Durham Stress

Martial art stress busting

Fri, 04 May 2012 19:33:14 +0000

It’s been a stressful day. Or perhaps it’s been like that for weeks, months, or even years? You can feel your body, and especially your head, humming with activity when all you seek is peace. It’s affecting your mood and general health, but what can be done? Have you ever considered tai chi? Now you might have heard the term, and perhaps have seen clips of elderly Chinese people going through a series of graceful motions. But you’re wondering what on earth does that have to do with me?

Tai chi ch’uan, to give it its full title, means ‘supreme ultimate fist’. To most eyes that title would suggest the ultimate martial art, laying low any attacker with one punch. However although Tai Chi is a martial art it is of the internal kind, which means the focus is much more on the spiritual, mental or life-force aspects, rather than the physiological ones. This is suggested in the slow fluid movements that practitioners display.

Until modern research discovered otherwise it was thought that tai chi had rather mystical and religious origins. A Taoist monk from the 12th century called Zhang Sanfeng was said to have devised tai chi’s theories and practice, partly thanks to watching a fight between a graceful crane and a lithe coiling snake. There is doubt about these stories because of the available documentation but what is known is there are five major styles developed over time thanks to various martial artists and imperial army officers. The earliest is the Chen-style which was formulated by Chen Wangting (1580-1660) and from which the other styles can be traced back to. Over several centuries a variety of movements and stances came about and here are the names of but a few – Crane takes flight, Gathering the stars, Horse stance, Basic bear, and the tai chi power move. All very evocative names to be sure.

Thanks to it being a non-impact martial art it has several benefits, one of which being there is comparatively little stress put on the joints. It also helps build endurance and increases flexibility, balance, and co-ordination. This helps explain why tai chi is spreading in usage in hospitals and amongst the inhabitants of care homes. Tai chi is suitable for many ages and abilities so there’s no need to be lacking in confidence. As regards stress relief you might be happy to know that by getting into the regular habit of practicing you can develop healthy breathing patterns and relaxation skills. Go online and see if there are any classes going on near you. The benefits are there for the taking.

Finding Your Happy Place

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:33:32 +0000

Whether you work with hr recruitment software, bricks and mortar, or are a company executive, stress can overcome you in daily life when it builds up and is never released. In order to live a healthy and happy life, it is important to be able to know how to let go of anxiety and stress and give your mind a little space to breathe and relax. Some people find it difficult to ever switch off from their jobs or from home stresses, and if there are pressures in different areas of life, it can all become too much.

The best advice I can give to anyone is to find a happy place. This is somewhere that you can go one a day if possible, or once every few days, and get away from whatever may be going on in your life, and think about something different and enjoyable. It is healthy for your mind to release the tension that builds up, and it can make a whole lot of difference to the way you feel about the problems that you are facing. Many people choose to take up a physical activity or sport, as not only is this enjoyable and good for letting you forget about your stresses, the physical activity releases positive hormones, which can help you to feel good.

There are lots of different things that can be done, and if sport is not your thing, there must be hobbies or activities that you enjoy doing. Playing a musical instrument, playing cards, or painting are all ways of finding a happy place. Walking and running can also be very effective for this, although not if you are simply walking somewhere and thinking about your problems! The best activities will be those that require lots of thought and attention, or involve other people, so that you can switch off from the other problems that may be happening.

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Want stress relief? Stop thinking. Start acting

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:38:25 +0000

The world of law relies heavily on past records when adjudicating disputes. If you file a complaint against any other individual, the judge will consider similar instances that have occurred in the past and will rely on the set principles to take a fair decision. Now, you will appreciate the difficulty if you want industrial compensation on the basis of an offense that has never been proved in the past? What if your demand is unprecedented?

It is obvious that you will have to work very hard to convince the judge that your unprecedented demand must be permitted. All your hard work will go waste if you do not approach the court of law and initiate the process. Simply doing research on the sidelines and not taking any real action to obtain the industrial compensation is just not going to work. How is this related to stress management?

Well, we all know that stress is bad and are aware of the difficulties involved in managing stress properly. However, very few individuals actually go ahead and take steps to manage the stress levels in their lives. Meditate, play with your dog, come back home early, spend some intimate moments with your spouse-the list of things to do to tackle stress are unlimited. However, very few people succeed in doing so because they never move from thought to action. Stop thinking about how to manage stress. Start doing. It does not matter whether you think the solution is feasible or not.

The moment you start taking real and concrete steps to tackle stress, you will find better control over your life. Do you feel that this advice is a bit too obvious? Well, just ask yourself when you last did something with the sole object of overcoming stress in your life? You realize that you have always been thinking about it but have never actually done anything to overcome this problem. This is where you are committing a mistake. Remedy the situation today.

Don’t let it get to you

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:06:57 +0000

Stress is one of the biggest health issues in western society, and it is getting worse all the time, as people’s lives are being filled with more and more responsibilities and less and less expendable money. If we don’t learn how to reduce our stress levels and find some inner peace, we will all be in a bad way in the years to come. Unfortunately we cannot fill out and NHS Complaints claim in order to get compensation for our health issues.

It is first and foremost down to us as individuals to learn to cope with the stress of our own lives. Nobody else is going to take responsibility for this and it is ultimately us that suffer from it. If you have a stressful job, then the most important thing to be able to do is separate your work and home life. Those that carry their work worries home with them are doubling the amount of time that they feel stressed about it. If your job is only something that you do to earn money, then you should be able to recognize that at the end of the day, ill over. You need to be able to relax in your own free time and not be thinking about the same things you have been all day in work.

Taking up a physical activity in the evening is a great way of doing this. Going to badminton, tennis, football, aerobics or gym class is a great way of releasing your body tension and forgetting about work. The body releases endorphins during exercise and this fights stress which is the most important thing for your overall health. If you are not into sports then trying meditation, yoga or even playing a video game or board game can help to take the mind to a more relaxed place. All of these de stress ideas are great but nothing beats a little laughter therapy!

Stress free life – a daily battle akin to a journey

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:05:44 +0000

Many persons make the mistake of confusing the idea of leading a stress-free life with bathroom installation Surrey. Once you have completed the bathroom installations, you can use the bathroom for a very long time without any difficulty. You just have to carry out maintenance activities and certain repairs and replacements as time goes by. On the whole, you can use the bathroom without having to work on it on a daily basis. This is not how you combat stress. If you want to battle stress, you must understand that the battle is a never-ending one.

You will defeat stress only when you die. Until then, you will have stress on a daily basis. On some days, you will have stress because of your office life. On other days, you will have stress because of your family life. In some cases, you may have stress because of personal illnesses. On other days, you will feel stressed because a family member has fallen ill. Even a global terrorist activity attack cause of stress. Hence, stop trying to treat a stress free life as a destination. It is, in fact, a journey.

Once you adopt this approach, you will find it easier to reduce the stress levels in your life. Instead of meditating once a week, you will realize that you will have to meditate once an hour to tackle high stress levels. Adopt a holistic approach and do not try treat stress free life as something that can be purchased off the shelf or gulped down as a tablet. The right mindset is very important to tackle stress. When your mind gets stressed, it will tell you that a stress-free life sounds good but you have something more important here.
The important thing is to tell the mind that nothing can be more important than a stress-free life. If you get this right, you will be in a position to tackle stress on a daily basis. Do not expect the mind to listen to you just because you have said so. You will have to battle it out constantly to enjoy success.

Beat stress with fun things

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:04:20 +0000

What many people who get stressed don’t realise is that fun things – activities, games – can work wonders to alleviate their problems. It might sound flippant to say it, but it’s true. Instead of taking pills or visiting the doctor, why not try the following things? They might seriously change the way you feel about life. Better yet, this list might give you tools to fight further episodes of sadness or depression brought on by a stressful event.

strap that MP3 player on, get running and lose yourself

1) Join a club: art clubs are a great place to meet people and take your mind off stressful things that are going on in your life. There are numerous clubs in almost every community in the world, so take advantage of what’s on offer.

2) Do physical exercise: for a long time, physical exercise has been linked with relieving stress. So strap that MP3 player on, get running and lose yourself in getting exhausted!

3) Listen to music: when you get stressed it’s easy to over-eat and do other things which only make your MORE stressed out! Avoid this by listening to music. It doesn’t matter what the movie is, as long as you enjoy it! It’s entirely up to you.

4) Ever tried doing a cartwheel? Scared of doing one? (A gymnastic one, we mean.) That fear is healthy and natural and can be a welcome distraction. Do things which scare you a bit or make others laugh. Remember…laughter is contagious!How about making a list of things to do? This makes a lot of sense. Often we get stressed out about things because we don’t know how we are going to get everything done. This can be managed easily with a list. Write things down and all of a sudden you can see the wood for the trees. This leads to much better time management, which will eventually lead to a healthier lifestyle.

5) Ditch the chocolate! No good for your stress. Caffeine is also not your friend in any way. Limit yourself to the occasional cup of coffee, but don’t chain-drink coffee or tea all the time because that will give you headaches. A good alternative to regular tea is Peppermint tea. It may not taste quite as good but don’t worry, you soon get used to it.

6) Get yourself in a better sleeping routine: this one is vital, and you know what they say, The early bird catches the worm.

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Simple stress reducing techinques that you can do anywhere….

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:33:43 +0000

It seems that many people today suffer from stress at one time or another. Life has become increasingly difficult in the past few years with global recessions, loss of jobs and lengthy wars that have no end in sight. Compounding the problem is the need for households that require two working people it is no wonder that stress and stress related illnesses are on the rise. Many people have begun to employ the use of traditional methods of dealing with stress including increasing their personal exercise routines, aroma therapy and using meditation techniques.

Research has proven that exercise can greatly reduce an individual’s stress level by increasing the amount of endorphins or “feel good” chemicals into the body. While the more intense the workout regimen the greater amount of these biological chemicals that get released. However, a work out does not need to be intense to produce results. Just by taking a nice relaxing walk a person’s stress level can be drastically decreased. Walking at a comfortable pace in a serene setting like by a lake or on a trail through the woods can also help with meditation.

Most people believe that meditation and aroma therapy requires a person to sit quietly, breath in stress reducing scents and try to clear their minds. However, mediation as well as aroma therapy can also be accomplished by being in a place that promotes serenity and allows a person to think clearly. Many people use a particular object or thought that brought them happiness as a focus point of their mediation routine. Maybe it’s as simple as looking at their beautiful wedding ring that reminds a person of that happy occasion, or a favorite picnic spot in the woods that creates these positive thoughts. For those that prefer to use aroma therapy to reduce their own stress levels, this does not always mean sitting in a room with lavender incense burning, it can be as simple as soaking in a bath with a favorite scented bath oil or the smell of a fresh brewed cup of coffee that triggers a happy thought and therefore releases some of the endorphins that aid in the release of stress.

Each person deals with stress in their own ways, but my choosing and implementing a few of these techniques it not only helps reduce the level of stress in a person’s life, while providing useful learning tools for dealing with any of life’s stressful situations.

Choose Your Stress Very Carefully

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:35:36 +0000

It is very important to recognize the difference between good and bad stress. Let us presume you are taken on a long walk with the promise of the wonderful sight of a beautiful waterfall. Once you reach your destination, you discover that you will have to climb down into a valley and trek over slippery stones before you can get a view of the phenomenon. What do you do?

You have the option of walking back but that would be a very disappointing decision. You have the option of plunging down the valley but that is going to scare the hell out of you. The emotion that you will experience is stress. The stress is going to compel you to walk down the valley even if it means battling leeches and other insects.

When you do experience the sight of the fall, you are going to enjoy satisfaction that you have never enjoyed before. Now, let us compare this stress with the stress that you have to face as an employee in an IT support company. Can you understand the difference between the two? The former is going to help you enjoy life better. The latter is going to make your life miserable.

As an individual, it is very important to choose your stress carefully. Nine times out of ten, people choose the wrong stress for the wrong reason. They take stress for earning money or for improving their lifestyle. Stress combined with money is only going to create a vicious cycle where one can never enjoy life. Stress to learn something new – that is the best way to proceed.

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De-Stressing The Task Of Housekeeping

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:19:43 +0000

Do you feel that cleaning the house has suddenly become a very stressful task? Do you find it impossible to focus on anything other than house cleaning? Do you feel that getting in touch with service providers offering house cleaning Surrey is the best way to proceed?

Many persons observe the manner in which professionals work and realize that they too could have easily kept in the house clean without any difficulty. Of course, professional service providers invariably allot more than one person to finish the task. This, obviously, makes a huge difference. However, if you ask each and every family member to lend a hand, you will realize that you have more manpower as compared to professional cleaning services.

You may be committing the mistake of trying to clean each and every aspect of the house on a daily basis. If you clean the windows once in seven days, you will find that it remains virtually brand new. On the other hand, making sure that you wipe the floor clean on a daily basis will enhance the overall cleanliness of your house.

There are some rooms which receive a lot of footfalls and absorb a lot of dirt. On the other hand, there are other rooms where people do not spend a lot of time. These rooms can be cleaned very quickly. On the other hand, spend extra time in those places with receive a lot of traffic. These small tips will help you get rid of the stress involved in cleaning the house.

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Stress during pregnancy

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:14:14 +0000

During pregnancy stress to some extend is normal. But chronic stress and high levels of stress should be paid attention to and medical help is necessary. For many women stress and pregnancy goes hand in hand. Instead of worrying about labour and the safety of the unborn many pregnant women worry a lot about the financial facts of pregnancy.During pregnancy chronic stress and high stress levels could cause serious problems for the unborn. The two major dangers are low birth weight and preterm labour. Stress is one of the factors that leads to miscarriage. Pregnant women should try avoiding overly stressful situations to prevent the dangers of pregnancy. The other day my pregnant neighbour became very stressful because she lost her hairdressing scissors. For some pregnant woman even a small thing like loosing some scissors could lead to stress.Women should realize what causes their bodies to overly stress in order to prevent its effects on the unborn baby. It’s very important for pregnant women to learn to cope with high stress levels during pregnancy. Rest is essential when the body is tired and drained. Ensure you take vitamin and nutrients supplements which are recommended by your health care provider. That will help your immune systems to be strong. Eating a well-balanced nutritious diet is very important to cope with stress. Exercising during pregnancy prevents the problems that are caused by stress. During your second trimester get yourself a good massage by going to spas. Pampering reduces your stress. Quit drinking and smoking and other habits that are driven by stress. Replace these habits by listening to music and practicing yoga. Avoid people and situations that cause stress in you in order to have a healthy baby.

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