Stress Reduction

Anticipating a new arrival is an exciting time. You drift to sleep dreaming of little hands and feet. But morning light makes you more practical. How can we afford this? What if we have trouble getting pregnant? What will my boss say? How will our relationship change?

Preconception can be stressful for couples. Many couples believe pregnancy will occur within a few months if they plan carefully. If that doesn't happen, couples can feel frustrated and stressed. Anticipating lifestyle and possibly career changes also affects each couple differently. Stress management strategies will help reduce anxiety and tension.

Stress Reduction Techniques
Physical Exercise
Nutrition
Deep Breathing Exercises
Creative Visualization
Meditation

Physical Exercise - One of the best ways to manage the stress in your life is to get regular exercise. Exercising two to three times weekly can improve your blood pressure, circulation, respiration, pulse and metabolism.

Nutrition - It is essential to maintain as healthy a diet as possible. Doing so gives us the nutrients and energy we need to accomplish the daily goals we have. Knowing how the different foods we eat affect us, allows us to choose a healthy diet that will provide the energy and nutrition we need without putting us at increased risk of disease.

Deep Breathing Exercises - Although we take breathing for granted, many of us do not breathe very efficiently. Instead of using our full lung capacity, we tend to cheat and to fall into bad habits. We may slouch and become lazy about our posture. Our body has specific muscles designed to help us breathe. Deep breathing exercises help us to focus on these muscles in order to optimize our lung capacity and to improve the oxygenation of the blood. Breathing Exercise

Creative Visualization—This exercise also helps to reduce stress by imagining a very calm and relaxing scene in your mind. Some people picture themselves at the beach feeling the warmth of the sun and sound of the waves crashing on the shore. Others think of being in the mountains with eagles soaring overhead as they breathe in the cool clean air. The goal is to replace negative, stressful thoughts with more relaxing ones. As your mind relaxes, so does your body.

Meditation - Calming yourself through the process of meditation is a wonderful way to reduce your stress level. Quieting the mind will help you eliminate stress-causing thoughts and help you to approach your day in a more positive and efficient manner. Meditation is a wonderful stress management strategy to use since you can use it anytime and in any relatively quiet place. Over time your ability to focus through meditation will increase as will your ability to calm and relax your mind and body. Meditation Exercise

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