Stress, America’s #1 health problem, is a leading cause of major illness. In fact, heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression are just some of the harmful effects of stress. Research has shown that releasing stress and learning how to relax promotes a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life.

Here are 3 easy ways to reduce your stress fast.

1. Breathe Deeply

Take 3 slow deep breaths. Taking the breath from your diaphragm, through your nose, holding for about 2 seconds and then slowly exhaling through your mouth. Why slow deep breaths? Because when we are under stress, we tense up, constricting the oxygen to our body. Taking slow deep breaths brings oxygen throughout our body resulting in feeling centered and releasing stress. Giving your body much needed oxygen will release tension and stress fast.

2. Meditate

The purpose of meditation is to relax and to release stress. Meditation allows the body to relax and permits a means to release the “chatter” in your mind. It is important for you to know that there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Meditation is simply a form of concentration and focus; it is a process that quiets the mind. Since much of our negative stress is caused by our own thoughts, this is an especially useful method.

Here are steps for a popular, quick, and easy guided mediation:

Get into a comfortable position and close your eyes.

Take 3 deep breaths.

Visualize all the stress in your mind and body as a cloud of gray smoke. Allow this cloud to be released through the crown of your head. Imagine the gray cloud floating into the sky and disappearing. Feel the weight of the stress being releasing out of your body and into the cloud. Allow your shoulders to drop and continue until you have no more gray smoke or for about 10 minutes.

Imagine a healing white light that has surrounded your body. Feel the warmth of this light and allow it to infiltrate your body. Slowly open your eyes.

3. Try Hypnosis

This technique involves sitting comfortably with your eyes closed while listening to suggestions. Hypnosis is relaxation, focus, and suggestion. Using these three elements your mind and body will enter into a deeply relaxed state that gives you an overall sense of well being and tranquility. Hypnosis is one of the oldest and most natural modes of healing dating back to 1000 B.C. In 1958 the American Medical Association approved the therapeutic use of hypnosis. This brought mainstream recognition that hypnotherapy was a valid and legitimate form of healing. During this time hypnotherapy was respected and accepted in America.

Meditation & Guided Imagery are techniques that use the natural power of the mind in creating what you want in life. Einstein estimated that we only use 10% of our brains. In practicing Meditation and Guided Imagery, we have access to the other 90%. Since thoughts are one of the most powerful possessions we can have, it is important to keep the thoughts and images positive. Meditation and Guided Imagery works because the Physical Universe is energy, this energy is vibrating at different speeds. Energy is magnetic causing similar thoughts to attract other similar thoughts. What we dwell on, we will attract. Thoughts and ideas are high vibrating forms of energy and are very powerful. Form then follows ideas. This is the reason that thoughts and ideas in Meditation and Guided Imagery particularly must be in a positive form.

Here are some steps to make

Meditation and Hypnosis more effective.

Desire- You must have the desire to make a positive change in your life.

Belief- You must believe in the power of the mind.

Acceptance- You must accept the process of Meditation and Hypnotherapy including the results.

Set you goal- Decide on what you want and be committed to it.

Create a Clear Idea or Picture- Create the vision in your imagination and make it clear.

Focus on it often- Keep the images of your goal in your mind as often as possible.

Give it Positive Energy- Keep your frame of mind and thoughts positive.

Look For the Positive Changes- Look for the subtle ways Meditation and Hypnosis are changing your life, and believe in the magic of life!

About The Author
Marla Sloane Ph.D. is a successful author and speaker. Her Daily Positive Affirmations subscribers have reached world-wide proportions, and her book, “The Masks We Wear and How to Live Without Them� is at the heart of her teleclasses; Live Your Best Life. Marla has also produced, Trilogy of Meditations, for your Mind, Body, and Spirit, which is distributed nationwide, and in Europe. You can visit her web site at: www.marlasloane.com.

Self improvement is up to you, you can do all things if you set your mind to it!

If you set your mind to it you can accomplish all things, you can grow in yourself and be the person you can love!

When you hear the words “abundance” and “prosperity”, what immediately comes to mind?Is it money, fulfilling relationships, a lovely house to live in, peace of mind, a career/vocation that expresses your gifts?

It may be all or none of those things. It may mean something else to you. But if you want to attract more prosperity and abundance into your life, no matter how you define them, then this article outlines 5 key ways to do so.

1. Understand Attraction Law

This is better known as the Law of Attraction, as defined by Abraham Hicks, states that “you attract whatever you give your attention and energy to, whether wanted or unwanted”.

So, if you’re curious about what you’re putting out there, look at what you are attracting, the visible results in your life. Knowing about and working with the the Law of Attraction will help you in manifesting, creating and attracting more abundance and prosperity in your life.

Once you understand it, there’s no turning back.

2. You get what you focus on

One of the key concepts in the Law of Attraction is that you get what you focus on, whether that be money, relationships, employment etc). So when you focus on having less, that is the experience you create for yourself.

Saying that “I hate my job” will just draw even more attention to the aspects of the job that you don’t like. Even if you look for another job, it’ll be with that negative energy.

Just wanting something isn’t enough, because you will still continue to think about what you don’t have. Always focusing on what you lack means that you don’t see the present and future opportunities, or begin to realise your true desires. You’re getting in your own way!

3. Clear your head

……….to allow you to focus more effectively. Our minds are full of “stuff”; old, tired and limiting beliefs, which don’t reflect who we are now, or who we want to become.

Set aside quiet time for yourself on a regular basis to get real clear about what you really want to attract in your life. Use this opportunity to ask yourself questions.

Ask yourself: “how can I create more prosperity and abundance in my life?”. Once your head is clear, you will allow the answers to come to you. Meditation is a great way to start clearing the mind.

4. Appreciate life’s abundance

Appreciating life’s abundance is another way to opening yourself up to accept more abundance and prosperity in your life. When you fully appreciate what you have in your life, the Universe has a way of giving you more.

Keep a gratitude journal and at the end of each day, write down everything that you appreciate in your life. You’ll begin to change your energy and vibration and become more internally aligned with what you want to create in your life.

5. Use prosperity affirmations

As you write your gratitude journal, it is an opportunity to write down prosperity affirmations as well. Affirmations are statements of acceptance that you use to manifest your destiny or what you want to create in your life. They are powerful, positive thoughts and words sent out to the universe.

If you want to use affirmations to create positive changes in your life, then you must first BELIEVE that this is possible. It shouldn’t be a half hearted “well, I’ll give this a go and see what happens”.

To make affirmations more effective, put as much positive energy in writing and saying them as possible. Visualise what you want to create and let this inform your prosperity affirmations.

When you cease operating from a position of lack, you start to create the fertile conditions to make more informed decisions, identify greater opportunities and attract more abundance and prosperity into your life.

About The Author
Julie Plenty is a Personal and Business Coach who helps self employed creative professionals develop a strong personal foundation and therefore increase the success of their business. For more self growth articles, resources and free ecards, visit: http://www.self-help-personal-development.com