Breathe Deeply

If you feel things getting on top of you stop what you are doing and take ten deep breaths. This will properly oxygenate your blood giving you a new burst of energy while lowering stress levels. This is perhaps the most powerful office relaxation technique there

Eliminate Clutter

Don't let stress at work make you ill.

If you work at a desk or in a confined space try your best to keep it neat and tidy. Eliminating clutter can be very therapeutic and it also means that when you need to find something quickly you will be able to do so without turning the place upside down and creating unnecessary stress.

One Task At a Time

Multitasking creates a lot of stress as the mind struggles to focus on more than one activity at once. Some believe that multitasking saves time but this is a fallacy. Instead you should write a list of tasks you need to do and complete them in order of importance. You will be able to focus better on each task and your quality of work will actually improve without wasting any time.

For more about this read my previous article The Stress of Multitasking.

Take Your Break Outside

Most workplaces will give you two ten or fifteen minute breaks along with half an hour for lunch. First things first, no matter how much work you have to do you should always take your breaks. Time away from your desk will give you mind a chance to rest and you will feel refocused when you return.

To get the most from your break, if the weather is nice, you should take it outside. Fresh air is rejuvenating and you can take the opportunity to go for a quick walk. This is a great way to reduce stress.

Stay Away From Negative People and Conversations

There’s always going to be a group of negative people at any workplace. Do your best to steer clear of these kind of people as they will drag you down with them. Similarly negative conversations will also put you in a negative frame of mind so try to be positive at all times.

Learn To Say No

Unfortunately some people will try to take advantages of others at work by coercing them to do their work for them.  If a boss or colleague is heaping work on you faster than you can finish it you have to put your foot down, say no, and tell them that you simply can’t do it without the amount of other things you need to do.

You’d be surprised how many people try and pass work on that really they should be doing themselves. Don’t allow yourself to be a doormat in this way.

It can be hard to summon the courage to say no but one way to gain the mental strength required is with hypnosis. HypnoBusters sell an effective session on MP3 appropriately titled Say No Hypnosis.

Reducing stress at work can take some effort but it really is worthwhile. Most people spend around a third of their weekdays either at work or travelling to work so if you can reduce or eliminate the stress this causes you are well on your way to be a totally calm and relaxed human being.

Don’t worry if you don’t have time to do all these eye relaxation exercises everyday but try to do at least one or two so that you see a real long-term benefit.

Peripheral Sunning

Eye relaxation exercises can improve your eyesight.

We all spend too much time in front of a screen of one kind or another. Whether it’s the TV, a computer monitor or a cell phone. This results in poor peripheral vision as we are constantly staring at a fixed point straight ahead. Peripheral sunning can help you undo this damage.

To do this eye relaxation exercise you need to be outdoors on a day where the sun is out. Look into the sky, not directly at the sun (as this causes damage) but just underneath it. Now slowly move your head to the left while keeping your eyes looking just underneath the sun, then move your head to the right slowly. Repeat this motion for a couple of minutes. This allows the sunlight to reach every part of your eyes which improves the strength of your peripheral vision. It also helps improve the circulation of blood around your neck which increases the speed of repair.

Distance Focus

For this eye relaxation exercise you will need a picture or poster on a wall, with ten feet of room to move back from. Alternatively you can use a plant or tree outdoors to focus on. First stand about a foot away from the object and focus on it for 10 seconds. Then take step back a foot and focus on the object again for ten seconds. Repeat this process until you are stood ten feet away. As the name suggests this exercise helps improves your focusing abilities.

Ocular Development

Ocular development helps to improve the strength of muscles which control the vertical and horizontal movement of your eyes. It’s a fancy name for a really simple exercise. To start move your eyes up and down ten times. Once you have completed this then do the same thing, only this time from left to right. If you want to be really thorough you can also go this diagonally from top-left to bottom-right, then from top-right to bottom-left. You can also vary the speed each day you use this exercise. One day you can move your eyes very slowly, and then very quickly the next day. Each speed develops the muscles in a different way.

The ocular development exercise only takes a couple of minutes and you can do it anywhere so it’s a great eye relaxation exercise to do while the commercials are on TV or you’re waiting for something to load on your computer.

Follow The 10-10-10 Rule

This final eye relaxation exercise is very easy to remember and do and will save your eyes from deteriorating due to focusing too much on nearby objects (books, TVs, monitors, etc). The 10-10-10 rule says that when you are focusing on a nearby object, every 10 minutes stop and look at an object 10 feet away for 10 seconds. 10-10-10. Focusing on a object close to you for too long can cause serious long-term damage to the ciliary muscles. By following the 10-10-10 rule you are giving your ciliary muscles a chance to relax and “cool off” for a short period of time before they go back to work looking at the nearby object.

• Every 10 minutes…
• Look at an object 10 feet away…
• For 10 seconds.

Three simple points that can save your eyes a great deal of wear and tear.

The four exercises above are the ones that have had the most success for me personally. There are a lot more eye relaxation exercises that can help to improve your vision naturally but I will save them for another day. So please start to implement these eye exercises into your daily routine and let me know how you’re getting on with them.

Are you seeing an improvement? Please leave a comment and share your experience.

Retain your youthful looks.

So it’s clear that to stay looking young you need to relax and reduce your stress levels. If you follow the advice below your skin will noticeably improve and stay looking young.

1.  Sleep

Sleep helps to rejuvenate the body and mind, meaning everything functions better. This includes the health of your skin. Typically people require from six to eight hours sleep a night. If you struggle with your sleeping patterns you may want to look at another article – Ways To Sleep Better.

2.  Diet

Your skin needs the certain nutrients to keep its youthful appearance. To make sure you are getting these nutrients you should up your intake of fruit and vegetables while reducing the consumptions of salty or sugary foods. Omega fatty acids such as those found in fish are also incredibly beneficial to your skin so you should aim to try and eat at least two or three portions of oily fish a week.

3.  Exercise

Exercise is one of the cornerstones of any health regime. It even has a positive effect on your skin. Exercise has been shown to lower stress levels and is well known to give people a “healthy glow”. Just thirty minutes of walking a day will visibly improve your skin. One point of note though is that sweat contains salt, so after working up a sweat you should make sure to wash it off with warm water.

4.  Facial Massage

Treat yourself to a few bottles of massage oil. Every night you can gently massage the oil around your face (be careful around the eyes). This relaxes the facial muscles and stimulates blood flow.

5.  Relaxation Techniques

There are a number of relaxation techniques you can use to improve your skin and stay looking young. Perhaps the best of all the options is hypnotherapy. Not only does hypnotherapy relax you but you can get sessions specifically catered towards skincare. For example HypnoBusters have Sensation Skin Hypnosis and Hypnotic Botox MP3s that can work wonders. This can be listened at bedtime, they will also help you drift off to a deep, restful sleep.

The Ultimate Mediation Kit contains a detailed eBook as well as five guided meditation MP3s. The eBook will teach you about the mind, the benefits of meditation, what happens during meditation, how to prepare yourself for meditation, how to get the most from meditation and a lot more. It’s all written in simple to understand language so it won’t throw you off with technical jargon or terms that are foreign to you. It’s this level of simplicity that makes The Ultimate Meditation Kit accessible to everyone.

When you buy The Ultimate Meditation Kit along with this manual you also get five guided meditations on MP3. They start off simple and build in complexity so you can easily go from beginner to advanced over the course of the guided meditations. The five meditations you are provided with are General Relaxation, Advanced Relaxation, Attracting Abundance, Enhanced Creativity and Meet With Your Higher Self. As you can see there are a variety of aims and topics covered.

I’ve been using The Ultimate Meditation Kit for a month now and it has really helped me to focus my goals and where I want to be. The Meet With Your Higher Self meditation in particular is mind-blowing and worth the cost of the course alone.

That brings me to the price. Usually The Ultimate Meditation Kit retails for $97 but there is currently a sale on (I don’t know how long this will last) that offers the course for $37. I would say it is definitely worth buying at that price for anyone who wants to take up meditation. Even if you are already fairly advanced it can help you branch out, learn more and stick more closely to a regular meditative routine.

The Ultimate Meditation Kit

Enjoy the relaxing aroma of lavender.

be used to aid someone’s health or mood. Now I don’t know from personal experience how well aromatherapy works directly in improving a person’s health. However I do know that it is a useful therapy in aiding relaxation, which indirectly does aid both physical and mental health.

Not only does lavender produce a relaxing aroma but it is also both antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. However before you use it in the manners I am about to suggest you should take care as lavender is an allergen, so start by using a small amount.

3 Ways of Relaxing With Aromatherapy

1. After a stressful day (and what day doesn’t contain stress?) take a nice, warm bath – complete with a few drops of essential oil. Not only will the warm water loosen any tension but the aromatherapy oils will also help to recharge you physically and mentally. Even after your bath you will be able to smell the oils on your body – relaxing you and relieving you of any stress.

2. If you have to drive often you are probably familiar with the stresses that driving brings. Gridlocked roads, inconsiderate drivers and a host of other problems can ruin any car journey. To combat this what you can do is dip a cotton wool ball in essential oil and place it near to an air condition vent. This will circulate the relaxing aroma all over the car and relieve any road rage you may be feeling. You will probably need to replace the cotton ball every two or three days.

3. Pour several drops of essential oil onto a tissue (or handkerchief). Carry it around with you, and whenever you begin to feel stress or tension build hold the tissue to your nose and take several deep breaths. Now you have your very own portable relaxation system!

As I mentioned earlier lavender is the most common aroma used for relaxation but if you aren’t keen on the smell or are allergic there are many other aromas you can use. Eucalyptus, lemon oil and peppermint are all commonly used to aid relaxation and are well worth trying.

Aromatherapy is a very affordable form of relaxation; a bottle of essential oil should only cost a few dollars and it will last you a good month or two is used sparingly. A number of websites sell essential oils, candles, vaporisers etc or if you have an alternative healing store in your local area drop in and you’ll be able to find everything you need.