Stress is not completely bad! It has benefits too. That is why it exists…

A mild degree of stress can help to increase focus, speed, alertness, stamina and strength, especially when carrying out a project.

In a stressful situation, the nervous system gets activated. The hypothalamus sends signals to the adrenal glands, which leads to secretion of adrenaline and cortisol hormones into the blood. The result will be irregular and faster heartbeat, shallow breathing, higher blood pressure and increased metabolism, which prepare the person to react quickly and more effectively. However, if such phenomenon gets repeated over and over again, it causes several problems in life, varying from health to relationships, affecting general vitality and the overall quality of life.

In fact when stress gets overwhelming and poorly managed, its negative effects appear!

It is therefore not possible to eliminate stress completely from our lives; it is not even advisable to do so. However, we can educate ourselves to manage it in such a way that its negative effects get minimized.

Excessive stress in the long run can cause problems such as heart disease, migraine, ulcer, high blood pressure, premature aging and addiction. Psychologically, stress can lead to depression, unhappiness, impatience and emptiness. Too much stress at work can further contribute to absenteeism, low performance, low vitality and increased number of accidents.

It is therefore important to learn how to control stress and use it as a weapon to perform better in times of crisis, rather to give up to it and bare its side effects.

There are a few techniques that can help us lessen our stress levels…

1. Short Regular Breaks

When you are under stress, your mind keeps thinking about possible problems that may occur, the situation and the people involved. The more you think about them, the more stressful you will become.

Therefore, when you find yourself under stress, it is recommended to shut down for a short while and withdraw yourself from the situation! Give yourself a break and engage your mind with other, possibly positive, activities.

Play a simple game on your phone, watch a short inspirational movie on YouTube or send a positive message to a friend.

Such activities can divert your mind from overthinking about the problem, and give it a moment to rest. Watching a positive movie or sending a warm message to a friend can further open up your Heart and fill you with the energies of love and sweetness.

2. Abdominal breathing

Stress changes the breathing pattern from a relaxed deep mode to tense, shallow and rapid cycles. By bringing the breathing pattern back into the natural way, stress can be controlled.

The natural way of breathing is deep abdominal breathing. If you look at your babies, or pets closely, you will see how their abdomen is moving in and out while breathing. In fact stress changes the breathing pattern to shallow chest breathing, which is not really healthy.

So, at times when you are under stress, by just doing a few sets of abdominal breathings you can gain more calmness, stillness and peace of mind.

When doing abdominal breathing, concentrating on the tip of your nose can further help you calm your mind.

According to Master Choa Kok Sui in his book “Miracles through Pranic Healing,” deep abdominal breathing will enable the body to absorb tremendous amount of life energy or Prana, which will energize the whole body and calm the emotions.

3. Meditation

Meditation is called to any practice that helps to bring the mental activities into voluntary control and attain a subjective experience. The experience can vary from achieving a sense of peace, calmness and happiness to experiencing higher levels of consciousness and gaining psychic abilities.

One of the basic benefits of meditation is therefore peace and happiness. Meditation also raises the human consciousness into higher vibrations where stress is no more perceptible.

Meditation on Twin Hearts in this case, is one of the fastest and easiest methods of stress-relief.

The practice of Meditation on Twin Hearts activates the Heart and Crown chakras. When the Crown chakra gets activated tremendous amount of divine energy enters the body that acts as a purifier, cleaning the clouds of negative thoughts and emotions from the aura. As a result you will experience a sense of peace and calmness.

4. Therapeutic Music

Music affects the emotions. Just how a sudden loud noise can cause irritation or a high level of alertness, a slow soothing music slows down the heart rate and creates calming effects. A positive and inspiring type of music can make you active and happy.
Many music therapists today use soothing music to improve a great number of health related problems. They recommend making music a part of life; like while taking food or in the morning before starting your daily work.

5. Effective Time Management

Often we get stressed because we think we have a lot of work to do that make us feel overwhelmed. Sometimes poor time management can also lead to poor implementation of resources and low performance.

By listing down all the tasks and responsibilities and prioritizing them, you can finish more in shorter time.

In fact being organized can help you break responsibilities down into manageable tasks.

Also pay attention to your limits! You can’t accomplish everything that you are asked to. You always have a choice to say No.
In your family life, as well as your professional life, refuse to accept tasks and responsibilities beyond your capability. Taking responsibilities more than what you can handle normally causes stress. If you think you cannot handle a task or responsibility, don’t simply promise. Learn to say No.