Manage Stress Lying Down

As it's Saturday I thought I'd suggest something simple and completely relaxing.  This is a technique that will help you put all the stresses and strains of the week behind you and help you to clear your head and totally relax.

Practice this technique regularly and you can use it whenever you need it for a guaranteed mind and body recharge.

1. Lie face up with your arms out to the sides and palms turned upwards.

2. Take a deep breath in.

3. Breathe out slowly.

4. Breath in again, slower than before.

5. Breath out slowly.

6. Repeat the breathing pattern breathing in as slowly as you can, completely inflating your lungs and then breathing out slowly.

7. Each time you breathe out imagine your body becoming heavy, relaxed and sinking into the ground.

8. Continue for between 5 and 15 minutes.

9. Bring your awareness back to the moment, sit up before standing and return to your daily routine feeling calmer and sharper.

Practicing this regularly will help you in your quest to live longer by managing stress.

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Photo by Jason Michael (Flickr)

Back Pain? 3 Moves to Unlock your Back

I come across too many people suffering with painful backs from spending hours at their desk or traveling in cars, trains or planes. All that siting can cause your back to tighten up and can become really uncomfortable. Here are three moves guaranteed to keep your back flexible and prevent any long-term pain or injury and they only take a few minutes each day.

1) Cat Breath – Curving the Spine
Start with a flat back, inhale, as you exhale pull up pelvic floor muscle, navel to spine, lower head and tailbone and curve spine.
Added Benefits – this move strengthens and tones abdominal muscles and massages internal organs.




2) Cat Breath - Arching the Spine
Return to a flat back, inhale, as you exhale raise head and tailbone.
Added Benefits – this move strengthens spine and relaxes the neck and shoulders helping to combat stress



3) Hip Rolls
Arms out at shoulder level, knees bent with feet flat on floor. Inhale, then exhale while lowering your knees to the right and turning your head to the left. Return to the centre and repeat on other side.
Added Benefits – this move aids digestion and relieves tension in your neck

How to Feel Calm in 12 Minutes

This weekend, I was giving a presentation to a group of 35 professionals who were all from widely different backgrounds, all busy and all successful in their chosen field.

Unanimously, they agreed that although they love what they do, they often feel that they could be even more effective and all expressed a desire to feel sharper, more focused and experience optimum energy even more of the time than they do presently.

Makes sense, who would argue with feeling great every single minute of the day?


I needed to know what steps they were taking to put themselves at the best possible advantage, mentally and physically. When I asked them who had a fitness routine in place, the response came from around half of them. When I asked who engaged with their food routine and thought about their eating habits, around a third of them responded positively.

When I asked who had a stress management or relaxation strategy in place, only one person put their hand up.

This came as no surprise to me.

For many of us, the emphasis of modern life is on getting more done, squeezing more out of each day, thinking, moving and living faster, faster, faster…

Even those who do try to make some space to calm themselves and nourish their body and spirit often miss the point. Was there ever such an oxymoron as taking a quick ‘power nap?’ Surely if you choose to take some time out to recharge, the most crucial factor is the quality of the experience rather than how quickly you can get it over with. You just can’t aim to relax at the same pace at which you live the rest of your life!

I’ve spoken to one of my Yogi friends, Ameet, about this situation and he recommends using an audio guide to really help you focus on your relaxation. He’s suggested a 12 minute podcast which he often uses from the website of the London Satyananda Yoga Centre. It's free to use so give it a go and see what you think. I’ve tried it a few times and each time it gets easier to clear your head and feel really refreshed in less than 15 minutes.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything you have to do, it’s the perfect way to refocus your mind and get the rest of your day back on track.