Mindful

Zenful Spirit – 7 Amazing Techniques to Reduce Stress

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Separating stress from our life has almost become impossible. Different people have different reasons for their stress. But, the reparations of long time stress are practically similar. If you will not find a way to deal with stress, it is there to stay. Stress can be the root cause of various mental and physical disorders. Techniques to reduce stress can help with this challenge.

Stress is injurious for our health. It might result in insomnia, depression, obesity, high B.P, heart diseases, panic attacks, etc. Various techniques are available that can help to reduce stress. Several methods are also there that can increase an individual’s ability to deal with stressful situations. Individuals can practice techniques that they considered most effective.

In this article, we have discussed seven techniques that can be very effective in reducing or managing stress.

1. Exercise Regularly

Exercise not only helps us in reducing weight and keeping us physically active and fit. But, it also is one of the most effective ways to reduce the stress levels in the body. Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly have lower chances of getting stressed.

2. How Exercise Helps Reduce Stress

Stress hormones: Exercise reduces the level of stress hormone (cortisol) in the brain. In addition to this, exercise stimulates the release of happy hormones (endorphins) in the body.  The release of this hormone uplifts the mood, which further results in lowering stress levels.

Sleep: Lack of quality sleep may also result in anxiety and stress. Exercise or physical activity improves sleep quality. A good night’s sleep reduces the stress levels in the body.

Confidence: Regular exercise will make you feel more confident. An increase in confidence level is good for our overall wellbeing.

You can select an exercise that you enjoy doing. To get long-term results, regularity is vital.

3. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a technique that teaches us to live in the present. This technique increases self-awareness, and when practiced regularly, it enables an individual to stay away from negative thoughts.

Overthinking about failures, lousy day, past, or future causes stress. People who practice Mindfulness, learn to see a positive side of everything. Where there is positivity, the chances of getting stressed becomes quite less.

 Hundreds of Mindfulness techniques are available all over the world. People can select and practice any technique. Some of the practices that help in increasing self-awareness are Yoga, meditation, etc.

If you are looking forward to a technique that not only helps you in reducing stress but also helps you evolve as a human being, then Mindfulness is the right technique for you. You may learn more about how mindfulness can improve your mental health by visiting BetterHelp.

4. Practice Yoga

People have been practicing Yoga since ancient times. In the past few days, more and more people have made Yoga a part of their daily life. Studies have proved that yoga is one technique that makes an individual physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy and strong.

Yoga helps in strengthening the connection between body, mind, and soul. Breathing exercises of Yoga has found to be very effective in reducing stress and anxiety. People who perform Yoga regularly have a lower risk of depression, high B.P., heart diseases, etc.

Yoga reduces the level of stress hormones and increases the production of GABA. This results in lowering the stress level in the body.

5. Listen to Soothing Music

One of the easiest ways to reduce stress levels is by listening to music. Listening to our favourite, song, album, or music takes our mind away from the situation at hand.

 Music has a soothing effect on our brains. This lowers the heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones.

Next time you are going through some tough time, or having a bad day or feeling stressed or anxious, switch on your favourite music and let yourself lose, feel the music, and try matching the rhythm.

6. Set Realistic Goals and Expectations

To stand out the competition or to prove ourselves, we end up setting up goals that are either difficult or might even be impossible to achieve. Failure to meet our goals or expectation makes us feel grey, sad, and can even lower our confidence. Many a time, we end up thinking about our failure. All of this might result in stress and depression.

Hence, an easy way to prevent ourselves from getting stressed is to set realistic and achievable goals. Achieving goals and landing up to the expectation would not only make us happy but would also increase our confidence level.

7. Spend Time with Friends and Family

Love and support of our family and friends give us the strength to face tough times. Having our loved ones around us during bad times provide us with a feeling of being loved and a sense of belongingness during hard times of our life.

Talking to our friends or spending time with them, help us in clearing negativity from our mind. This allows us to think clearly and rationally. Finding a solution to the problem becomes much easier when we have a clear mind.

Having friends and family members around might not solve our problems. But, knowing that they are there for us increases our strength to face the problem. Our loved ones act as a stress reliever for us.

8. Sleep Better to Reduce Stress

People under stress might face difficulty in sleeping. On the other hand, lack of peaceful or quality sleep can also result in stress and anxiety. Our sleep and state of mind our interconnected. Many people have claimed that a nap turned out to be very useful when they feel stressed. A peaceful sleep, clam, and relaxes our brain and body. Hence reducing stress and anxiety.

Finding ways to overcome stress is very important. Practices like Mindfulness and Yoga enhances our ability to fight stress. However, practicing these techniques in the right manner is very important.

Dhaval Patel is an expert writer who writes on different categories like mindfulness, meditation, mental health and many more. His writings are not only descriptive but also meaningful. He loves to share his ideas on different categories. To learn more about these techniques, refer “Zenfulspirit.com“.

Techniques to Reduce Stress

Apply 9 Secret Techniques To Improve Mindfulness Now

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One of the things you should master in your life is a couple of techniques to improve mindfulness. These techniques need to be personalized on your body and lifestyle. This is why at first you need to practice what others are doing to be more mindful and practice these techniques to improve mindfulness. In this way, you will check what best suits you. We all have different bodies, different minds.

We live in different countries and stay in various weather conditions. Also, each of us is of different age, some are young and others are a little bit elder. Therefore practicing various techniques to improve mindfulness will eventually help you discover your own secrets.

Techniques to improve mindfulness have become almost a need these days. Psychologists divide your desires into wants and needs. And they say needs are just survival necessities like food, shelter, sleep, air, water, etc.

But now there are more and more psychologists who consider also a need the level of balance of the mind and the emotional state. There are so many scientific studies that prove the significant impact that the mind and emotions have on the health of the body. A mind and an emotional state that is balanced not only make us feel good but also improves our health.

Getting Started With Mindfulness

The technique to improve mindfulness is a state of being attentive and heedful. It is related to be careful. Being careful of yourself, of others, and of life in general. It is a state of gentleness towards your own mind. Mindfulness is the practice of giving complete and non-judgmental attention to one’s present experience and it is used as a stress-reduction technique.

Apply the bellow 9 techniques to improve mindfulness and see which one best suits you. Also make sure to personalize for your own lifestyle each technique.

9 Secret Techniques To Improve Mindfulness

1. Practice Self-Love

Self-love is a form of being kind to yourself. For this technique to work you need to discover how to be kind to yourself but also how to harm your mind as little as possible. We think that harming is relating only to the body but with the technological advancements another behavior has sprung up: harming of the mind. Even when you meditate (and you will see at point 4 below) gentleness is essential in meditating correctly.

2. Nature Time

Nature time is such bliss. We think we need to climb mountains and go to the sea or in a deep forest to have time with nature. But in fact, the constant little moments that we spend connecting with nature matter the most. When you pass near a blossomed tree do you stop to touch the flowers of the tree branches? When you go in a park do you ever touch the trunks of the trees? Do you stop and look at the sky every day?

Do you do all these small opportunities to connect with nature on the run? Meaning you look very fast at the blossomed tree but don’t touch it because you do not have time. You only walk on cement when you go in the park, never go near a tree trunk to connect with it. You look down most of the time as you walk on the street, never stopping to look up at the sky for 2-3 minutes.

All these small missed opportunities of connecting with nature leave marks on your mind. Try to include such small nature time moments in your daily routine.

3. Breathe Deeply

Breathing deeply is such a hack for decreasing anxiety. Many times we breathe as if we are afraid to breathe. I remember reading somewhere that you have to breathe as if life was breathing you, not as if you were breathing life. That is, when you take the air out of your lungs, think that life is actually putting air into its lungs. And when you breathe air in the lungs, in fact, life takes the air out of her lungs. It is the other way around.

When you breathe air out, try to think you are generous because you give air to the lungs of life. When you breathe air in, try to think life is generous with you because it gives you air out from its lungs.

4. Meditate to Improve Mindfulenss

There are different forms of meditation. Find one that best suits you. I remember reading that in Bali, I think, there is a meditation called the simplest meditation. I think I read it in the book Eat, Pray, Love. The simplest meditation is to sit down (it doesn’t say in what position, it doesn’t matter), smile, and be silent. And it also says to mentally scan every organ in your body with that smile. It is said that if you practice this meditation constantly, it is the only form of meditation you need.

In any way, you do meditation “gentleness” is the keyword. I overheard a monk talk one day. This monk, who I believe is recognized as the happiest monk in the world, said that there is a significant difference in the practice of meditation when the word “gentleness” is used or not by the master who teaches the disciple.

That is the disciples to whom the master showed them how to meditate if he did not use the word “gentle” do not have good results no matter how much they meditate. On the contrary, the disciples whose master showed them how to meditate and used the word “gentle” – that is, whatever they would do in meditation to do it in a gentle way, with gentleness – have the best results.

The Dalai Lama also says that the best form of meditation is sleep. And he’s not kidding. That’s right. Make sure your sleep is restful every night.

5. Mindful Eating

We eat in a rush. We eat food just to eat and not to be hungry anymore. At lunch, we eat in a hurry because we need to get back fast to our job routines. Then we gain weight and our stomach hurts. This is not the way to eat.

Eating is something that we do so many times and for such a long period of time, all our life. If you are not mindful relating to eating then it will have a huge impact on every aspect of your life. Even in our sleep. You know it and we all know it. Eating impacts sleep quality. Therefore you need to develop some mindful eating skills. Not perfect. But efficient.

6. Do Journaling Every Day

Six lines of journaling every day. This is all it takes to significantly improve your life. You can journal about anything that is happening in your life right now. Any thought you have just put them down.

Make an agreement with your mind that when you write in the journal you have the freedom to write any type of thought, positive or negative. Any thought, even one that scares you. Give yourself the freedom to write it on paper. In this way, you will increase your creativity and your mind will feel free.

Free to think whatever it wants, without fear of punishment. Many times we punish our mind because it thinks of a certain negative thought. But the mind is just a receiving device that receives thoughts. All you have to do is change the channel, change your vibration, and your mind will simply receive other thoughts. This will for sure improve mindfulness.

7. Practice Presence

Presence is noticing. Noticing is related to the art of appreciation. In the art of appreciation, one looks at what is presented in front of him and starts noticing details. Then he verbalizes what he sees as a small list, appreciating details. Verbalising what you see, either with your voice or in your mind gives you presence.

I remember reading in a book about Buddhism that a master is testing you to see if you noticed details from the reality in which you are walking. This is done randomly during the day. The master approaches you, taking you by surprise, and asks you: Did you see the umbrella at the door when you entered? In what position was she seated? There may not have been an umbrella at the door.

Or maybe it was. Did you saw it? Why weren’t you careful? Such a master in Buddhism helps you practice your attention, your ability to be present. So can you do with yourself, be your own master. And you can do that even on the positive side of life. Did you see the beautiful sky that was outside when you went shopping? What was the shape of the clouds?

9. Relax and Let Go

This is such a huge challenge at present. We find ourselves unable to relax, unable to let go. I have a rule, after 10 o’clock I put out … my mind … and my efforts. I think that if the sun went down then the day is over and even though I still have so much to do, today is over. Tomorrow will be a new day. I do not prolong the day more than it is extended by the system of day and night. If night came, the day passed, whether I wanted to or not. This is one of the important techniques to improve mindfulness.

Same on Friday. On Friday I shut down, I stop my mind taking care of my job. I had Mondays when I actually couldn’t remember where I remained with the work on Friday. That’s why I take notes. I make lists and write down my thoughts. To read them on Monday morning and to realize clearly where I stayed.

I write down my thoughts on paper. Why? To get them out of my mind. To give space for my mind to relax. It’s an incredible technique to focus on. Take out the thought, the brilliant idea, your new project, the shopping items, those things that you must remember and not forget. Take them out of your mind and put them on paper. This is a very good mind relaxation technique while working during the entire day.

These were the 9 techniques to improve mindfulness. If you know more, please include a comment below. Thanks.

Techniques to Improve Mindfulness

How Spirituality And Mindfulness Increase Positivity

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Focusing on one’s personal spirituality, practicing mindfulness and honoring self-care are known for naturally increasing positivity in your life. These three different acts can seem a bit ambiguous to those who are unfamiliar with the terms. This may be due to the fact that they can have many different meanings to different people, which is why they are personal to your own journey.

Spiritual traditions such as prayer, meditation, yoga, and journaling are meant to nourish the soul and allow time for self-reflection. Mindfulness is becoming more consciously aware of your thoughts and emotions in the present moment. Self-care is intentionally restoring your mind, body, and soul with activities such as disconnecting from the outside world, making yourself a cup of tea or treating yourself with a massage. Whatever act of self-service that helps you to reconnect with yourself with your own being and revive your inner light is good.

Physical Benefits

Our present-day culture tends to feed into the need to be fast-moving and overly productive. Refocusing your attention to your inner-self has the ability to positively transform your physical body, especially after a day of hard work. Using nothing more than your breath and focus, meditation has shown to greatly reduce stress and stress-related conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fibromyalgia. If your work allows for you to escape to focus on your personal wellness, be sure to do so — even for as little as five minutes a day. Also, be sure to take advantage of communicating grievances to your manager. You’ll be surprised at how much more motivated and productive you’ll feel, after being honest.

Much like comparing a smoker to a non-smoker, personal choices and habits have an impact on our physical health and our ability to heal our own bodies. Healthcare-related research studies have found that having a connection with spirituality or religion helps ill patients better cope with stress and improves their quality of life. Giancarlo Lucchetti led a study that found that individuals with a strong spiritual connection have an 18 percent reduction in early mortality. This serves as evidence that establishing a spiritual life now may potentially prolong your life.

Positive Self-Image

The mind and body are inextricably connected. Treating the mind and body as a holistic system will aid in creating an overall positive self-image. When your physical body feels healthy and well, so does your mental health and vice versa. Practicing acts of self-care enable you to reinforce positive self-image by accepting that you deserve the best out of life. Self-care does not have to always look the same each time. Integrating routine exercise into your life’s schedule or simply looking at yourself in the mirror and saying the words “I love you” is as intensely impactful as treating yourself to something nice or going on vacation. By treating yourself with love and kindness you are simultaneously manifesting positivity and welcoming it into your life.

Start Young

A large percentage of a young person’s time is spent in school receiving their education. Integrating mindfulness practices into a child’s school day has proven to have many positive impacts. Millions of dollars have been invested into studies on the positive effects of mindfulness practices on students with results showing improved sleep, increased retention rates, and lower anxiety levels. Mindfulness practices not only have positive impacts on them at the time of the practice but the effects carry on throughout schooling into higher education. In one study by the University of California Santa Barbara, it was discovered that integrating mindfulness practices reduced mind-wandering, which helped to improve scores on the reading comprehension portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Adapting intentional practices that benefit your mind, body and soul will naturally allow positivity to find you and influence your life. The positive outcomes will spill over onto those who surround you, creating a waterfall effect on all aspects of your life. Welcome and embrace mindfulness, spirituality, and self-care into your everyday routine — at work, school and at home. Every movement, encounter, and thought is an opportunity to intentionally be positive in the present moment.

Author’s Bio

Avery T. Phillips is a freelance human being with too much to say. She loves nature and examining human interactions with the world. Comment or tweet her @a_taylorian with any questions or suggestions. Avery lives in the United States.

Here at Positive Words Research, we are looking to share with our readers original content that hasn’t been published on other sites so if you are comfortable with Positive Words Research being your sole publisher, we are more than happy to share with our readers your inspiring and empowering story.

spirituality

Discover The Secret of Mindfulness And Empower Your Life

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Find here an inspiring short video that anyone needs to watch at least once in a lifetime. It presents how mindfulness empowers us. This animation is narrated by Sharon Salzberg. Same with positive words. Do not put the effort into not talking negatively. Just put the effort into finding, learning and using on a daily basis positive words. In this way, you will be empowered. It just takes practice.

How Mindfulness Empowers Us: An Animation Narrated by Sharon Salzberg.

Get inspired from this list of positive emotions.

Secret of Mindfulness