Learning To Relax Your Body

All week long, The Early Show has been featuring stories about life's "Simple Pleasures" - small things that make you feel good.

Friday, the focus is on easy relaxation techniques you can do anywhere, anytime to relieve stress in your body and mind.

You don't have to be a fitness buff to reap the benefits. Stephanie Oakes, the fitness editor for USA Weekend magazine, visits The Early Show to offer advice.

Get off to a good start by performing some of these in the morning, loosen up during a stressful day at the office, or unwind before bed.

First things first. If you're feeling stressed, take a deep breath. This will help bring more oxygen into your body and immediately make you feel better.

You might also consider meditation. Many people think of meditation as some kind of unusual, holy or spiritual activity.

"This is one of the basic beliefs we try to overcome," Oakes says. "The point is that mediation is completely normal. What we're doing is taming our mind. We're trying to overcome all sorts of anxieties and agitation, all sorts of habitual thought patterns, so we are able to sit with ourselves."

Think about it: When was the last time you sat completely still for 10 or 20 minutes and did not think about any of the pressing details in your life, didn't answer the phone or look at e-mail? Doing this can be very restful.

Also, meditation has been proven (by real, scientific studies at places like Harvard) to reduce stress and provide other benefits such as lowering blood pressure, etc.

"The National Institutes of Health found that 80 to 90 percent of all illnesses are caused by stress, either directly or indirectly," Oakes says. "Clearly, something more than positive thinking, counseling, morale boosters or even traditional exercise is needed. Transcendental meditation technique was found to be more than twice as effective at reducing stress than any other form of relaxation."

Of course, there are many different types of meditation, but transcendental meditation has been around for a long time, and has been studied by doctors, scientists and others for over 30 years. The Beatles practiced this type of meditation.

Basically, transcendental meditation teaches you how to completely quiet your mind. It's recommended to do it 20 or 30 minutes, up to twice a day if possible.

If meditation isn't your thing, or you don't have 20 or 30 minutes to spare, simple physical exercises can make you feel better too. We tend to hold stress in three main areas: our necks, shoulders and back, and our hip flexors. Oakes shows us some stretches that focus on these areas. She recommends holding each stretch for 30 seconds, and repeating five to 10 times.

Chest Opener
This move opens your lungs for deep breathing and pulls your shoulders.

1. Roll up a blanket or thick towel.
   
2. Lie down on the ground with the roll placed under your upper-middle back.
3. If it's more comfortable for you, you can also place a towel or pillow under your head.
4. Close your eyes and relax. Stay in the position as long as you please.

1. Place the back of the chair against a wall.
2. Kneel 2 to 2 1/2 feet in front of the chair's seat and place your hands on the edge.
3. Come up onto your toes, straighten your legs, lift your buttocks and angle your torso downward.
4. Work on straightening your arms and legs, lengthening your back as much as possible.
5. Think about moving the front of your thighs toward the back of your thighs. Having a friend pull the top of your thighs back can help you get the full benefit of this pose by taking the weight off your arms.
6. If this is too easy, you can place your hands on some thick books or directly on the floor instead of on a chair.

1. Sit on the edge of your chair, sideways, with your left side facing the chair back.
2. Throughout the pose, keep your feet and knees together and even.
3. Grasp the back or top of the chair.
4. Inhale while straightening your spine. As you exhale, twist toward the back of the chair, twisting from the very bottom of your spine, pushing with your left hand and pulling with your right hand.
5. Release and switch sides.

1. Kneel on one knee, with your other knee/leg in front of you and your foot flat on the ground in front of you.
2. Keep your upper body straight at all times.
3. Bend at the waist, leaning toward the knee in front of you, until you feel a pull in your hips.