Release of Emotions
Sometimes we are stressed or anxious because we don’t have any way to let go of what we’re feeling. If we keep our emotions bottled up inside, they will only grow and get worse. If we release our emotions in unhealthy ways like yelling or drinking, we will only bring more stress upon ourselves. Talking to a friend or doing fun physical activities are some positive ways of releasing emotions, and writing is another. Just transferring our thoughts to paper helps us get them out.

Problem-Solving
You can use writing to help yourself problem solve. Writing can be a way to brainstorm ideas that will improve your life. Sometimes a problem can seem very overwhelming, but if you start writing about it, a solution can begin to take shape. Try writing everything you’re thinking about a particular issue, and then reread what you’ve written to try and see it from a different perspective. You might find that your problem isn’t as bad as it seems once it’s on paper, or you may discover a new way to approach it. You can also create lists of pros and cons, which can actually be very helpful tools when making a decision.

Awareness
When you write about things that are bothering you and your stressful experiences, it is a great way to gain awareness. You can become aware about the way you react to things that occur in your life. Do you respond in a positive way? Or do you over-react or respond negatively? With awareness, you can make improvements. You can also gain insight into what things trigger your anxiety the most or cause the biggest spikes in your stress level. Overtime, you will notice patterns and common threads in your writing. Use your new awareness to determine new methods of reducing your stress and anxiety, or improve your coping abilities.

Escape
Everyone needs to get away from the stress of daily life once in a while. And when you’re stressed out it is definitely more than okay to take a break – it’s essential. If you really enjoy writing, you can use it as a means of escape. Use your writing to transport you somewhere else and forget about the things that are bothering you. You could use your imagination and write creative stories or poems, or write about anything that makes you happy. Record joyful memories or events that you can go back and read when you need a pick-me-up. Sometimes just giving yourself a breather and focusing on something other than what is making you anxious will help you calm down and feel better.

Encouragement
Words of self-affirmation can do a world of good. Clipping inspirational stories and writing quotes of beauty filled with kind words can help greatly in reinforcing positive thinking and enhancing your mental health. Also go beyond self, consider writing a little note to someone experiencing similar struggles. Externals acts of kindness always build us up.

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Don't let negative emotions overcome you.

Quick Release Technique:

Karate Chop

1. Follow the bone from the tip of your little finger to its end on the distal side of your hand. As a reference, the end of the little finger is at the edge of the knuckle point.  Make sure you have followed this on the side of hand and not on the palm or the top of your hand.  This is called the Karate Chop point.

2.  Find this point on each hand.

3.  Assess from a scale of 0-10 (10 being highest) where you feel the issue at hand would fall.

4.  Now gently tap these points against each other. (the karate chop points need to be touching each other, so put them together first and then start tapping gently).

5.  As you tap these points against each other make a statement about the emotions you wish to release.  Start with the negative and end in the positive.  Here is an example:
“even though I feel anxious at this time I completely, totally and deeply love and accept myself’.  (change this to suite your situation).

6.  Assess on a scale of 0-10 (10 being highest) where you are now.

7.  Repeat until you feel you are now at 0.

PS you can even use it with cravings!

Enjoy.

-

This article has kindly been provided for us by,

Chiara Marrapodi
C.Ht
Dance of the Soul Hypnotherapy.

www.dancesoulhypnotherapy.com

There are actually hundreds of different forms of tai chi but the most popular ones are Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun and Wu-Hao and Fa styles. While most tai chi is slow paced there are variants that are much faster paced although these are typically only taught and practiced by masters of the slower forms.

The best way to learn tai chi is to scout your local area for classes. Almost all martial arts dojos will run a tai chi class, as do many community buildings. Tai chi is one of the most affordable martial arts to learn as there’s no special equipment required, all you need is to pay for entry into the class and that’s it. It’s best to wear loose fitting clothing to allow for full range of motion and circulation. Also tai chi is typically practiced barefoot or wearing flat soled shoes to enhance balance.

There’s no official accreditation system for tai chi teachers, however as I mentioned above, teaching tai chi is hardly a get quick rich scheme and I can’t imagine there are many, if any, teachers out there who don’t have a good knowledge of tai chi and are just looking to make an easy buck. Also because of the respect people have for martial arts, a dojo won’t employ a teacher they don’t have full confidence in.

Much like meditation, tai chi is something that is best done at least once a day. When you enroll in a class it will probably be run only once or twice a week. This leaves the rest of the week for you to practice what you have learned so far. Preferences vary, but many people like to practice tai chi in the morning as it is a gentle exercise that gets the blood flowing, and gives them a reason to wake up early.

Do remember that tai chi is a martial art and was originally used as a form of combat. Please treat it with the respect its tradition deserves, failure to do so could offend the teacher.

You can follow the tai chi exercises in the video below to get a good idea of what tai chi is, and if it feels right to you.

You may have heard of positive affirmations and relaxation affirmations are very similar. A relaxation affirmation is a short statement you repeat to yourself, either verbally or in your mind, that focuses you on a goal. Of course your goal in this case is relaxation.

The great thing about relaxation affirmations is that you can do them anywhere, at any time and it won’t cost you a penny. Imagine you’re driving and someone cuts you off, or you’ve just been given a stack of work to get through – both are perfect times to use relaxation affirmations.

What does a relaxation affirmation sound like? Well I have come up with a list of a few you can use to get idea of what they are and how they work. Once you get the hang of it you can easily come up with your own.

“I control my own thoughts”.

“I will wake up tomorrow feeling well rested and refreshed.”

Try adding a few relaxation affirmations to your daily routine and see how well they work for you.

Tense your fist and then relax it.

This is something you can try right now in front of your computer. Take your hand off of your mouse for a second and form a tight fist for ten seconds, then relax for a couple of seconds. Now fully extend your fingers so it causes tension and hold again for ten seconds before relaxing the muscles. Feel how relaxed that hand now feels. Now imagine feeling that level of relaxation all over your body. That is entirely possible using Progressive Muscle Relaxation.

In has been discovered that relaxed muscles actually require less oxygen than tense ones. This means that after using Progressive Muscle Relaxation your breathing slows down and becomes deeper, adding to the relaxation process. It is almost like a positive spiral down into a deeper state of relaxation.

To begin practicing PMR it is best to be either seated or laid down in a comfortable position. Bear in mind you will have to both tense and relax many of your muscles and thus must be in a position to do so.

It should be noted the Progressive Muscle Relaxation is not a good idea if you are recovering from a broken bone, pulled muscle, tendons and other similar injuries. Tensing muscles is this way can slow down the healing process.

Start off by opening your eyes as widely as you possibly can for 10 seconds, you will feel the surrounding muscles begin to sting and burn during this time. This is the tension in the muscles building up. After the 10 seconds is up let your eyes relax.

Open your mouth wide for 10 seconds and then allow it to completely relax. You should find that when you relax your mouth there is a slight gap between your top and bottom set of teeth and your jaw is nice and loose.

Next tilt your neck forward and until the muscles are tense, again for 10 seconds. After this time allow your muscles to loosen and put your head back into a more comfortable position. At this point your head and neck should feel loose and relaxed with no tension remaining.

You can go down the rest of your body in this way from you shoulders, to your biceps, triceps, forearms and hands, then to your chest and stomach. Moving down to your buttocks, your thighs, calves and finally your feet.

This Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise will take you between 5 and 10 minutes and when you are done all of your muscles will be free of tension.