Dealing with stress

We all have stress in our lives, there is good stress and bad stress. The good stress can help build us in a way to motivate us to greater depths of the imagineable. Then there is the bad stress that can take us back a few steps and put is in a dark place of non existance. Sometimes there are unfortunate events that take place whether that is with an illness,  the loss of a loved one, divorce, seperation or injury.

One of the most important ways of starting to identify how you respond to stress yourself is to get in touch with your own typical responses to it. We are all different, we have all had particular life experiences and been exposed to situations that are unique  to us. We will all respond to outside influences in different ways.

                How to overcome the stress? It is a journey indeed to clear away stress. It is a constant battle but here are some steps to bring awareness into your life to clear any obstacles that may be hindering you from maintaining overall health.

                Simply just being in the present moment for 10 minutes finding a quiet place and do a scan where are you holding any stress in your body and focus your attention inside yourself starting at the head then into your neck, shoulders , arms and hands, chest, abdomen, back, hips, legs and feet and make a mental note of where these sites are that you are  holding most of  your tension, breathe deeply and send warmth there into the tension site, dissolving  any negativity. While you are there notice any sensations of discomfort or any emotions that arise. Try not to judge them, just observe them. Breathe this warm sensation into the area, and notice what happens, When you have visited all the areas you identified, breathe deeply again twice and stretch your  fingers and toes before opening your eyes.

              Don't worry as you come out that there are still tension in any of the sites you are experiencing, It takes a few trys to find a calm state in the body as we are built on a foundation that tends to be fast pace. Once you get to know the areas in your body and slow the mind with the breath there will be tools to help you relax and melt the tension away. You can come see a Massage Therapist or Chiropractor or Physio therapist and take a class in yoga and follow a teacher that will guide you in a safe pose where you can stretch tension away or try Reiki and have a practitioner guide you through a meditation and have energy work done to find peace and feel calm after your treatment.

Massage available at at Family First Chiropractic, 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer, Alberta.  403-347-3261. www.family1stchiro.ca.