Stop Stress with Stress Relief Massage

Massage is one of the oldest natural therapies. Stress relief massage utilizes strokes that can calm nerves and relax muscles. It is often used together with aromatherapy to provide a person maximum therapeutic benefits.

In stress relief massage, the masseur uses a lotion or oil to lubricate hands so that they will glide smoothly across the person’s skin. Being in a comfortable and peaceful surrounding contributes to the effectiveness of stress relief massage as well as the expertise of the masseur.

While spas and professional massage are very popular today, stress relief massage can be easily done at home. You can massage your arms, legs and shoulder but generally it is best to ask your partner, friend or a family member to give you a massage.

Here are instructions on the basic strokes for stress relief massage to be used by the person giving the massage:

Effleurage is usually the first stroke used in giving a massage. It is very gentle and helps spread the massage oil across the skin. Effleurage is ideal for stress relief massage as well as fort relieving muscle soreness. To do effleurage, relax your hands and hold them side by side with your fingers together. Then, glide your hands towards the head along the entire length of the muscles. Your fingers and palm should be touching the person’s skin but use only your fingertips for a gentler return stoke.

Follow effleurage with a kneading stroke known as petrissage. This stroke is best for stress relief massage for the back, buttocks, legs and upper chest. With outstretched fingers, place the heels of your hands in the center of the area that you will be massaging. Then, using the heel of each hand, push in turn and press hard. Be careful not to hurt the person.

Lastly, use friction massage to different points in the body, especially the back where muscles are often stiff. Do not press directly on the person’s spine. Your hands should move in a downward and circular motion.

To apply this stroke, use the pad of the thumb or index finger to press the target point slowly and then apply more pressure gradually. Slightly rotate for 10 seconds and then slowly release pressure. Repeat this process once or twice. Afterwards, use effleurage to soothe muscles.

Take note of basic rules in giving a stress relief massage such as using slower gentle stokes and deep short stokes to relax a person. As a precaution, remember that massage in general is not recommended if the person to be massaged has a fever, had alcohol during the day or just finished a meal

Genuine Happiness Comes from Within

Life isn’t the sweetest candy. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find people who continued to live fascinating and wonderful lives. And then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere – “How did their life become so adorably sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play around despite a busy stressful life?”  Then I pause and observed for awhile… I figured out that maybe, they started to work on a place called “self help.”

So, how does one become genuinely happy? Step 1 is to love yourself.

My theology professor once said that “loving means accepting.”  To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to recover from our mistakes.

Genuine happiness also pertains to contentment. When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the things you now have – truly, you know the answer to the question “how to be genuinely happy.”

When we discover a small start somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else, and to something else. But if you keep questioning life lit it has never done you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.

I believe that life is about finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, wining and losing. These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a person’s life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not hinder us from becoming happy.

How to be genuinely happy in spite all these? I tell you… every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.

Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in the NFL. Every time you take a step forward, you make scoring points. Wouldn’t it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself “Whew! I got a point today. I’m glad I gave it a shot.” instead of looking at it all blank and murmur “Geez, I didn’t even hit a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. “We could have won!” And then walk away.

Genuine happiness isn’t about driving the hottest Formula 1 car, nor getting the employee of the year award, earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota. Sometimes, the most sought after prizes in life don't always go to the fastest, the strongest, the bravest or even the best. So, how do you become genuinely happy?  Every one has his own definition of ‘happiness’. Happiness for a writer may mean launching as much best selling books as possible. Happiness for a basketball rookie may mean getting the rookie of the year award. Happiness for a beggar may mean a lot of money. Happiness for a business man may mean success. So, really now, how do we become genuinely happy? Simple. You don’t have to have the best things in this world. Its about doing and making the best out of every single thing. When you find yourself smiling at your own mistake and telling your self “Oh, I’ll do better next time”, you carry with you a flame of strong will power to persevere that may spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and try – that will make you a genuinely happy person.

When you learn to accept yourself and your own faults, you pass step 1 in the project “how to become genuinely happy.” For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted. Or as long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love ten folds back.

Again, throw me that same question “how to become genuinely happy?” I’ll refer you to a friend of mine who strongly quoted- “Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life’s aches and pain. But most of us don’t know that the best kind of laughter is laughter over self. Coz then you don’t just become happy… you become free.”

Six Ideas Help You To Save Money Better

One of the hardest disciplines there are in today's world is learn how to save money. For many people it is essential that they find ways. There are many things that can be done to reach their budget goals and learning how to do it better is always needed.  You can subscribe to a personal finance newsletter, sign up to a financial magazine, or read personal finance books to learn how to maximize your money.  But the following are some quick and easy steps that you can use to accomplish your money goals.

1- Monitor your spending habits for two months. This should give you a clear image of spending habits you might have. You will find out where you are most likely to succeed and likely to fail. Problem areas will become evident. Just make sure that you are honest in your assessment.

2- Separate essentials from non-essentials. Realize that in tough economic times you might be going through that you may have to go without certain things. Choices will have to be made between items that you normally wouldn't even question buying. What will always help you make decisions is by honestly answering the question if it is essential or not.

3- Ask what can be downgraded. If you are used to buying certain brands that are more expensive than ask yourself what the real benefit is in opting for the more expensive version. It is rare that there is enough of a drop off in quality to warrant paying more for. Do this for everything from cars to computers to clothes to food. Treat stores in the same way. Is there really a benefit to shopping in Macy's rather than thousands of other lower priced stores?

4- Set up a budget. Break it down into simple categories and have it be something that is realistically attainable. Look at it in the same way one would a diet. In making a budget and creating a diet plan for yourself you are altering habits that may have been around for a long time and have to make sacrifices to reach your goals.

5- Try to give yourself a little wiggle room so that you can buy the occasional treat. For dieters, many will find more success by rewarding them with times not on their list of foods to eat. In trying to meet your budget, you will find it easier to stick with if you allow yourself a little extra luxury item. Keep it within reason and don't let it destroy what you worked so hard to accomplish.

6- Review your budget periodically. Look at where you succeeded and where you didn't. Find areas that you could do better in and lower the bar for yourself, each time making it more of a challenge.

When you learn how to save money you will usually find that there are ways that you can do it better. Turn your goal of saving money into a lifestyle. Keep seeking ways to improve your spending habits and you will find long-term results that will have you in better shape in any situation that comes along.

How to Control Stress

Stress is the reaction of our bodies to any change that needs a physical, mental or emotional response. It is a part of our everyday life. With jobs, studies and the events that happen to us, we cannot avoid stress.

A little bit of stress is actually good. It can keep us motivated and alert. It can give us focus and a sense of direction to whatever we are doing. However, too much stress can be harmful. When stress breaks our bodies down, we experience exhaustion and even illness.

While we cannot deny or avoid stress, we can certainly do something about it. Here are some ways to control stress so that you won’t get sick.

Keeping a positive attitude helps control stress. Taking things lightly and not worrying too much about these things can strengthen up your stress coping mechanism.

Being assertive instead of becoming aggressive in the face of stressful situations also help control stress. Feelings, opinions or beliefs should be expressed rationally and calmly. Being angry will only add up to stress. If you should have to defend your feelings, opinions or belief, be firm but do not let anger control over you.

Also, you also have to realize that there are things and events that are beyond your control. That means you have to stop blaming yourself and become guilty on things that you cannot control. If you insist on blaming yourself, you will end up with a lot of unnecessary stress.

Live a healthy lifestyle can also control stress significantly. Being healthy strengthens your body against stressful situations. Eat well balanced meals, get enough sleep and stay away from too much alcohol or cigarettes.

Together with having a healthy lifestyle, exercise can do wonders in controlling stress. Not only can a fit body fight stress better but it can also make you feel good. When you feel good about yourself, it is easier to have a positive attitude about things. 

Another cause of stress is when you are doing many things at the same time. To control stress, you have to manage your time. Set a period of time for each task that you are going to do in a day. To do this effectively, it is best to keep an organizer where you can list all the things that you need to do.

At any time, people will ask you for requests that are beyond your capability or can cause excessive stress. To control stress, you have to learn to say “no” to such requests. It is a good idea to set limits and choose requests that are not so stressful.

Lastly, do not forget to relax and take some time off. Indulge in a hobby, have a nice massage or go to a serene place. Recreation and relaxation can rejuvenate the body and takes the stress away.

These techniques will surely help you in the battle against excessive stress.