Breathe away stress in 8 steps
The breathe away stress in 8 steps in the coursebook served as a very effective avenue for stress loss and relief. It is imperative to note my stress had emanated from my academics and part-time job covering classwork during the day and other duties at work up to the late at night. The ‘breathe away stress in 8 steps’ technique is a relaxation strategy that effectively improved my health and enhanced relaxed mental health. As the steps suggest, I allocated 15 minutes daily for the exercise. The more I practiced, the more I gained relaxation. This technique was the best since all I required was to use the breath to ease stress and feel less anxious.
Preferably, I had allocated the 15 minutes of the exercise before retiring to bed. As a consequence, the strategy was effective as it could facilitate better sleep and melt away elements of headache. Following my busy schedules and working under pressure at my part-time job, I had developed cases of high blood pressure. Nevertheless, after the continued practice of this stress management technique, it lowered my blood pressure.
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During the relaxation practice, I had to relax my entire body starting from the feet moving up. As a consequence, the practice could relax my muscles and reduce any kind of drowsiness. The relaxation practice through the 8 steps had a positive impact on my classwork and the part-time job as well. Through improving my mental health, I improved my concentration in class. Dr. Herbert Benson developed the 8-step technique to achieve a relaxed mental state ( Pender, 2015 ). Personally, I find this relaxation strategy beneficial for personal mental health among other benefits emanating from its execution. As the doctor suggests, the 8-step technique improves with practice. The more it is practiced, the more it becomes effective. Maintaining a sustained focus for my mind induced great relaxation and relieved any kind of stress from my busy schedules. Therefore, the 8-steps stress management technique is the best approach for self-care and management of stress-related responses.
Holistic therapies
Numerous relaxation techniques have been put in place as a way of stress management ( Davis et al., 2008 ). By definition, holistic therapy refers to a school of thought that attempts to address an individual in terms of his/her mind, body and spirit. Yoga is one of the holistic therapies that facilitate relaxation promoting mental health. This technique is in line with the main role of other holistic therapies that attempt to define an individual’s value in an approach to treat them. It induces a sense of self-acceptance through gaining full awareness of oneself at the moment. Yoga can be considered for complementary treatment for psychological and other physical conditions. Yoga focuses on breathing while flowing through a series of physical poses hence building flexibility and strength.
Most health complications in the community have been associated with stress, for instance, high blood pressure, and cases of headaches among other stress-related disorders. Considering Yoga as a holistic modality, there is a need to integrate it into the community project. One of the approaches would involve prescribing the relaxation technique to the members of the community (Davis et. al, 2008) . This will be followed by creating awareness of the significance of the relaxation strategy through the community project (Selimen & Andsoy, 2011) . It will require the participation of nurses who already consider the practice necessary for self-care and beneficial for mental health. Yoga has numerous benefits including physical flexibility and mental relaxation. This follows the fact that the practice incorporates different styles, forms and intensities fit for every member of the society.
Yoga is applicable across variables such as age, culture and any form of disability following different styles and forms fit for every member of the community. It is considered a form of relaxation through movement (Fontaine, 2005) . The movement is carried out in different forms that are fit for every individual in the community regardless of their age, culture or form of disability (Morno, 1997) . The main role of this mind-body practice is to reduce anxiety and stress, improve balance, enhance mood, ease chronic pain and enhance flexibility. The use of this holistic therapy to fight high blood pressure is the main focus of the community program project.
Nevertheless, there are community barriers that would interfere with the application of this technique to improve health behavior outcomes. Time is one of the community barriers to yoga as a holistic modality. The exercise requires time and practice for it to be effective. Members of the community tend to have busy schedules that pose a barrier to the exercise (DeMarco, 2000) . Also, individuals perceive yoga as an exercise activity or a spiritual activity hence posing a barrier to different cultures in the community.
In the community, there are a health promotion media that involves nurses who create awareness of the practice addressing the community health need. This would be a great opportunity for the nurses to prescribe the practice for stress management and general wellness. Furthermore, there are other health programs that educate the members of the community on different techniques to overcome health communications emanating from stress (Ventegodt et. al, 2004) . Nurses in the local healthcare center are responsible for treating any health condition and offer treatment prescriptions.
In return, through the community project, members of the community need to understand the essence of yoga as a stress management practice, as a physical exercise and as an approach to improve their health (Okonta, 2012) . Therefore, holistic therapy would be important as a relaxation approach necessary for alleviating a health condition and improving mental health. In conclusion, through lowering stress and anxiety, holistic therapy is substantial for reducing risks of developing other health disorders emanating from stress (Lazaridou et. al, 2013) . Furthermore, yoga can be practiced in different cultures by individuals from different age brackets and disabilities. The advantages of emanating from the relaxation technique are beneficial to everyone upon practicing and as such, it would be significant to integrate into the community project.
References
Davis, M., Eshelman, E. R., & McKay, M. (2008). The relaxation and stress reduction workbook . New Harbinger Publications.
DeMarco-Sinatra, J. (2000). Relaxation training as a holistic nursing intervention. Holistic Nursing Practice , 14 (3), 30-39.
Fontaine, K. L. (2005). Complementary & alternative therapies for nursing practice . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Lazaridou, A., Philbrook, P., & Tzika, A. A. (2013). Yoga and mindfulness as therapeutic interventions for stroke rehabilitation: a systematic review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine , 2013 .
Monro, R. (1997). Yoga therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies , 1 (4), 215-218.
Okonta, N. R. (2012). Does yoga therapy reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension? An integrative review. Holistic nursing practice , 26 (3), 137-141.
Pender, N. J., Murdaugh, C. L., Parsons, M. A., & Pearson. (2015). Health Promotion in Nursing Practice (7th Edition). Boston [etc.: Pearson.
Selimen, D., & Andsoy, I. I. (2011). The importance of a holistic approach during the perioperative period. AORN Journal , 93 (4), 482-490.
Smith, J. C. (2002). Stress management: A comprehensive handbook of techniques and strategies . Springer Publishing Company.
Ventegodt, S., Clausen, B., Langhorn, M., Kromann, M., Andersen, N. J., & Merrick, J. (2004). Quality of life as medicine III. A qualitative analysis of the effect of a five-day intervention with existential holistic group therapy or a quality of life course as a modern rite of passage. The Scientific World Journal , 4 , 124-133.
