10 Best Ways to Release Stress in Less Than 5 Minutes

The stress you consistently feel comes from the frantic pace of modern living. Your schedule is filled up with lots of deadlines, you juggle too many tasks simultaneously, caring for children and parents, or you are a single parent. Your body wasn’t designed for ongoing high stimulation, thus your stress levels are consistently high. You deal daily with the effects of the economy, the uncertainty of your job, the challenges of family life, maybe you got divorced, or you may even have an ongoing combination of these. If any of these resonate with you, it is imperative that you take steps NOW to release stress from your body, before it begins to break down!
Many of us go through our days running on empty. The things that would bring us vitality and vibrancy are missing in our life, and many of us only realize this when some sort of dreadful, mysterious symptoms set in, starting with a constant feeling of fatigue and tiredness.

Before this happens, decide to do something every day that breaks your routine and makes you smile.

The 10 best ways to release stress effectively integrate the Physical, Emotional and Subconscious aspects simultaneously. The following tips take 5-10 minutes if you do them in sequence. You can also choose to do one or two at a time, while you’re waiting in line to get your coffee or when you’re on hold on the telephone.

1. Take deep breaths into your belly – consciously slow your breath down when you feel anxious or stressed. Stretch a few times during the day.
2. Get barefoot for a few minutes whenever you can – grounding yourself releases the positive ions accumulated from electromagnetic waves and fields, such as computers, cell phones and microwaves. Plus it enhances your immune system.
3. Exercise regularly, even if it is for just 5-10 minutes. Go for a quick walk or do a few jumping jacks. Sing a song while on the shower.
4. Drink eight glasses of water a day. Chamomile or lemongrass teas are good for your digestion, they soothe your nerves and help relieve stress.
5. Find a few minutes to be silent. Silence calms you down and allows you to see things more clearly.
6. Rub a drop of lavender oil on your temples, it is very calming.
7. Ask for help from a trusted source.
8. Find something funny to laugh about, including yourself. Find some happy or beautiful moments during the day every day. For example, watch a beautiful sunrise or sunset, look at colorful flowers at a flower market, listen to a street musician during the Summer, enjoy the crisp air and changing colors in the Fall, watch the wintry beauty of a snowfall.
9. Tap lightly with your fingertips on your face and torso as you wake up and as you go to bed. Tap on the collarbone point when you feel anxious.
10. Ask yourself “what is right about this that I’m not getting?” or “what else is possible here?” Questions open up possibilities, so keep asking them until you see a new possibility about the situation you are facing.

As you relieve your stress consistently, your life will flow more smoothly. In a few days your sleep patterns will improve, you will have more energy, better productivity and moods. And stress will be a quickly fading memory.