3 min readDec 28, 2024 09:51 PM IST
First published on: Dec 28, 2024 at 11:50 AM IST
How many times have you felt tense before a presentation or delivering a speech? Or felt drained out after a particularly demanding day. But don’t let stress build up. From the top of your head down to the soles of your feet, there are quick ways to soothe anxiety.
Try a head massage: Gently massaging your scalp with the tips of your fingers is a surefire way to release some stress and ease out headaches. It eases muscle tension, improves circulation and reduces stress almost immediately.
Rotate your eyes: Did you know that most of the tension we store in our bodies is in the eyes and clenched jaws. Rotate your eyes, relax your eye-balls and see the stress melt-away.
Try humming: Humming produces nitric oxide, dilating your blood vessels. This is good for blood circulation and activating the parasympathetic nervous system. When we hum, we stimulate the vagus nerve, which connects our brains to our major organs. This signals safety and allows our heart and breath rate to fall.
Alternate nostril breathing: Also known as Anulom-Vilom, this form of pranayama is known to quickly alleviate stress and balance the body and the two hemispheres of the brain.
Stretch the neck and shoulders: Joining the brain to the rest of our body is the neck which again tends to store a lot of stress and tension. Gently rotating in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, up and down, left and right and even massaging it can be great for stress relief.
Hang from a rod (Dead Hang): Find something that can take your weight and you can hold on to. Do a dead hang and see yourself lifted from stress and into better circulation, energy and mental clarity.
Clench your fists and release: A great way to instantaneously eradicate stress is to clench your fists, as tight as you possibly can, feeling all the stress in your hands for a good few seconds, holding your breath and then releasing it.
Skip or do Jumping Jacks: Yes, you read that right. Even two minutes of intensive skipping can get your heart rate flowing, blood pumping and lungs breathing to a greater capacity. It is an efficacious way to obliterate stress.
Deep breathing: Simple enough to be missed, one of the best hacks of reducing stress in just a couple of minutes is to take deep breaths. It can redirect your emotional and mental state. A simple way to start to calm your nervous system is to exhale for longer than you inhale. Inhale for four seconds through your nose.
Playing with a pet or gardening: Whether it is playing with our furry friends or tending to a growing sapling, both activities release neurotransmitters which help us intercept stress.
Walking barefoot on grass: Since eons this has been a tested method of discharging negative ions from the body and grounding oneself. Not only is it helpful in relaxing oneself, it is also a very pleasurable activity, especially if done early in the morning.
Hot water feet soak: A hot water feet-soak has the power to relieve your stress in a matter of minutes, especially if done with the right bathing salts.
(Dr Mehta is a holistic health expert)
Gently rotating in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, up and down, left and right and even massaging your neck can be great for stress relief. (Representational Image) 
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