great stress reliever, yoga, it can have extra benefits.

Learn more about the benefits of laughing through yoga. And, if you like what you read, and want to gain more knowledge of yoga and it’s benefits, join our StressAce Yoga Facebook Page!

2. Bring some colour to your life!

It’s well known that colours can affect our mood. When the weather is grey and dull outside, many of us automatically feel less positive about the world. When it’s bright and sunny, we feel like a million dollars!

If you consider the more contrived colours you see around you, it’s no coincidence that hospital wards are often painted light green since green is a calming colour representative of nature and all things natural. You will often find blue gyms too, since its been shown that weight lifters can lift more when surrounded by the colour blue.

Your colour therapy can range from a change in scenery by getting yourself out of the house and finding some green space, to painting your house and changing your own space! If you can, take a holiday and find some new surroundings, preferably something green or blue if you feel stressed. Or a little orange if you need to find some creativity! Learn more about colour therapy here.

3. Dance around your kitchen!

This is one of my favourite things to do. When I get stressed, I put on my favourite music, and I dance in my own’ impressionistic style’ around my kitchen. You don’t need to be a great dancer, it’s just a good fun way to release your stress. I guarantee you’ll crack a smile; it’s very freeing – you will decrease that ‘emotional pressure cooker’ feeling and get a real lift. Give it a try!

4. Keep a journal

This may seem an unimaginative way to reduce stress, but think about the things you could write… it’s often those things that you want to say but feel you can’t! A journal is one place you can be truly honest with yourself and your feelings.

A journal doesn’t need to be boring; you can pick any book or pad you like. It can be a plain black inconspicuous number or a brightly coloured geometric print like mine! You could even create your own colour using a picture or drawing that makes you feel at ease or happy. You could also share your journal with the world via a blog. Who knows, you might even get a following and become a known writer!

You can be as imaginative as you like. Journals don’t need to stop with words; you can use pictures to show what you think and feel. This is especially simple if you have a blog; snap away with your phone, upload the photos and write about your thoughts.

Of course, you can also create a private blog – you don’t need to share your deepest thoughts and feelings if you don’t want to. That’s the beauty of a journal; it’s yours to do whatever you want with.

5. Try some coaching

Are you struggling with something specific in your life, perhaps at home or work and you can’t quite grasp the best way to handle it? Sometimes just talking it through your problems with an impartial person can help to support you through these tough times. Try talking to a coach or therapist. Finding a good coach can be tough, so shop around or try taking a StressAce session or two to help you to regain control of your struggles. StressAce can give you fast and effective relief from your stress even after one session.

Stress doesn’t have to be stressful, reducing stress can be fun, and there are many different remedies to try. So, with a positive outlook and following a few of these top tips your stress can be reduced in no time and you can back to feeling bright and happy again.

 

Become Your Body’s Best Friend 

By Ella MacDonald

In my own experience StressAce Yoga has changed my relationship with my body in a powerful way –  I have befriended my own body.I used to push  myself and wonder what I was doing wrong, and why I did not feel like I wanted to really feel or experience my body. I have been a yoga teacher since 2000 and practiced yoga since I was at the university. In all that time I never felt that I really experienced a complete connection with my body.StressAce Yoga has created more tolerance, gentle connecting and less pressure to perform for my body. I use StressAce Yoga to teach people to feel sensations and not to move into pain, but respect where the body is at the time. There is a window of tolerance that is individual and a fluid range of movement that is possible when learning patience with your own experience.We are interested in helping people discover a different kind of relationship to their body, one that is gentler and more forgiving. A priority is placed on safety and health and yet challenging the body with temperance. We are aware of just how challenging this tack is; it requires us to practice patience and kindness over the long term towards our own body.StressAce Yoga practice also provides a way for us to investigate our habitual body patterns and explore new ways of being physical that we have not previously considered. Prolonged stress in the nervous system can lock us into a few specific body patterns that may feel protective, but ultimately become stifling and limiting over time.For some stressed individuals, StressAce Yoga offers a safe way to experiment with these patterns and discover healthier and more expansive ways to being embodied that in turn advance self-understanding, engender maturity and awakens possibility.

Experience StressAce Yoga now!

You can use these StressAce Yoga exercises to find the center of your body:
As you are ready, begin to notice how you are sitting on your chair. Start to get a feeling for your form., in particular, let’s experiment with finding our center. One way to do this is to begin with some movements. You may choose to gently rock forward and back or side to side. You can also make these movements more circular. If you like, make these movements as big as they are going to be at first, and then gradually make them smaller, you may also wish to experiment with making them slower and more deliberate. As you make your movements smaller and slower you may notice muscles of your lower abdomen beginning to engage. Lower belly muscles may naturally start to tighten and activate. Take a moment to notice the quality of that muscular energy with at your center below your belly button. Finally, if you like you can interact with those core muscles by gently hugging or drawing in your lower belly to cultivate strength and stability right at your center. Pause for a moment if you like in order to investigate your center as a source of support and stability.

The main idea here is for you to be gentle and become aware that your body has an intelligence of its own and can be a source of vitality and a feeling of wholeness. Once the body feels safe the natural unwinding of stress begins to free the body from its’ grip.

Stress Release Technique To Enhance Performance

Why stress can rob athletes of success.

The biggest problem athletes face, is that no matter how fit and prepared they may be for an event, they can never be 100 percent certain that they will be performing at their best during that  event..The reason is that the stress of pressure on the field harms performance. And the best way  to insure yourself against the effects of stress on your performance is to raise your baseline stress tolerance.

When it comes to stress management most athletes prepare themselves to perform under pressure by rehearsing for every aspect of the event and having strategies in place to cope during the event. This approach works well for performance stress prior, during and after an event.  Unfortunately this approach is of limited benefit, because it cannot redress the negative effects of the total life time of stress experiences each of us carries. This personal stress history creates an unconscious stress load which impacts negatively on performance.

 

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Am I stressed?

If you answer ‘Yes’ to any one of the questions below, you could benefit from reducing your stress levels with StressAce

  • I am over-reacting to situations
  • I feel irritable for no reason
  • I worry a lot
  • I frequently feel tired and unmotivated
  • I rarely feel happy
  • I am forgetful
  • I need caffeine, alcohol or drugs to copy
  • My body is tense and I can’t relax
  • My sleep is interrupted

 

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Need to STOP stress now?

Step 1  Remove yourself from the stressful situation, if possible. Take a walk, go to a quiet spot, if that’s not possible go to step two or do any of the steps that feel comfortable.

Step 2  Make a positive decision.  Very very slowly say to yourself: “I want to calm down”, very slowly: “I am calm, when I am calm I can get a better result.”

Step 3  Centre yourself in your body and focus your mind totally on the following activity: Take a very slow deep breath in; while counting to three, then breathe out counting to four. Now place one hand on your chest and one hand on your bellybutton and breathe like this for about five minutes.

 

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What is stress?

Psychological stress is, quite simply, a defensive reaction. When we feel defensive our brain automatically tells our body to produce adrenaline to give us extra energy and physical strength to fight or flee. This is called the fight or flight or freeze stress reaction and this defense reaction was researched by neuroscientist Walter Cannon in the 1960’s.

Every time we feel defensive in any way our body produces the automatic fight flight freeze stress reaction. What can make us defensive? The answer is, just about anything under the sun, as this is a very personal thing. You may say that when our coping skills don’t match up to the demands of our environment we will probably feel threatened or stressed.

 

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Twelve steps to less stress now

 The basics

  • Go to bed in time to get three hours sleep
  • Eat three healthy meals every day – if you have no appetite make them small
  • Get 30 minutes of hard exercise per day

Be realistic

  • Set a small goal that you can achieve today
  • Be practical about how much you can get done in a day

 

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Stress intelligence in the 21st century

What you should know about stress and how to use it intelligently

What is stress intelligence? Busting the stress myths

  • Why stress is bad for you and what to do about it
  • How to control stress, before it controls you
  • Make stress work for you with StressAce
  • What to do about stress
  • Why stress can kill friendships and relationships
  • How stress affects your relationships and what to do about it
  • How stress affects your mind, your performance and your health

Why StressAce is an essential life skill 

 

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