'Do It Yourself' Stress Reduction Tip (Do a Body Check)

I've been talking a lot about Time Management and how it impacts a person's life and why it is important to become an effective manager of time. You can check out all my Time Management articles here. This page is updated weekly with new articles.

Becoming an effective time manager can be overwhelming and stressful at first. Anytime there is a major change in a person's life (good or bad) it becomes a stressful situation, so I thought it would be a good companion series to talk about techniques one can use to reduce stress.

This tip/technique you can do yourself and reduce stress in five to fifteen minutes. It is very relaxing and a great way to connect your mind with your body. To be present in the moment and ease added tension as well. As a certified hypnotherapist, Master NLP Practitioner, and Life Coach I teach this technique to my clients as something they can do at home.

I like to call it the 'Body Check'. It uses a combination of visual imagery and relaxing breathing to help create a relaxed state. Believe me, when you do this technique correctly, stress is the last thing on your mind. Giving yourself a break from the stress is a great way to reduce it as a whole.

Required items: 

• a quiet place you can close your eyes and relax
• openness to the technique
• alarm on phone or clock (optional)

When you need a break from the stress simply find a quiet place where you can relax and close your eyes. Begin with focusing on your breathing. Deep, steady breaths. You can imagine yourself somewhere in nature or simply focus on the breathing and the process. Some people enjoy the added relaxation from the nature visualization and others don't. Try it and see which you prefer.

Then start at your feet and work your way up or the top of your head and work your way down. Either way works, it really is simply dependent on preference.

Go through every body part one by one, focusing on how each part feels, notice the tension or lack of it, take stock of this the first time through. All the while focusing on your breathing. Then start the process over again and relax the areas that are tense. You'll feel yourself relax even more every time you work through the Body Check process.

Please note visual imagery is only as powerful as you allow it to be. What you put in is what you get out of it. You might notice a sensation of sinking into the surface you're lying on or sitting on, you might also feel additional lightness during the process. These are signs of relaxation.

I've had clients relax so deeply during this process that they fall asleep so setting an alarm on your phone or clock the first few times you try it is a good way to feel comfortable with the process and allow yourself to give into the feelings and sensations.

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