Be Kinder To Yourself: Enjoy A Deeper Sleep:

Did you know it requires more energy to “hold onto” stress in your body than it does to let it go? Blow the stress out with your next breath. A twitter rejuvenation note.

Are you stressed and tense or soft and relaxed?

Of course, you needn’t read this article if you are already getting a fabulous nights sleep. Ah, but if you’re having trouble sleeping and feel stress and tension hiding in your body, then a good dose of “softening up” therapy may be just what you need.

Your personal mantra whilst reading this article and until your sleep improves is:

“my sleeps get better and better”

My Favorite Softening Up Therapy:

I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night of late. Luckily I quickly spotted that my body had a few tights spots which I knew were trapped pockets of stress. Stress and an overactive mind are a sure fire way to stop a great nights sleep.

What to do? The answer - I need to soften myself up ( for half an hour or so) before going to bed. Release the stress, loosen myself up and heh! presto, I’m relaxed and ready for a good nights sleep.

My favorite “softening up” therapy treatment is a self foot massage with warmed sesame oil and a few drops of the essential oil called vetiver. The thought of massaging your own feet might seem like a chore but in fact its not. The benefits are enormous. I guarantee your nervous system will thank you.

Soften Yourself Up Daily:

If feel stressed, tense and tight, then it may take a week or so until your body starts to respond and soften up.

But don’t wait until its too late. Even if you are feeling great “softening yourself up” is a great well being habit to add to your daily routine.

9 Delicious Ways To Soften Yourself Up For A Great Nights Sleep:

1. Soften your face:Are you “holding in” stress by frowning, squinting, clenching teeth, tight jaw, tense tongue or tight breathing? Release your tongue from the top of your mouth and allow it to float, feel your cheek and forehead muscles relax, open your mouth slightly which will release tension in your jaw and neck area. Close your eyes and relax your eye balls, eye lids, eye brows, ears, hair and scalp. Spend at least 5 minutes imagining every part of your head, letting go then softening. This is bliss, baby and it works.

2. Breathe into your belly to calm your nervous system:Your breath is an incredibly powerful tool that you can use anywhere, anytime. Short, quick, shallow breathes feed stress and stimulates your nervous system. Whilst breathing slowly from your belly calms your nervous system and relaxes you. In fact 70% of your breathing should be from your belly. It invites more oxygen into your body and removes old stale air from the bottom of your lungs. Breathing in and out from your belly will soften you up.

3. Sedate your nervous system by massaging the souls of your feet:Reflexology tells us that certain parts of your feet relate to certain organs and energy channels in your body. Gently massaging both your feet (souls, ankles, toes) with a warmed organic sesame oil for five to ten minutes can soften and relax many parts of your body. Of course you can use any organic oil you prefer such as coconut oil or almond oil. Adding a few drops of an essential oil like vetiver, sandalwood or lavender will add another therapeutic boost to your foot massage. To find out more read my article - You deserve a daily self massage:

4. Relax and soften your eyes with a yoga eye pillow:So much stress can enter your body via your eyes. What you see can easily disturb your internal energies. Staring for hours on end, at a computer screen can also stress your eyes and body. Treat your eyes to some deep relaxation by placing a yoga eye pillow over them for at least five minutes. Simply bring your awareness back into your body and breathe and let your body do the rest. Obviously you need to be lying down to do this. If you are keen to make your own yoga eye pillow here’s some tips.

5. Rejuvenate your energies with hand yoga:Hand Mudra’s are so simple and have an amazing effect on the human body by activating certain energy channels in your body. Here’s the rejuvenation hand mudra to soften your thoughts and pressure in your head: Place your left palm on left ear and right palm on right ear. Gently move your hands as if massaging your ears in a smooth circular motion. Repeat this circular motion in a counterclockwise direction for at least 3 minutes in total. Listen to the sounds of the ocean, focus on long slow breathing. If your mind is having trouble staying focused then give it something to do” I am calm and relaxed”. This simple hand mudra withdraws your senses from the outside world and pulls your scattered energies back into your body.

6. Think from your heart and not from your head with a heart mudra:Here’s a very simple way to get out of your head and back into your body. A heart yoga mudra. Push both palms of your hands together and place them over your heart area in prayer position. Make sure the thumbs are touching your heart chakra area. Now breathe into this area by bowing your head, closing your eyes and connecting to your quiet place inside. You will notice the longer you stay in this peaceful hand yoga posture the more energy will be directed away from your head and back into your body and heart. Never underestimate the power from something as simple as a heart mudra.

7. Laughter is an excellent de-stressor:Laughter is a theraputic tool that can boost your nervous system. Laugh for no reason or watch a very funny movie. Certainly avoid watching anything on TV that is serious, sad, depressing, upsetting or stressful to your nervous system. If it doesn’t make you smile then don’t watch it. Laugh yourself healthy with youtube video’s. Laughter is contagious so simply by watching laughter you will soon be laughing yourself. You always feels lighter and softer after laughing. Give it a try.

8. Breathe into your stressed bits.Where do you feel your stress? Stomach, neck, bottom or all over. Consciously breathe into your stressed bits and notice the stress dissolve with each exhale. Stress is tight and breathing into your stressed bits invites an openness which dissolves the tightness. Your body will become softer with each deep exhale. You can do this exercise sitting down or standing up. I also imagine the stressed energy leave my body out through the soles of my feet and back down into the earth.

9. Sound therapy nourishes your nervous system:Did you know that by playing The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss 11, that it physically has ability to revitalize you after times of stress and fatigue. Scientists have proven that it nourishes your central nervous system. Yahoo! You can read all about it right here if you don’t believe me: A simple solution for overburdened nerves: Soften yourself up with some soothing classical music.

学会善待自己： 享受一个甜美好觉吧！

你知道吗？你给自己的身体施加压力比释放它会消耗自身更多的能量。所以在你下次呼吸之际，把你体内的压力也一起“呼”出来吧！

你有压力吗？或者你是个能够轻松生活的人？

当然，如果你一直拥有完美的睡眠，那就不必拜读这篇文章了。啊，不过，如果你总是不能美美地睡上一觉，并且总感觉体内有许多压力让你喘不过气的话。在这儿，你就能找到你需要的一贴良药，它能让你学会放轻松。

当你在看这篇文章的时候，就可以念以下的咒语：我要睡觉，我要睡觉，我要睡觉。。。。。这样你的睡眠质量就能提高啦！~（说笑了）

我最喜欢的放松方式：

我总是会在午夜十分突然醒来。幸运的是我很快发现了自身的压力就是那个罪魁祸首，它紧紧地将我包围。所以，显然，压力和过分活跃的思维就是不能有个好觉的导火线。

那该怎么办呢？答案是，在上床睡觉之前，我会花点时间，大约半小时，来放松自己。放松自己的身体，放松自己的神经。哈，很快，我就会感到压力都已驱散，等着我的一定是个甜美的好觉。

具体怎么放松自己呢？那就是给自己的脚做个Spa,在spa水里滴上几滴麻油和由印度的香根草提炼而成的香精油。使全身的肌肉都得到放松。或许给自己的双脚来个按摩看似家务杂事，实则不然。它的好处可多着了。我敢保证，在你做完这个按摩之后，你的神经系统一定会重重地答谢你。

学会每天放松自己

如果感到神经紧张，压力巨大，那么就花点时间，像是一个星期，直至你的全身上下都开始舒展和放松。

但是请别把自我放松这件事耽搁得太迟。因为即使你自身感觉良好，放松自己仍然是个十分有益的日常习惯。

九条黄金法则教会你放松自己，享受睡眠吧！

1. 你的脸部肌肉：你时常会因为压力过大而皱眉，眯眼，咬牙，皱紧下巴，或者呼吸急促吗？试着舒展你脸颊和前头的肌肉，微微张开嘴巴，释放在你下巴和脖子里积聚的压力。试着闭起眼睛，放松你的眼球，眼睑，眉毛，耳朵，头发和头皮。最后再花至少五分钟的时间想象一下你头部任何一个部分，让它慢慢放松下来。你就会发现这个方法其实很有用。

2.深吸一口气，镇定你的神经：呼吸具有难以置信的魔力，你可以在任何时间，任何地方使用它。简单快速的呼吸并不能减轻你的压力，反而有可能使其增加。更会刺激你的神经系统。而当你深吸一口气，就犹如这股气是从腹部跑出来的一般的时候，你的神经系统才会得以镇定和放松。事实上，你呼出来的气有70%应该来自腹部。这样你就能呼吸到更多的氧气，从而赶走压在你肺部里的陈腐之气。

3. 你的神经添加一剂镇定剂：按摩脚部：反射论告诉我们我们的脚步部和五脏六腑，气脉都是息息相关的。用含有有机芝麻油给自己的脚做个按摩（从脚裸到脚趾），只需五到十分钟，就能使你身上许多地方获得放松。当然，你可以选择你自己喜欢的精油，比如椰子油和杏仁油。另外，你也可以加几滴由兰岩草，檀香或者是薰衣草提炼而成的精油，这能使你的脚部按摩取得更好的效果。要想了解更多这方面的信息，就点击这里看看吧。.

4. 用“瑜伽眼睛枕”--给眼镜睛也来个放松：你要知道，压力也会通过你的眼镜进入身体。你眼镜所看到的东西会十分容易地扰乱你内在的精气神。如果你对着电脑屏幕数小时，那么你的眼镜与身体一定会感到疲劳。这时候，你就需要给眼睛做个放松，把专为眼睛服务的瑜伽枕放在双眼上，至少五分钟。然后再深吸一口气，让身体得到放松，使你的精神彻底恢复。当然，做这个放松的时候，人需要平躺下来。如果你对这个感兴趣的话，可以点击这里来看看更多有关这个“瑜伽眼睛枕”的使用小窍门。

5.会手部瑜伽，让你再次活力四射：给手做瑜伽十分简单，且效果显著，它能激活你体内各个细胞，让你重新精神振奋。以下是如何做手部瑜伽的方法及步骤：首先，将你的左手放在左耳朵上，右手放在右耳朵上，轻轻地用手分别在两个耳朵上呈圆圈状抚摸。之后并以与之前相反的方向重复刚才的动作。整个过程至少需持续3分钟。在这期间，你可以在大海宁静声音的陪伴下，集中精神，长长地深吸一口气，将你体内的细胞重新唤起。如果你不能集中注意力的话，可以试着对自己说：“我需要放松，我需要平静。”这个简单的手部瑜伽练习赶走你体内的压力和疲劳，并且能使你再次活力四射。

6.心灵来个放松：这里有个十分简单的方法，叫做心灵放松法。首先讲你的双手放于心脏的地方，就好像你在向上帝祈祷。然后深吸一口气，并且微微低下你的头，闭上眼镜，与你的内心最深处来次对话。你会发现，你保持这样的姿势越久，能量就会越快地回到你的体内。请不要小看这个方法的功效，虽然它看似简单，但却能带给你意想不到的结果。

7. 笑是个很好的抗压剂：大笑十分具有功效，它能缓解你紧张的情绪。现在尝试大笑一下吧，或许没有理由，或许只是看了一部有趣的电影。尽量避免去看那些题材严肃，基调悲伤的电影吧。那会使你感到难过，忧伤。去找找Youtube上的有趣视频吧，它才会让你更健康。笑是极具感染力的。如果你看到周围有人在大笑，下一个大笑的就会是你自己了。在大笑过后，你会感到自己一下子轻松不少。所以，还不赶快尝试一下？

8.地面对自己体内的压力：你身体的哪个部位感觉到了压力了呢？是胃部，颈部，脚底，还是全身？不管压力在哪儿，我们需要做的就是勇敢地面对。这样你就会发现，原来压力在我们每次呼气的时候就随之烟消云散了。压力有时确实让人喘不过气，但勇敢的面对就能把它消灭。你只需要坐着或站着。深深的呼气，然后身体也会随着每一次的呼气而变的轻松。我可以想象压力通过我的脚底从我体内离开，进入到了脚下的泥土里。

9.音乐治疗，滋养你的神经：你是否知道欣赏约翰施特劳斯的蓝色多瑙河能够在生理上重新激发你的活力，即使你已经筋疲力尽？科学家们已经证实了音乐确实能够滋养人们的中枢神经系统。如果你不相信我说的话，那么就到雅虎来一探究竟吧。那上面就有这方面的介绍。听听音乐，放松自己吧！