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Stress is often accompanied by muscle tension, especially along the trapezius muscle (the triangular area starting from the temple, covering the base of the neck, and running along the shoulders). The aches and knots you feel in your shoulders and the base of your neck is almost always a result of stress. One of the instant tips to relieve stress is through massaging the key areas.

Temples

Temples is an extremely sensitive spot and massaging your temples can instantly alleviate stress. Use the middle finger and put pressure on both the temples, and then make small soothing circles without lifting your fingers. Now proceed to doing the same with two fingers instead of just your middle finger.

Bridge of the Nose

Often the most overlooked area, the bridge of the nose can help relieve muscle tension by regulating the blood flow. Stress also leads to constriction of the blood vessels, hindering the flow of blood. Pinching the bridge of the nose and holding if for 10 seconds is an instant relief from stress-generated headaches.

Eyebrows

Whether you are stressed or not, pinching your eyebrows between your thumb and forefinger will instantly refresh and soothe your tired muscles. The next time you are working till the wee hours, repeat this massage for 5 times to get rid of fatigue.

Neck

Keep both your thumbs on either side of your collar bones and with the remaining four fingers, massage the back of your neck applying pressure on all the points. Make small circles at the base of the skull, right behind your ears and then go up trailing along the line behind the ears.

Massaging Your Trapezius Muscle

You can either massage the area yourself or hire a masseuse. To do the massage yourself, lie down so that the trapezius muscle relaxes; now use the tip of your fingers to massage the key areas like the base of the neck and in between your shoulder blades. To figure out the pressure points, keep applying pressure throughout and keep note of the points where applying the pressure is most relaxing.

Another way to massage your trapezius muscle is with the help of a tennis ball. When youre lying down keep the tennis ball under your shoulder. Now move your shoulders in a way that it exerts pressure on the tennis ball, and the ball moves to the other side of the shoulder passing the base of the neck. Be careful and do not put a lot of pressure and stop massaging immediately if you feel any discomfort.

Also, whenever you are stressed try to rotate your shoulder blades in both clockwise and anti clockwise directions, and move it up and down. Then keep your shoulders stiff and rotate your head placing added pressure on the points where your neck meets your shoulder, back and the front part of the base of the neck.

Squeezing your fingers into a fist and then releasing in intervals, along with rotating the fist doing a 180 degree will help in loosening muscle tension.

Author's Bio:

My name is Mulyadi Kurnia. I am a practitioner of meditation and yoga and have personally experienced the benefits of the practices. Having gone through one of the toughest period of stress and anxiety brought about by living in a fast-paced society, I know first-hand of how unpleasant this experience could be. Guided by my desire to help others, I have created a blog as well as a website for stress management and healthy living for anyone who is looking for information on how to bring about a healthy change in their life. These are http://www.stopstressandanxiety.com and http://www.howtotreatanxiety.preferredmall.com.