When your body is under stress the tension will often accumulate in your neck and jaw. Take a few minutes to gently and slowly move your head from one side to the other and then from front to back, moving in a slow circle.

Set small and smart goals for yourself and then work carefully and realistically towards achieving them. Keep in mind that unrealistic goals never seem to be reached and this can add to your stress level. Try to set just goal for yourself this week by using the SMART approach:

Laugh at stress. Laughter is your body's natural stress-release mechanism. Rent your favorite funny movie or record a TV show that you know makes you laugh. You can keep the recording on hand for those stress emergencies. Go to the library and borrow a book that you know will make you laugh. Or read the daily comics in the newspaper.

Another good way to deal with stress is to walk away from it all instead of sitting down for another cup of coffee on your coffee break, lunch hour or when you are sitting at home. A short stress-relieving and energizing walk will help you cope with immediate stress by giving you a chance to step back and think about something else for a few minutes. And the exercise will do you good! Consider starting a walking club at work so that you can have company while you walk during your lunch hour.

In Alexander Technique lessons, teachers work on the whole body to help eliminate harmful postural habits and revive natural poise. But when the client arrives for their session, it is usual that they have a specific ailment or reason for coming, be it neck tension, aching knees, general stiffness, or to reduce stress. If the client complains of aching knees, it is very unlikely that much of the session will be devoted to their knees, as this condition is only a small (albeit painful) symptom of an overall condition in their whole body. In almost every case they will work on their neck tension, head balance and overall posture as much as the specific area in question.

This is because every part of us is actually not a separate bit, but an extension or part of the 'whole'. We are not a collection of parts. We only name them to help identification, but in reality the muscles, tendons and ligament of our posture all interconnect, overlay and are pretty much inseparable. And if we did manage to separate them.....and this is the main point......they would be completely useless without the support and integration with the whole.

Our body and mind works as a whole. Take any task you like and see if you can identify it as either entirely physical or mental. Is skiing a purely physical task, or horse riding, walking or writing a letter? Our musculature couldn't operate without the control and guidance of our brain which in turn fires the muscle spindles and circulates oxygenated blood. And is calculating an arithmetical problem a purely mental activity? We couldn't do that without sufficient blood pumped from our heart and loaded with fresh oxygen from our breathing lungs. All activities are both mental and physical; without either we die. Our emotions are just as inextricably connected to every cell in our body.

Taking care of your health is a combination of physical, mental, and spiritual. The more time that you take you learn what works best for you the better results you are going to experience. The above tips and ideas can get you started towards leading a healthier and happier life.

Healing your body is an entire concept that involves your mind, your soul, and your body. If you separate your mind and spirit from your body you will find that you three unique but isolated entities that, although they try to function independently, need each other to be healthy, strong, and happy. It is your spirit that is the binding force between your mind and body. Therefore keeping your spirit strong is of vital importance when it comes to your overall health and wellness. It is this "keeping the spirit strong" that is the focus of this final chapter.

There are many things that you can do to keep your spirit strong, vital, and alive. Perhaps the biggest obstacle that you have to overcome is consistence and practice. It is easy to fall back into the old patterns of your life that don’t work and perhaps have brought you to a place in your life where you are unbalanced in your personal life, your relationship, and your career. Keeping your spirit strong means that you must constantly monitor what it is that you are doing, decide if you are doing the right thing, and take steps to change it if necessary.