By Roli Verma:
With the advancement of technology and urbanization life has become fast paced and this fast paced life results in stress…stress comes from a number of sources. Troublesome neighbours, cranky kids, soaring prices and traffic snarls are a few sources. In today’s scenario each and every person faces stress in some or the other way. Since we cannot eliminate the sources of stress, we must learn to tackle it.
Here are a few new age stress busters that surely can be of our help!
1) Creative visualization
This technique of evading stress constitutes of visualizing images of beautiful and peaceful places — a beach, a calm lake, colourful and chirping birds etc…
It is a healing process which soothes us mentally and reduces anxiety in a big way. When a person goes into deep imagination, he/she is transported to the imaginative world mentally. This technique was developed in 1970s by Carl Simonton that helped cancer and tumor patients. It helps a person to remain optimistic and contribute to his own healing. Research has also proved that visualization practiced under the guidance of an expert lowers pain, blood pressure, insomnia and cures phobias.
2)Â Sound therapy
The sound therapy consists of listening to therapeutic, soothing sounds which lower blood pressure and stress levels. It also helps in situations of acute depression. Apart from these specially created sounds, one can utilize the sounds of nature. Hearing rustling of leaves, chirping of birds and flowing water can be beneficial. It has been proved that meditating on the sound of ‘OM’ calms nerves, muscles, blood circulation and brain.
3)Â Tai-chi
Popular as a system of self defence, tai-chi is a great stress reliever. Based on the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism, this system is spreading fast. Apart from physical benefits of strengthening muscles it helps lower blood pressure and direct energy (chi) to flow through points where it is blocked. It is also known to raise energy levels and improve blood circulation.
4) Dancercise
Dancerise is dance + exercise. This trend is catching up fast in cities. It is being preferred over aerobic workout or a gym session since it is more entertaining and one gets to learn a unique dance style. This form of exercise is a good stress buster, it is more of a cathartic experience which releases all pent up emotions. A person can choose to do jazz, hip-hop, salsa, jive or bhangra.
5) Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a form of healing which makes use of essential oils and aromatic compounds, it improves a person’s mood as well as health. There are different oils for each purpose. Lavender oil helps a person to sleep better while eucalyptus oil is used in spas and work places to make people more alert and agile.
We all live frenzied lives and there is a need to curb stress as it has pernicious effect on our health. Choosing any of these techniques would certainly melt our stress away!!!
image courtesy: http://taichimumbai.tripod.com/