As the only female at home surrounded by 2 die hard TaeKwonDo fans cum brown-belt brothers and 5 nephews in their youth, you can well imagine that the last movie we watched had nothing to do with romance or comedy, the vote went to "Yong Chun" Kung Fu. Yes bare-handed kung fu fighting.

While the guys were all excited with the moves and the kicks, I was getting all tensed up with the fights and the plot and quite frankly would have preferred not to need to watch it at all. Yet the guys found such relief and fulfilment in the moves. I can tell they were all loving it and getting a kick out of it. I think they get as much relief and relaxation out of the movie as I did tension and stress!

That makes me wonder. Do we know our stressors?

If we can identify what will cause us the sense of overwhelm and anxiety, we can take positive steps to counter these stressor. But are you aware of what stresses you? And are you aware of the level of stress you are currently experiencing? Most people are under some sort of stress.  Yet you may be so wrapped up in your work and trying to get things done that you may have neglected to listen to what your body is trying to tell you.

When was the last time you hit the gym or did some form of exercise? How does your shoulder and neck feel now? Are you sleeping well at night – I mean can you sleep when you want to and wake up fresh and energized? And I guess I would also check on how you are feeling right now; bright and sunny or grumpy and ready to scream when you get a chance?

That will give you an idea of where you may be at with your stress level.  The threshold where your eustress will turn into distress is different for each of us. And only you can tell where that point is.

So here are some things to check on when you get a 15-minutes break:
– How would you rate your current stress level?
– What are you stressed by? What puts you in this state of anxiety and tension?
– What is your stress type? Visual, auditory or kinesthetic?
– And what do you normally do to counter these feelings?  What would bring your relief and enjoyment?

Stress lurks around in the background quietly but surely. The more you are unaware of it, the more dangerous this is. Before you know it, it has suddenly grown and has affected your health, your work, your relationships, your family, your joy, your entire life. It is a silent killer but one that can be controlled and prevented.

You probably have heard of some of the more common stress relief techniques. Knowing is one thing, implementing and taking action on what you know is another. If you know and do not do – that’s even more dangerous. Now you file this away as “I know that” and you will not take action. Until you implement and act on what you know, that remains useless to you.

So set aside 5-10 minutes to do nothing but sit comfortably on the floor and just take deep breathes. Notice when you start experiencing slower, deeper and calmer breathes. This is a simple exercise but this supplies oxygen that is so crucial to regenerate and nourish your cells, especially those in your brain. If you can afford time in the early morning when the is still fresh, take in these deep breaths of fresh air and let it calm your mind and prepare you for the day ahead.

If you want to know how you can get greater awareness of yourself and how you can better handle the stress in your life, click here and claim your stress relief-techniques. You don’t need to wait another day to start taking preventive measures and safeguard your health, you life.