Hi, this is Dr. Day and welcome, where we're going to actually talk about relaxation techniques. So one of the most important things you can do is to make sure that you have time in your schedule, I hope on a daily basis, but definitely on a weekly basis or on a monthly basis, where you're doing things to help you relax and feel comfortable and de stress. One of the most important things that you can realize is that there's a cumulative effect of doing stress management or relaxation techniques, doing it every day or every week. The more often you do it, the more your body tends to relax or go into a relaxation state more quickly. So even if you're just doing a three minute exercise, and you do that Three or four times a week, over time in a month, two months, six months, it will make a difference in your body and your ability to relax so that you don't feel tense and stressed all the time.

And you're not releasing your stress hormones all the time. So just consider that that's a very important and really easy thing to realize that doing something for as small as three minutes or five minutes, multiple times a week will help you to feel less stressed. One of the things that we know is true from looking at studies where they looked at months, people that meditated on a consistent basis, that literally their stress response was more immediate. They actually opened up a place where you can actually make decisions before going into, well, how am I going to fix that? How am I going to solve that? So when you do that, then all of a sudden there's a space that opens up and you can come up with creative ideas.

You can be more Open to problem solving, you can actually have more concentration and focus. And this happens from practicing relaxation techniques. Now that can be breathing. And I have an audio of the body scan, which you can try. I have a video of soft belly breathing that you can try. So there are different kind of breathing techniques that literally relax the mind, relax the part of our brain, that's called the amygdala.

That's the reptilian part of our brain that jumps to respond. It helps relax that and it creates the space where you can actually look at, well, how do I solve this problem without becoming stressed or overwhelmed, or deer in the headlights, you actually become more gentle to yourself in finding solutions to problems. Also, when you do breathing techniques, you do relaxation techniques, which can be laughing Making sure that you get enough sleep. It could be meditating, it could be praying. There are lots of different types of meditation techniques that you can try. It actually kind of opens up the space for you to actually start to enjoy your life.

It actually wipes out some of the negative thoughts that we think what happens if I'm late. What happens if I do this, just if you laugh, or you dance, or you move your body or you exercise, it literally wipes away the negative thoughts momentarily, so that you can actually have the space to actually feel happier, feel more joy. That's the benefit of just making sure that you start to incorporate things that make you happy, that make you joyful, that make you smile that make you laugh. So start to think about how you can incorporate those into your day. Here's some ideas with all the YouTube videos that are funny, cute and hard. warming, just do a five minute video, call a friend who makes you laugh or makes you smile, or someone who has a really positive attitude and talk to them.

Actually spend time just being quiet in breathing, connecting to your divine source, whether that's through prayer or meditation, spending time to do that every day, doing relaxation techniques, like taking a bath or a hot shower just to calm and relax you. Playing. Playing is great, whether you're playing with your friends, you're playing with your kids, you're playing with your family, and you do things that actually give you a sense of relief that help you calm your shoulders and make you feel so much more relaxed. So consider doing these types of activities and do them put them on your schedule and hold them as sacred as any other meeting that you have on your schedule will make a difference and it will help you reduce you're stressed and you have more fun and a happier life. So go to the handout for some more ideas about how to create stress management and relaxation techniques in your daily activities.