How to Relax and Relieve Stress

How to Relax and Relieve Stress
How often do you feel stressed? If you're like most of us,
it's several times a day.

What do you think this is doing to your body? Are you
noticing signs of excessive stress in your body or hoping
they don't start appearing?

Well most of us are not in a position to simply get rid of
the stresses we're under. So how can we deal them so our
health is not negatively affected, or how do we help our
bodies heal so we can deal with the many stresses we face
every day?

The answer for me was tai chi chuan (taijiquan). I started
studying 7 years ago and I feel better today than I did 20
years ago. I've learned that just a little regular
practice can go a long way toward helping me deal with
life's stressful situations and toward making me feel good.

According to several medical research studies, tai chi is a
true aerobic exercise. Practicing it will oxygenate your
blood and it's one of the many ways tai chi helps your body
heal itself.

The focus you'll use while practicing this gentle form of
exercise and energy movement also has an incredible impact
on lowering your stress level, making you physically and
emotionally able to better deal with stress. In effect it
raises your resistance to many of the negative affects of
stress.

Image yourself in a stressful situation you recently faced.
How do you feel? Is your blood pressure elevated? How
are you dealing with this stress right now? Remember
you're not actually facing it, you're only remembering it.

Now imagine yourself calmly moving in a rhythmic fashion as
you relax your body and breathe deeply. Relax, take a
moment and imagine this, and then notice how you're
feeling. Is your blood pressure down? Are you feeling
better? Image how you'd feel if you were actually doing
tai chi.

Tai chi has helped me, many people I know, and is more
available now than ever before. Take a look around and see
if there is a good tai chi school nearby.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of
everything; they just make the most of everything that
comes along their way. The brightest future will always be
based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life
until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
That's what I say!

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posted by John Crewdson -
http://www.beginningtaichi.net/blog
Experience Bursts of Tai Chi(TM) cick here -
http://tinyurl.com/3n9zj8