I should warn you, first of all, that if you’re not used to doing something like this, it will feel silly. Deal with it.

I can honestly say that when I was first taken through an exercise like the one below, I felt like I had learnt to relax for the first time in my life. It was a complete surprise when I later discovered that I could use that feeling of relaxation to combat future stresses that I would encounter.

So, if your wondering if you can use your imagination to relax and reduce stress, I’m living proof! Enjoy these 10 steps to relaxation and stress-reduction, through the simple act of visualisation:

Use Your Imagination to Relax and Reduce Stress

Sit comfortably in a chair.

1. Close your eyes and simply take a deep breath.

Breathe in through your nose, with the same intention that you would smell a rose. You can almost feel the end of your nose tingling.

As you breath in, imagine filling your abdomen, your lower lungs and then your lungs. (Some people have said that it helps to imagine your lungs are just behind your belly button as you are breathing in.) You are practicing deep ‘diaphragmatic breathing’ (rather than shallower higher lung breathing), so when you breathe in, your abdomen should expand.

2. As you breath in, say “Re” and as you breathe out say “lax”.

Imagine yourself breathing in peace and exhaling stress.

3. After a few repetitions of this, begin tensing and relaxing your muscles, from the top of your head all of the way down.

You should try to continue the deep breathing during this stage. If you initially find this too difficult, just stick with the breathing for now.

4. Your body will begin to feel relaxed.

This feeling differs from person to person. For some, their body feels soft and light, as if it is floating on air. For others, it feels heavy, as if it is sinking in water. Feel the relaxation and give in to it.

5. Visualize yourself walking on a path at the Sea-side.

In front of you are steps leading down to the Beach. You take the first step – say “One” in your mind – and as you do so you notice the gentle warmth of the Sun.

Count down each step as you go, down to the tenth and last. With each step you take, you become more aware of your surroundings, feel more relaxed, gentler, warmer.

6. As you reach the bottom step, you are now on the warm, soft sand.

Walk across the soft sand towards the Sea. At this point, you are using as many of your senses as possibe. Hear the waves lapping against the shore. Smell the freshness of the air. Visualise the cool blue Sea. As you step into it, feel the clean, refreshing water cleansing you from the top of your head down to your toes, washing away every bit of stress and anxiety. Enjoy how fresh and clean you feel.

7. Project your thoughts forward.

Now visualise yourself in a potential stressful situation, but allow the warm and gentle feeling of relaxation to continue to soothe your thoughts. Allow the relaxed state you are feeling now to flood your vision. Your mind and body are being conditioned to respond calmly to stress.

8. Leave the Beach, via the steps

Leaving the Beach, keep hold of the pleasing sense of calm achievement, warmth and relaxation.

As you take each step up, count backwards from 10. Feel the joy of knowing you are taking your new-found relaxation with you.

9. Open your eyes slowly

Take with you this calm and relaxing feeling, remembering you can always return to the Beach whenever you choose.

10. When you face a stressful situation, recall the warmth that you felt on the Beach.

If, for example, you’re about to walk into a a stressful board meeting, pause beforehand a take some deep breaths. This has always been sufficient for me to restore the previous feelings of warmth and calm. However, you might want to experiment with taking in 10 deep breaths and going down to the Beach before going to your board meeting. Just remember to come back up at some point or you’re likely to fall asleep on the job!

I know how simple this all sounds, but all I can say is it works. Long before I began Aikido, it was taking those 10 steps down to the beach that convinced me of the effectiveness of breathing, along with the power of the mind to imagine itself out of stress and depression.

Give it a go. And let me know how you get on.

I’ve been meaning to post more on how to stop grinding your teeth, along with pointers to tactics that I’ve found helpful. However, the truth is that not much has worked so far! Hence, not much posting!

So, in the spirit of full disclosure, over the next few of posts I will discuss ‘how not to stop grinding your teeth’. First failed attempt: alcohol.

I don’t like Dentists!

Due to the excess of Cola that I used to drink, I’ve made more than my fair share of visits to the Dentist’s surgery. My experiences haven’t always been great, so it’s not an experience that I exactly look forward to.

There was a time a couple of years ago when I was so anxious about the state of my teeth – and the dental work required – that I would lose sleep worrying about it, or spend the night grinding my teeth in trepidation. The irony wasn’t lost on me!

I was out with the children today and I noticed a couple of people that seemed to be grinding their teeth whilst in an apparently relaxed state. I’m told that an estimated one in 20 adults and three in 20 children unconsciously grind their teeth at night. Is this something that you’ve found yourself doing?

Interestingly, anxiety may not be the only cause for tooth-grinding. Though it seems accurate to see grinding as a subconscious release of tension from emotional stress, many dental authorities today believe that night grinding may be an unconscious effort to correct irregularities of the chewing surfaces of the teeth. They grind away to eliminate a spot that is too high or to find a comfortable place to fit the upper and lower teeth together.

Nocturnal grinding exerts thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch on the surface of the teeth. It can also have a detrimental effect on the supporting bone, gums and jaw joint. In my next post, I talk about a couple of ways to tackle grinding-teeth – and share the tactics that I personally have found most helpful.

I recently came across an interesting guest post over at Zen Habits.

Murder! Ringing phones, broken equipment, lost data, rude customers, unreasonable deadlines, demanding bosses. A sure-fire recipe for a 187.

The author, Albert Foong, goes on to note that the days we are living in require emotional intelligence and psychologically tested methods ‘to handle anything that happens in a mature and powerful manner.’ The vital first step, predictably – but helpful nonetheless, is taking radical responsibility for our own behaviour. He then goes on to describe the ABC Model:

Albert Ellis, one of the pioneers of Cognitive Psychology, came up with a simple system to describe how we really operate. He called it the ABC model: Antecedent, Belief, and Consequence.

We believe that A leads directly to C. In the example above, Madison antagonised me, leading to my Anger. But that was not true – there was some reaction in between, my beliefs had filtered the experience and therefore created the anger.

The thoughts I had, revealed the beliefs that lay underneath them: We shouldn’t be shouted at; everyone should be polite; she should respect my skills.

The article goes on further to discuss a favourite topic of mine: breathing.

…by cutting out one part of the cycle, we take momentum away until it runs itself out. Psychologists recommend the Stop-Breathe-Leave method.

…Breathing-in consciously is also a powerful meditation technique. Your mind cannot focus on more than one thing at a time, and by focusing your attention on your breath, you turn off all the distorted thoughts. Without the thoughts, the emotions soon die out. Think of a fire – even once it is dead, the coals will remain hot for a while more.Feel the breath. Feel it coming into your nose, down your airways, into your lungs, into your belly, and out again. Don’t force it, just let it come naturally. Pay attention to it for a few minutes.

I’d recommend reading the rest, even if just to see what Ellis’ added “D” stands for. You might not agree with everything written that the article discusses, but I’m pretty sure that most people would much within it that is practically helpful. And if Think Happy! is about anything, it is about practical steps to mental health that can be easily implemented to making an actual practical difference to our day-to-day lives. (Hmmm… I really need to come up with a catchier way of putting that!)

November 7th is National Stress Awareness Day, so it seems like a good day to get back into the habit of posting here. I loved the slogan of NSAD this year, that fits well with the purpose of this blog: “Smile Away Stress“.

I take this opportunity to post the top 10 stress-busters recommended by the International Stress Management Association:

1. Smile
	Smiling is the first line of defence against stress. It’s quick, easy, and free! When you smile your body releases feel-good hormones, while the stress hormone, cortisol, is reduced. Smiling helps you feel calm and in control. It lowers your blood pressure and makes you feel good about yourself.
2. Exercise
	As well as its undoubted benefits for your general health, exercise is highly effective in reducing stress. It improves blood-flow to the brain, helping you think more clearly. Exercise is also another great way to release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and feel-good hormones. There is also evidence that fit people are better able to handle the long-term effects of stress.
3. Get enough rest and sleep
	Taking a rest isn’t only about not doing anything. A rest from work can mean putting the emphasis on what you do in your leisure time – hobbies, holidays, sport – to counterbalance work or everyday stress. And we all need sleep for energy, good concentration and general health. Chronic sleep-deprivation can affect your performance at work, which can be a key factor in raising stress levels.
4. Positive thinking
	Changing your thoughts is not as difficult as you think. Try to adopt an outlook on life that stops you seeing external events as determining your happiness. Instead, see your thoughts as the determiner of your happiness. It takes practice, but if you can do this you’ll reduce the negative tension that leads to much of the stress in your life.
5. Reach out to others
	When you need to reduce the pressure in your life, you can’t always do it on your own. Everyone should have a support network of friends, family, co-workers and other people they can call on to help take the strain – whether it’s practical help or a sympathetic ear when you feel down.
6. Achieve a good work-life balance
	Don’t let work dominate your life. No matter how ambitious you are, it’s important to make time for relaxation and fun. That might mean reducing the number of hours you work, or changing to a job that’s closer to home so your commuting time is reduced. Use time management techniques to ensure you’re more productive during your normal working hours, rather than continually staying late at the office.
7. Relaxation
	A good relaxation technique is an anti-stress weapon that you always carry with you, to help you deal with any stressful situation as it arises. Make relaxation a regular part of your daily routine. There are so many relaxation techniques, from deep-breathing and visualization to meditation and self-hypnosis. Find one that works for you – check out the many books, CDs and DVDs that can help.
8. Eat a healthy diet
	A balanced diet that delivers all the nutrients your body needs to function at its optimum level is essential for dealing with stressful situations. And cutting back on stimulants like caffeine and sugar and depressants like alcohol and nicotine will keep your blood sugar levels constant and help you to avoid mood swings.
9. Hugging
	Make sure you get and give your fair share of hugs. Not only does hugging feel good, it has been proven to help reduce the stress level, cortisone.
10. Seek professional help if you need it
	If you feel that despite all your efforts stress is getting the better of you, there are lots of people who can help. The International Stress Management Association provides referrals to stress management professionals, as well as guidance on dealing with stress.

Source: http://www.nationalstressawarenessday.co.uk/top10.aspx

Some time ago, on my anabaptist spirituality blog, I introduced my readers to the joy of Zen Habits.

For those of you who don’t know, Zen Habits is the blog of Leo Babauta and covers: achieving goals, productivity, being organized, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, physical fitness, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, successfully implementing good habits…

Anyway, I thought that some of you might consider this post on 20 Ways to Eliminate Stress a worthy read:

I don’t believe that a stress-free life is possible. Stress is a response to challenges in life, and a life without challenges is too boring to contemplate. However, I do believe that most of the stress in our lives is unnecessary, and that it can be eliminated by taking some simple (and some not-so-simple) steps. It can’t be accomplished overnight — I’ve been eliminating stressors in my life for awhile now, and I’m still not done. But I think it’s a worthwhile goal.

It’s good stuff.