Stress Management - Top Four Relaxation Techniques

Stress management does mean putting work down and stopping for a while. Managing stress entails clearing your head and freeing it of unhealthy distractions, in order to jump back on track. Some stress relief programs emphasize the value of relaxation. That is, learning to savour ones' time alone and use it to restore the mind and the body.

Some stress relief techniques to deal with stress include meditation, progressive relaxation, autogenic training, and biofeedback. Several other techniques exist, but, for this articles' purpose, we will tackle only the cited four briefly. There are several ways on how to deal with stress. Relaxation is one technique which generally refers to the calming of the mind, the body and the sense, to help a you regain your "center", even in the middle of a highly stressful activity.

Before we begin with any of the four techniques, we must first acknowledge that they are merely part of a bigger and much more comprehensive stress management program and that each will work to its best extent when combined with other techniques. Two very important points should be considered before taking on any stress management relaxation technique.

First, since a relaxation technique results in physiological changes, anybody under medication that affects any physiological parameter might be exploiting that parameter too hard, and

Secondly, that people with medical conditions, like hypertension, heart problems, etc. should first seek medical permission, to be on the safe side.

Once you have gotten these out of the way, you may want to try out each stress management technique first before you determine which one to use regularly. While there is no scientific and medical way to accurately decide which one will work best for you, you will be able to determine which is a most comfortable fit.

Here are the Top Four Stress Management Techniques:

Stress management technique 1: Meditation

Meditation is a mental exercise aimed at getting control over your attention, in order for you to choose what to focus on, instead of being subject to the unpredictable turn of environmental events. This is best done in a silent place and involves set breathing methods.

Stress management technique 2: Progressive Relaxation

This technique stimulates nerve-muscle relaxation. It requires the contraction and release of a muscle group, then slowly moving to other parts of the body. Progressive relaxation is usually used to treat migraines, tension headaches, and other illness.

Stress management technique 3: Autogenic Training

This technique utilizes a series of exercises aimed at bringing body warmth and heaviness in the body and the limbs. It can be done lying down or in a sitting down. Relaxing images are also used to nurture mind relaxation.

Stress management technique 4: Biofeedback

Biofeedback and stress test uses certain machines and instruments to observe body movements and occurrences, which will then be used to study ways to control them. It is often used in combination with another relaxation technique.

Practice your chosen stress relief technique as recommended, with the right environment, attitude, time and frequency. Keep a consistent routine and you will be harvesting their benefits in no time. Just always keep in mind that the above four stress management techniques are simply instruments to a greater and more comprehensive method. You may choose to do them individually or adopt a combination of two or four. However which way you decide, make sure that it is done at comfortable pace. Otherwise, you will be creating more stress than what you get rid of.