How to Minimize Stress and Tension

Stress and tension are synonymous. Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; it causes anxiety, worry or emotional tension. Stress causes ill-health and can be fatal if not arrested. Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression. A sound heart is life to the body. A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

If a person is tense, then his perception, observation and expression suffer. And you have only two ways to get rid of tension: either lessen your workload or increase the energy level. In today’s world, it is almost impossible to lessen the workload; it will keep on growing day by day. The alternative is to increase our energy. Let’s consider different sources of energy. Food is our first source of energy — proper food and right amount of food, neither too much, nor too little. Second is proper sleep. Third and the most important source of energy, is breath, which we have ignored or forgotten about. 90% of impurities in the system go out through the breath. With every breath we exhale, we are throwing out carbon dioxide, toxins are going out of the system and blood is getting purified. Breath is such an important source of energy but we have not done much to learn and study about it. Your breath is the link between body and mind. For every emotion there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath. You would have noticed that when one is depressed, unhappy, anxious or tense, the breath moves and flows differently. Notice how we breathe when we are tense; when we are angry we breathe differently. Breath is the key to eliminate these toxins, negative impressions, and harmonize the emotions.

We can be creative and productive, and at the same time not lose the humanness that we are all born with. Just material things or comfort alone do not really make a person comfortable. He may have a good bed to sleep on, but is unable to sleep due to insomnia or worry. He needs to get a broad understanding about himself and his priorities. Clarity in the mind makes things much easier -understanding his basic emotions like love, his interaction with people around him, knowing about his own ego or what his own intellect or mind is saying to him and introspection, will give him a few minutes of relaxation which is very vital. Then, of utmost importance is a smile. People who smile are givers and make the world habitable!