Relaxing Quotes and Stress Relief Activities

Are you under stress?

How do you cope and what are your favorite ways of relieving stress?

This article looks at why too much stress is bad for us and offers suggestions and advice on how to beat stress with these Relaxing Quotes and Stress Relief Activities..

In dangerous situations our bodies natural reaction is to release adrenaline and other hormones to help us run away from predators or to fend off attackers (known as 'flight or fight'). Unfortunately, nowadays those same hormones are released by stressful situations and, over time, this can have devastating effects on our body.

Stress is also dangerous because it can lead to other unhealthy, life-shortening practices such as smoking and heavy drinking.

It is very difficult to eliminate all of the stress from your life so, if you want to live longer, you need to find ways to deal with it.

My goal is to help you beat stress by sharing some relaxing quotes and stress relief activities that I find helpful.

Everyone is under so much stress nowadays that it is important to find a way to relax. One of the most relaxing things you can do is watch a sunset.

Here are some relaxing quotes about how to slow down and relax:

• "For fast-acting relief, try slowing down" - Lily Tomlin
• “There is more to life than increasing its speed” - Mohandas K. Gandhi
• "If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned to live" - Lin Yutang
• "How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward" - Spanish Proverb
• "Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are" - Chinese Proverb

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it” – Sydney J. Harris

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles" - Charlie Chaplin

"When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better" – Malcolm S. Forbes

“It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there's nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized” - Wayne Dyer

I love nature and wildlife. Nothing improves my spirit more than getting outdoors away from the stresses of everyday living.

For me this means getting away from electronic devices and the constant barrage of messages that we receive, whether it is e-mails, texts, TV advertising – they all create stress.

If you can, leave your cell phone behind or, if you need it in case of emergency, set it on silent.

Here are some of my favourite stress relief activities:

• Running / Hiking / Walking
• Gardening
• Bird watching
• Fishing

I find that one of the most effective stress relief activities for me is running. I started running a few years back to raise money for charity and found that it is a great way to relieve stress.

No matter how stressed I feel before going for a run, as soon as I get outside in the fresh air and start to run, my worries melt away.

I don’t know if it is the change of scenery, or the fact that my body is too busy screaming for air, but I just don’t have time to think about my worries.

The good news is that you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to start running. If you are a novice, then start gradually, mixing running and walking, and build up as your fitness improves.

And it is good for your health too. According to recent studies, jogging regularly can extend your life expecttancy by 5 or 6 years. Better still, you don’t have to run excessively to reap these rewards. Between one and 2.5 hours a week of running at a slow to moderate pace is enough to boost life expectancy.

Hiking and Walking have a similar effect but without the pain! Get out of the house, enjoy your surroundings, walk the dog - these stress relief activities will help you to relax and reduce your stress.

Here are some relaxing quotes about exercise:

• "Those who think that they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness" - Edward Stanley
• "Jogging can add years to your life! Try it and you’ll feel 10 years older almost immediately!" - unknown
• "A healthy body means a healthy mind" is derived from a famous Latin quotation "Mens sana in corpore sano" from the Roman poet Juvenal, meaning "a sound mind in a healthy body".

Like many people, I started gardening when I bought my first house. Initially it was a bit of a chore but, over the years, I have grown to really enjoy it. For me, it provides an opportunity to shape my landscape and be creative. I select my plants and shrubs to attract wildlife, particularly birds and butterflies.

My favorite visitors to my garden are hummingbirds and I find it very relaxing to watch and photograph them . They are easy to attract and if you are interested in learning more, here is How to Create a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Habitat.

I am also fortunate to have a number of other Canadian Animals in my Garden, including raccoons, chipmunks, foxes and even the occasional mink (not so fortunate as it ate all my gold fish)!

Here are some relaxing quotes about gardening:

• "Live as though you're going to die tomorrow and garden as though you will live forever" - Liza Goddard
• "Stop and smell the roses" is actually a misquote from the golfer Walter Hagen in the 1956 book "The Walter Hagen Story". What he actually said was "You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry. Don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way."
• "Working in the garden...gives me a profound feeling of inner peace" - Ruth Stout
• "Flowers always make people happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul" - Luther Burbank

Bird watching is another of the stress relief activities that I really enjoy.

I can watch Canadian Birds in my Garden at any time from my kitchen window, provided that I keep the feeders full.

But a more effective way to relieve stress is to get outside, take a hike and explore the local woods, lake shores or other natural spaces. Don’t forget to take your binoculars!

Here are some relaxing quotes about birds:

• "Give your stress wings and let it fly away" -Terri Guillemets
• "Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?" - Rose Kennedy
• "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song" - Lou Holtz

Fishing is another of my favorite stress relief activities.

I love the thrill of man against nature, trying to lure a fish, not knowing what you might catch. But even more than the thrill of catching the big one, I just enjoy being outside, floating in a boat, or standing on the shore. I can fish all day and not get bored - nothing is more relaxing.

Here are some relaxing quotes about fishing:

• "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles" - Doug Larson
• "The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it" - Unknown

You may have noticed that every one of these stress relief activities involve being outdoors. For me, stress is caused by work, hectic schedules, trying to do too many things at the same time, and being bombarded by a constant stream of information.

My solution is to get outside and leave all of the electronic devices behind. My advice to you is to slow down, take a breather and smell the roses!

I hope that you've found these suggestions on how to beat stress with Relaxing Quotes and Stress Relief Activities helpful.

I'd love to know what you do to relieve your stress - please feel free to leave your comments below.

Happy Relaxing!

Geoff