How to reduce/relieve stress from mind?

How to reduce/relieve stress from mind? I was stressed for almost all the days of 2011. Reasons were both personal as well as professional pressures, from hectic work schedules, project related deadlines, problems at home and many others. All this resulted in lack of sleep, disturbing routines, deprived of energy, headaches and weakness which further stressed my life.

Sometime in August 2012, I received a call from my school friend who said that she had some work around the area I live, so I invited her at home for lunch. We were about to meet after almost 3 years. After the call I was thinking about those wonderful school days. How mischievous and talkative girls we used to be. School teacher used to make us sit in different rows so as to we talk less. We remain best of friends all the school life. However we both got busy in our lives with our jobs and family commitments. We hardly could take time out to meet each other. Thanks to emails and phone that we kept in touch. I was really excited to catch up with her and talk all about school days.

When she arrived we both were so happy and gave a tight munabhai type hug to each other. We spoke at length about the time spent together at school and even after school. Then we spoke about each other life and how stress has taken a toll on our life. We both literally puked everything that was on our mind. After having lunch I opened the medicine box to take out the headache pill. She asked me what happened. I told her headache as usual. She asked me not to take it. I told her it is ok. I am not able to handle it. She took the tablet and kept it in medical box again. The conversation happened after that is what has relaxed me. This is what she explained to me on that day.

Check how to reduce stress through Meditation

There are two types of stress in life. One motivates you and the other de-motivates you. Certain kind of stress brings excitement and interest. Example – We used to compete with each other during exams and as a result used to study more. That is good stress and you should continue with it. On the other hand there were few students who used to think about only marks. This result in less of concentration on studies which is de-motivated kind of stress. She said negative stress and depression usually results in diseases including headache. What we do next is more harmful – having the medicine. We tend to have these pills and ignore to cure what is the base root problem. Headache is not the big problem. Problem is stress which we should tackle first.

She continued it is easy to tackle these stress related headaches. Give 10 minutes to yourself every morning and evening to relax. This will give you extra energy and relieve you from stress. She pulled the chair and asked me to sit on it with legs stretched. She asked me to close my eyes and I obliged. Think about nothing, just nothing. She further continued life is beautiful. We make it stressful by thinking and doing unnecessary tasks. Avoid taking tensions. God will always be there for us. Forget everything and relax as much as possible. Clear your mind from all the problems you have in life. Be calm. Concentrate on breathing pattern. Feel the inhale and exhale. Inhale deeply and exhale slowly and relax.

Since that day I have been devoting some time of my day to relax. I cherish that meeting even today and I am so thankful to her for all the guidelines she gave me. Truly relaxation is the key to have the healthy life.