[CyberTOPS] 7 Ways to Slash Stress

[lindat55 at bellsouth.net]

-------Original Message-------

From: lindat55 at bellsouth.net
Date: 4/19/2009 10:01:21 PM
To: topschatterboxes at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [TOPSCHATTERBOXES] 7 Ways to Slash Stress

Health Home> Health Experts> Dr. Mao's Secrets of Longevity>7 Ways to Slash
Stress
7 Ways to Slash Stress

By Dr. Maoshing In - Posted on Mon, Oct 27, 2008, 1:29 PM PDT
Chronic stress seems to be our national disease, especially these days.
Millions suffer from symptoms of stress: nervous tension, restless sleep,
difficulty focusing and remembering, irritability, and health complications.
Generally speaking, stress speeds up aging. Learn the ways to manage stress,
and you will look and feel younger.

1. Start your day with meditation
Spend time every day in meditative relaxation, with calming music if you
desire. Start with five minutes and work your way to 15 or 20 minutes each
day. Meditation is your number one way to reduce the output of stress
hormones and avoid adrenal exhaustion, serious threats to your health.
Try this Stress Release Meditation: Breathe consciously, relax, and with
each exhale focus on relaxing each area of your body in sequence, starting
from the top of your head and moving all the way down to your toes.

2. Manage your mood with diet and herbs
Chinese Medicine considers the liver to be the center of your emotions. To
allay stress and balance your emotions, keep your liver healthy and happy:
 Every day, eat lots of green leafy vegetables, barley grass, seaweed -
anything high in chlorophyll - to keep the liver in good health.
 Take 500 mg dandelion daily for a month or longer to cleanse the liver and
help release built-up anger.
 Take 400 mg white peony root daily for 1 to 3 months to soothe the liver
and balance your mood.
 Schisandra berry protects the liver from chemicals and calms the spirit.
For emotional anxiety, take 200 mg daily for a month.
Take these herbs anytime during the day and before bed in tea or capsule
form. All the herbs are available from health food stores and Eastern
medicine practitioners. Many of my patients have had remarkable results with
Calm-Fort Elixir, an all-natural formulation of herbs to calm your spirit.
For more information, click here.

3. Suppress stress with positive thinking
Instead of letting your thoughts run wild with anxiety, say affirmations to
yourself, such as "I can handle the tasks I have ahead of me. I enjoy my
responsibilities and fulfill them well." In fact, repeating positive
affirmations can actually suppress the cortisol that the adrenal gland
releases in times of stress - leaving you peaceful and calm.

4. Get stress out of your head and on paper
Writing in a journal every day can help you release thoughts and emotions
that are causing you stress. Write from the position of an observer,
recording your thoughts without any judgments. Just write it down so that
you can see clearly what is going on inside. The next step is to identify
the source of any anger or stress so you can begin to make changes. Looking
into your thoughts give you the opportunity to gain insight into your
feelings and reflect the underlying issues.

5. Unblock tension with exercise
The constant pressures of your job and family can lead to chronically
elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is a direct cause of
muscle and joint pain. Clenched jaw? Lump in your throat? Chronic back and
neck pain? These can all be manifestations of stress in your body. Release
physical tension and clear these emotional blockages by using massage
therapy, exercise, yoga, tai chi, or qi gong to get the circuits moving.

6. A Retreat to Avoid Burnout
Overloading your brain is a recipe for stress and health problems.
Information overload is particularly harmful at midlife because we have less
tolerance for stress, which can contribute to high blood pressure and heart
disease. Press the "reset" button on yourself. Give yourself a retreat from
the stresses of modern life. Take one day out of the seven-day week to
minimize "screen" time. Don't watch TV, don't check email, and don't look at
the news - it will be there tomorrow, and after a day of rest, you will be
refreshed and ready to look at them.

7. Perspective from the Natural World
Use nature to reduce stress. Go outside, hike in the woods, walk on the
beach, anything that puts you in contact with the natural world. It is
difficult to feel stressed when you are surrounded by nature's abundance of
vitality and wonder.

I hope you find the ways to have less stress! I invite you to visit often
and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

-Dr. Mao