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Finding 'Me-Time'
Like most Americans, your life probably revolves around co-workers, family, friends—everyone but you. Making time for yourself is always a challenge, if not slightly guilt-inducing. But with studies linking stress with heart disease, you don’t need an excuse to schedule some me-time.
Here are ideas for how to de-stress with meditation, yoga, massage therapy and spa treatments.
Meditation
Meditation is a great way to deal with stress and related emotions. There are two basic types of meditation: active, in which you pay attention to your thoughts in order to learn to control them, and passive, in which you keep your mind free of thoughts. Passive meditation is the one most often used for stress control.
To practice passive meditation, set aside 5 to 30 uninterrupted minutes each day. Make sure to wear loose, comfortable clothing. You may choose to listen to music, meditation guidance CDs or websites, or sit in silence.
Meditation Technique:
• Sit upright on the floor in a comfortable position. Place your hands on your knees or let them fall into your lap.
• Focus on breathing deeply and rhythmically. Unlike shallow breathing, which involves only the chest and which harbors tension, deep breathing means your chest and abdomen both move outward and inward as you inhale and exhale. Allow the tension to flow out of your body.
• It helps to have a mantra to recite, such as "Om." You may feel silly repeating this at first, but it helps your mind to focus on the words.
• As you focus on your breathing or the mantra, let your thoughts flow, but do not dwell on them. Just keep returning to your point of focus.
It may take several attempts before you start to notice the effects, but eventually meditating will bring about a deep sense of calm and tranquility. The objective is to bring this sense of calm into your everyday life, helping to cut down on stress levels and promote heart health.
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Yoga
Practicing yoga can reduce stress and increase strength, flexibility and overall well-being. Whether you go to a regular class or practice at home, you’ll quickly see the benefits of yoga on both your body and mind.
There are many different types to choose from. Here are some of the more popular forms.
• Hatha: Incorporates a series of poses (asanas) and breathing practices. It’s often the starting point for yoga students.
• Ashtanga: Provides a vigorous workout with a fast-paced cycle of poses.
• Bikram: Turns up the heat–literally–so practitioners sweat the toxins from their bodies, benefiting circulation and the immune system.
• Kundalini: Awakens the psychic centers (chakras) through poses, breathing techniques, chanting and meditation.
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Massage Therapy
Massage therapy can relieve stress, headaches and muscle pain, improve circulation, and may help with the healing or prevention of ailments and injury. Here’s a quick guide to some of the more popular types.
• Swedish: The most common, it involves manipulating soft tissues such as muscles, skin and ligaments using different types of touch techniques such as stroking, kneading and pressure, often with oils applied to skin.
• Reflexology: Based on the theory that points on the foot are connected to parts of the body, healing is stimulated by applying pressure by hand to the corresponding point on the foot.
• Shiatsu: An Eastern form of massage where pressure is applied with the hands to key areas to help correct internal dysfunctions and promote overall health by restoring the flow of energy.
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Spa Treatments
Spa treatments can be an effortless way to pamper the body and soothe the soul. But like many luxuries, spas can be expensive. To enjoy the same benefits without the prohibitive prices, you can create relaxing sessions in the comfort of your own home. Try these suggestions.
• Calming bath
A good bath soothes all your senses: smell (with bath salts or essential oils); sight (candles or dimmed light); sound (your favorite mellow CD); touch (warm water, thick towels); and taste (a soothing beverage). To draw the perfect bath, fill the tub about 1/3 full with comfortably warm water, slip in, then fill the remainder with hot water until it reaches the desired temperature.
• Fast facial
In just 15 minutes, you can relax and restore your healthy glow. The secret of making your at-home facial feel more calming: cover your face with a hot, damp towel and place a rolled up hot towel behind your neck. Relax for a few minutes before applying your favorite peel-off face mask.
• Pedicure-all
A pedicure is a double-duty spa treatment that’s both cosmetic and relaxing. Start by soaking feet in warm water with bath salts. Trim nails and push back cuticles. Exfoliate and rev up circulation with a pumice stone, then massage a peppermint-based lotion into feet, ankles and shins. Finish with your favorite clear or colored nail polish.
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