As you move through your busy day, stress accumulates to create an impact on your mind, body and spirit.
Often, I hear clients say, "I just do not have time to relax.
" Yet, time is available in our day if we realize that even three to five minutes of relaxation can help protect the body against common stress-related health challenges.
If we take a few minutes every hour to de-stress, you empower yourself to:

1. Lower blood pressure naturally.
   
2. Reduce toxicity that results when we release stress hormones.
   
3. Release tension in muscles.
   

Get into the habit of checking with yourself every hour or two and consciously remind yourself to relax:

1. Breathe deeply.
   Exhale slowly for a count of five.
   Inhale slowly for a count of five.
   
2. Imagine a cool waterfall flowing over you from head to toe, relaxing.
   Breathe deeply as you imagine this peaceful waterfall.
   
3. Take an audio meditation break.
   There are a wealth of free meditations online that can soothe and relax the body.
   
4. Engage in self massage.
   While sitting, relax your spine.
   Pat from your shoulders down to fingertips.
   Pat from your knees down to the tops of your feet.
   
5. .
   Massage the inside of your hands starting with thumbs and working through all the fingers.
   On a reflexology level, this relaxes the body deeply.
   

When you think about it, can you afford not to take three to five minutes every few hours to de-stress? After all, if you develop heart disease, diabetes, obesity, ulcers, acid reflux, depression, anxiety, it will take far more than three to five minutes of your life every few hours to deal with the condition.
Yet, by investing three to five minutes, every few hours, in yourself, and by consciously relaxing, you can protect your health and manage health conditions more effectively.