From old to young, male to female, rich to poor, no matter where you come from, everyone of us will have some elements of stress in life or business. Stress is a silent killer that causes us to go out of balance.

Therefore, it's utmost important for us to learn to de-stress. Once in a while, throughout the day, do something that you can release stress. Here are some of the exercises that I find useful in stress management.

1) Read a good book. Grab a book you like and a glass of your favorite drink, sink yourself into a sofa. When you absorb in the book, you lose touch with outside world and immerse in the writing. Reading is a way to sharpen your mind too and keep it alert. Reading a good book not only helpful in releasing stress but also to increase knowledge.

2) Listen to music. I used to hate music but only in recent years that I like to listen to music. When I talk about music, I mean just pure music. Experts suggest that the best music for you to de-stress is classical music. For example music by Mozart or Beethoven. You can listen to the music while driving, before and during sleep. Or during work if the environment allows. Now it's even more convenient with portable mp3 players.

3) Exercise. Everybody knows after workout, you feel energized and fresh. But I have a confession to make, I have not been working out for some time. But I still think that exercise is one of the best stress busters. Engage yourself in a sport that you love and make it a point that you stick to your exercise schedule. The best, I believe, is still cardio-vascular exercises.

4) Meditation. Worry not and it's nothing to do with religions. The only thing you need is a quiet place, close your eyes and listen to yourself. It has been proven that meditation not only helps in releasing stress but it also enhances self-awareness, creativity, intuition, inner peace, and longevity! Frankly, meditation is not easy to do even though it looks simple. I have tried many ways to practise meditation, but most of the methods are hard to follow as not many of us can still a mind that is as wild as a wild horse. It requires a lot of practice and discipline. But I've found a technology called Holosync developed by Bill Harris that can put you into deep meditation just by putting on headphone. The best
meditation guide I ever found. Check it out
http://www.abelcheng.com/cgi-bin/track/tracker.cgi?meditation

5) Play with my daughter. This is the best part. Not only can I play with her as an excuse to get away from work, it also helps me to foster a closer relationship with her. And you will be also surprise to find out that how observant children are. They can show you small little things that adults overlook. And the best reward from playing with children is their laughter...as we all know laughter is the best medicine.

6) Sleep. I am not talking about a few hours of sleep, I am talking about having a nap. Preferably a 30-minute nap is just fine. When you feel tired, take a nap and you'll see the difference in you after you wake up. Too much of sleep will have counter effect. Don't overdo it.

7) Rest in regular intervals. Stop doing whatever you are doing after one or two hours. Walk around or sit in a comfortable chair and close your eyes. Visualize that you are relaxing your body part by part starting from your head. Do it until you reach your toes. Just tell yourself to relax and release all the tension in your body. This won't take much of your time but it helps you to have a stress free body and mind.

Try some of these stress management techniques and you'll feel that your stress level will reduce. And you'll become more productive and peaceful.