Stress relief1. Try the once-a-day peace trick
Slow down, you move too fast! About 10% faster than a decade and a half ago, in fact.
By measuring the walking speed of pedestrians in 34 cities worldwide and comparing them with the results of a similar study from the 1990s, researchers at the University of Hertfordshire found that we're all careering along a tenth faster - and that our acceleration is symptomatic of our increasingly fast-paced lives.
So, if you find yourself forever glancing at your watch, pushing past old ladies in the street and in tears of frustration if you ever have to queue for more than a minute, how can you slow yourself down?
Try a daily meditative moment. Meditation isn't all about levitating yogis chanting 'ommm', it simply involves focusing your mind to help alleviate stress. The beauty of meditation is it takes just 15 minutes of quiet time and you can do it anywhere and any time - at home, on the train to work, during your lunch break - the only condition is that you find a moment of peace every day.
[See also: 10 shortcuts to happy, calm, confident you]
To give it a go, first find a quiet space and clear your thoughts. Sit up straight - either cross-legged or in a chair - close your eyes and focus on the rise and fall of your breath, counting each in-and-out cycle. As you do this, imagine your breath rising from your pelvis to your forehead and back again. Aim for between four and 10 cycles, and then allow yourself a few minutes to 'come round' before speeding up to your normal pace of life again.
2. Develop a thousand-yard-stare
Relax your eyes - it's a key technique in acquiring a tranquil mind, says self-development expert Ken Ward.
Whenever you begin to feel tense, 'imagine seeing your eyes as blank, inscrutable and unresponsive - so relaxed they're almost asleep,' he says.
When your eyes are fully relaxed, you can't help but feel less frazzled.
3. Cure worry on your own
If you want to uncover your inner calm, seek some solitude. 'Being with other people all the time, no matter how loving or wonderful they may be, interferes with our bio-psychological rhythm,' says psychiatrist T Byram Karasu, author of The Art Of Serenity.
This rhythm functions through a combination of hormones, neurotransmitters and your body's internal body clock, he says, and never having a moment to yourself can send it off kilter.
Spending time alone - reading a book, going for a walk or just listening to your iPod - can help put you back in sync with yourself.
4. Food-boost your mood
Increase your intake of foods such as beetroot, red grapes, blueberries and aubergines - in fact, anything that's purple and indigo coloured (and no, Parma Violets don't count!).
Brenda Martin, a stress management consultant who also specialises in colour healing, claims that, as well as being packed with antioxidants, purple-coloured foods can calm and relax you.
5. Learn the do-anywhere stress releaser
You can actually teach yourself to resist stress - with autogenic training. It may sound like something you'd do at the gym while a PT shouts at you, but it's actually a series of mental exercises developed by a German psychiatrist, Johannes Schultz, who was a fan of hypnosis.
And best of all, it teaches you to switch off your body's stress response and switch on a calm state. Try this taster exercise: lie on your back with your eyes closed. Consciously release all the tension in your muscles and, as you feel calmness enter your body, say in your head 'I am completely calm'.
By doing this for 15 minutes, three times a day, you'll fix the sensation to the sentence. With enough practice, all you'll have to do is say the sentence in your head and the relaxed state will follow automatically - wherever you are.
To find a training course near you, visit www.autogenic-therapy.org.uk.
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