10
relaxation techniques to reduce stress on-the-spot
If your hectic lifestyle is getting to be too much for
you, experts say relaxation techniques can bring you back into balance -- some
in five minutes or less.
The children need a lift to school, your husband can't
find his underwear, your boss has just scheduled an online meeting, and your
best friend desperately needs your help - all at the same time.
Is it any wonder that you can't find a minute for
relaxation? In fact, if you're like most women, you may have even forgotten how
to relax.
While experts say that some stress is good for you (it
can sharpen your senses and your mind) too much stress is bad for your mental
and physical health. At the same time, relaxation can do wonders to restore
balance in your life and may even reduce some of the health risks associated
with stress.
We talked to the experts to learn more about relaxation
and how to attain it. What follows are 10 on-the-spot techniques you can use
(any time and almost anywhere) to reduce tension in your life.
1. Meditate
If you think meditation means twisting your body into
an uncomfortable position and uttering ‘oohs’ and ‘omms’ for an hour, guess
again. Dr Herbert Benson, author of The Relaxation Response, says any
repetitive action can be a source of meditation. Benson, who is also director
emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine in the US, says
meditation includes walking, swimming, painting, knitting - any activity that
helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment.
If you catch yourself thinking about your job, your
relationship or your list of things to do, experts say to simply let the
thought escape, and bring your mind back to the repetition of the activity. Try
it for just five to 10 minutes a day and watch stress levels drop.
The idea is to take your mind off your stress, and
replace it with an image that evokes a sense of calm. The more realistic your
daydream (in terms of colours, sights, sounds, even touch and feel) the more
relaxation you'll experience.
Feeling stressed evokes tense, shallow breathing, while
calm is associated with relaxed breathing, says Michael Lee, author of Turn
Stress into Bliss. So to turn tension into relaxation, he says, change the way
you breathe.
Try this: let out a big sigh, dropping your chest and
exhaling through gently pursed lips, says Joan Borysenko, director of Harvard
University's Mind-Body Clinical Programmes. Now imagine your low tummy, or
centre, as a deep powerful place. Feel your breath coming and going as your
mind stays focused there. Inhale, feeling your entire tummy, sides and lower
back expand. Exhale, sighing again as you drop your chest, and feeling your
tummy, back and sides contract. Repeat 10 times, relaxing more fully each time
4. Look around you
‘Mindfulness is the here-and-now appr
approach to living that makes daily life richer and
more meaningful,’ says Dr Claire Michaels Wheeler, author of 10 Simple
Solutions to Stress. It's approaching life like a child, without passing
judgement on what occurs. Mindfulness means focusing on one activity at a time,
so forget multitasking! Staying in the present tense can help promote relaxation
and provide a buffer against anxiety and depression.
Practise it by focusing on your immediate surroundings.
If you're outdoors, enjoy the shape and colours of flowers, hear a bird's call
or consider a tree. In the shopping centre look at the details of a dress in
the window, examine a piece of jewellery and focus on how it's made, or
window-shop for furniture, checking out every detail of pattern and style. As
long as you can keep your mind focused on something in the present, stress will
take a back seat.
If you're a coffee guzzler, consider going green.
Coffee raises levels of the notorious stress hormone, cortisol, while green tea
offers health and beauty, says Dr Nicholas Perricone. Perricone is the author
of 7 Secrets to Beauty, Health and Longevity.
Chamomile tea is a traditional favourite for calming
the mind and reducing stress. Black tea may be a stress fighter, too,
researchers from University College London report. Participants who drank
regular black tea displayed lower levels of cortisol, and reported feeling
calmer during six weeks of stressful situations than those who drank a placebo
with the same amount of caffeine.
6. Show some love
Induce the relaxation response by cuddling your pet,
giving an unexpected hug to a friend or family member, snuggling with your
spouse or talking to a friend about the good things in your lives, says
psychologist Deborah Rozman, co-author of Transforming Stress. When you do
you'll be reducing your stress levels.
Why? Experts say social interaction helps your brain
think better, encouraging you to see new solutions to situations that once
seemed impossible, she says. Studies have also shown that physical contact
(such as stroking your dog or cat) may actually help lower blood pressure and
decrease stress hormones.
7. Try self-massage
When your muscles are tense and you've no time to visit
a professional, try this simple self-massage technique from Darrin Zeer, author
of Lover's Massage and Office Yoga. Relax, and travel straight to zen-land.Place both hands on your shoulders and neck.
Squeeze with your fingers and palms.
Rub vigorously, keeping shoulders relaxed.
Wrap one hand around the other forearm.
Squeeze the muscles with thumb and fingers.
Move up and down from your elbow to fingertips and back again.
Repeat with other arm.
Adults need breaks too. So when you sense your temper
is about to erupt, Dr Jeff Brantley, author of Five Good Minutes In the
Evening, suggests finding a quiet place to sit or lie down and put the
stressful situation on hold. Take a few deep breaths and concentrate on
releasing tension and calming your heartbeat. Quiet your mind and remember:
time is always on your side, so relax. The stress can wait
9. Try a musical detour
Music can calm the heartbeat and soothe the soul, the
experts say. So, when things get stressful, take a musical stress detour by
aligning your heartbeat with the slow tempo of a relaxing song. Plus, you might
think about listening to a classical tune. Research shows that listening to 30
minutes of classical music may produce calming effects equivalent to taking 10
milligrams of diazepam.
Thirty seconds is enough time to shift your heart's
rhythm from stressed to relaxed, Rozman says. The way to do that: engage your
heart and your mind in positive thinking. Start by envisioning anything that
triggers a positive feeling - a vision of your child or spouse, the image of your
pet, that great piece of jewellery you're saving up to buy, a memento from a
holiday - whatever it is, conjuring up the thought will help slow breathing,
relax tense muscles and put a smile on your face. Rozman says that creating a
positive emotional attitude can also calm and steady your heart rhythm,
contributing to feelings of relaxation and peace
Q.I’m retired and Medicare barely covers my needs now.
What are the Medicare benefits people will see this year?
Q.is cardiac catheterization and angioplasty covered by
medicare ?
1. Consumers Have an Extra Week to Buy 2014 Coverage
Because of all the technical glitches affecting health
insurance Marketplace web sites, the federal government is giving consumers
more time to buy coverage that will begin on Jan. 1, 2014. People can now buy coverage as late as
Dec. 23, 2013, instead of Dec. 15. This only applies to the federally run
Marketplaces. States that run their own may have different deadlines.
Consumers will still be able to buy coverage for 2014
after this deadline. But it won't start on Jan. 1, and they must buy it no
later than March 31, 2014, when open enrollment ends.
The deadline to avoid a tax penalty was also extended.
Although the open enrollment period has not changed and still runs through the
end of March, to avoid a penalty, the system required people to buy coverage by
Feb. 15.
People can now buy coverage all the way through the
last day of open enrollment on March 31, 2014, without facing penalties.
Americans can buy coverage for 2015 from Nov. 14, 2014,
to Jan. 15, 2015. That's a change from the previously announced enrollment
period of Oct. 15, 2014, to Dec. 7, 2014.
Officials said the change will give insurers more time
to figure out their rates for 2015.
On the heels of the HealthCare.gov debacle, health care
reform got another black eye when it became clear that many Americans would
lose their existing insurance plans because their coverage didn’t meet new
standards. In some cases, policyholders were furious because alternatives for
new coverage were more expensive. Some people also found they wouldn't be
allowed to keep their doctors.
President Obama had promised that people would be able
to keep their plans and doctors under the Affordable Care Act.
Earlier this month, Obama allowed insurers to restart
canceled policies if they wish. But they can only issue the policies if state
insurance commissioners allow them to do so. And the insurers only have an
extra year to align their policies with the rules or eliminate them.
"This fix won't solve every problem for every
person," Obama said, "but it's going to help a lot of people."
Last summer, the Obama administration announced that
businesses with more than 50 workers don't need to offer insurance coverage to
full-time employees by Jan. 1, 2014, or risk penalties.
The businesses now have an extra year to wait to offer
the coverage. Some companies and their advocates had complained that the rules
were too complex, and they wanted more time.
The Obama administration is looking at ways to relieve
the log-jam of Americans who've had trouble buying insurance coverage through
the online Marketplaces.
One approach could allow certain consumers -- those
eligible to get subsidies (financial help) because of lower income levels -- to
bypass the Marketplaces and buy coverage directly from insurers and brokers.
The challenge now is to figure out how to make such a system work
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