Relax! 9 Ways To Instantly Calm Down and Enjoy Life

You know those moments.

The ones where you feel like you are about to explode from excitement, sadness, nervousness, anger or any other emotion life has thrown at you. Those are the moments when you wish you could be anywhere but inside of your body.

Part of being an adult is being able to control those overwhelming feelings, let go and move on. There are a number of things you can do to instantly go from crazy biotch to zen goddess. Once you have mastered them the world is your oyster, my child!

Breathe
This is the easiest, quickest and most efficient way to relieve stress. You don’t have to do anything fancy – just breathe in through your nose very deeply until your lungs are filled, then slowly release your breath back out through your nose. Repeat as needed.

Clear your mind
I can completely clear my mind to a blank slate within seconds. (Sometimes it happens mid-sentence!) I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but it sure does help me center myself and re-align my thoughts.  All you have to do is stop what you are doing.. right now. Stare at a spot on the wall and think of nothing. Or concentrate on a single image in your head, like a flower or color – just make sure it is not something you have an emotional connection to or have strong ideas about. Take as long as you need, or wait until you naturally “snap out”  of that state.  It will probably take you a few tries to get this to work, but when you do it is amazingly helpful!

EFT
The Emotional Freedom Technique is a unconventional relaxation method which consists of tapping certain energy spots on the body. I use variations of this technique before I perform and it seems to work well. I’m pretty sure that it only works because it takes your mind off of the stress at hand and makes you concentrate on your mantra and tapping… but hey, whatever works.  Here is a quick guide to EFT.

Go to your happy place
Create a place in your mind where everything is perfect. Mine is laying in a grassy field on a perfect summer day, staring at the clouds. Sometimes there are puppies there with me. Lame? Totally. But it works. This especially works when I feel sad or angry.

Go for a walk
Even if it is just a short walk around the block – get up and get moving! Breathe deeply and concentrate on the movements of your  body. If you are really in a funk, try going for a run or heading to the gym for a nice sweat session. Nothing cures the yuckies like some exercise.

Pressure points
There are a few pressure points you can utilize to relax quickly, however the easiest is the point between your thumb and index finger. Apply pressure from both sides, as close as you can to the bone.  Here are some other stress relieving pressure points.

Look at something cute
During my work day, I regularly take “cute breaks” where I look at sites like Cute Overload or The Daily Bunny. Instant relief!

Relax your muscles
Think about relaxing every single muscle in your body. Start at your toes and actively work your way up to the top of your head. Breath in and gather all of the tension in each muscle and then breath out and release it. Run through your body as many times as necessary. I find this especially helpful to release tension before bed and always have awesome sleep!

Herbs
If you are experiencing a stressful period in your life, it may help to take herbs to help you relax. Valerian root is a wonderful stress reducer as well as a sleep aid. Scullcap is also considered a miracle herb when it comes to stress release.  You could also try specialty remedies like Ex-Stress or Bach’s Rescue Remedy. And make sure you are regularly getting plenty of B vitamins!

Keep in mind that if all of these techniques don’t work for you – this moment of stress will pass. It always does!

Stock photo goodness from Getty.