Is there any particular reason to feel stressed these days? The global recession alone provides angst and more for almost everyone. There are traditional methods of alleviating stress such as yoga and meditation. Some of these when combined with new-age learnings throw light on age-old techniques. There are also some novel ways to grapple with stress and keep it under control. Four practitioners ? a graphologist, a music therapist, a yoga practitioner and a tarot card reader talk about their tools to alleviate stress.

Reading between the lines

What you think not only has a bearing on your behaviour but also shows up in the way you write. Graphologist, Chandraprabha, an internationally certified handwriting analyst (USA), accredited MBTI trainer (Australia), certified personal coach (USA) and Certified One2One coach, has the experience of her technique with the various corporate and non-corporate seminars that she conducts on graphology. Can handwriting be changed to calm oneself? Chandraprabha explains the phenomenon. ?Graphology, the science of analysing handwriting, helps to identify the cause of stress and the effect. When an issue is identified, half the battle is won. Usually, people focus on the effect. For instance, a supervisor who is always angry with his subordinate will be told to control his anger, to channel it productively when the actual cause might be that the supervisor is ill paid or passed up for a salary hike or not appreciated at his job.?

Once the issue is understood, the next step is to understand if it can be handled to the satisfaction of the individual. The individual is then helped to overcome the issues with graphotherapy ? stroke changes in handwriting that will trigger change in behaviour. This is a slow, steady progress but long lasting, claims Chandraprabha. Handwriting is controlled by the motor area in the brain, which is in the frontal lobe and connected with almost all parts of the brain. A neuro pathway is created in the brain when one forms a habit. It becomes a highway when the habit is formed due to a strong self belief. Such a person?s handwriting will reveal strokes, which are like a frozen brain on paper.

Handwriting reveals three major areas: How you are as a person; how you work; and how you relate to others around you, informs Chandraprabha. There are almost 800 strokes and its permutations and combinations. A graphologist works on the three major areas of a person?s handwriting and can give enormous information based on it with regard to self-image, thinking, et al. However, only the individual can decide whether or not he/she agrees to the analysis and whether he/she wants to put it in practice or not.

Sound of music

Music therapy is another method to soothe the frazzled brain. Vivek Joshi, a sarod player and a therapist opines, ?Music is astral meditation and is the best spiritual companion. Music therapy is effective for stress-related disorders that are known as psychosomatic disorders.? How does it work? The vibrations of music work directly on the mind. This is with particular reference to Hindustani classical music. ?The notes are natural and the seven notes ? sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni ? give energy and alertness. The komal or flat notes ? re, ga, ma, da, ni ? induce sleep. Unfortunately the only kind of music often heard is film music,? says Joshi. However, old melodies of Lata Mangeshkar are stress-alleviating, he further adds. Hindustani classical music has morning, evening and night ragas that are designed to work on the mood of the human mind. ?The frequency of the seven notes corresponds and is in sync with the seven chakras in the body. Beginning from sa which corresponds to the mooladhara or root chakra at 220 hrtz and going up to re-navel, ga-stomach, ma-heart, pa-throat, da-third eye and ni-crown. This is in keeping with principle of physics called resonance ? when two frequencies match, there is good understanding between the two wave lengths and it results in harmony. People can practice music therapy by listening to instrumental music ? sitar, sarod, flute and santoor,? adds Joshi.

Striking the right posture

Yoga is universally known and yet, not many people fully absorb the plenty contained within this ancient technique. Hansa Jayadeva, director, the Yoga Institute, India?s oldest yoga centre in at Santacruz in Mumbai, says, ?breathing does it?. ?To control your mind, you need to control your breath. Watch your breath when you are agitated and work towards making it calm. One?s outlook towards life should be positive. Yoga says, you hold yourself. Make yourself the first priority. Understand work is only part of your life and not your life. Don?t try to multi-task but concentrate on one thing at a time. Do your best at your job but avoid comparisons with others for this which is the major cause of irritation. Each one of us is different. Don?t possess a result-oriented approach. After having done your best, have some element of faith in the universe. Be compassionate,? she says ticking off the mind-mines that trigger stress.

Jayadeva says a few lifestyle changes would help. ?Drink one or two glasses of warm water on waking to systematic clear the system. Have liquids every two hours like water boiled with ginger or pepper or tulsi leaves. A morning walk is a must and is the mildest and best form of exercise. Have a heavy breakfast and if it is a difficult task to manage one, have milk with mixed cereals. Or eat a handful of nuts ? almonds, figs, walnuts and raisins. Avoid chillies and spices for breakfast for it is the first meal of the day after the body has rested at night. Have a glass of lemon juice or fresh fruits after breakfast to maintain the rhythm of the body. For lunch, have a salad of seasonal vegetables, rice, daal, vegetable, roti and butter milk. Have fresh fruits two hours later and for tea time have spicy food, if you feel like it. Dinner should be over by 7 pm and latest by 8 pm and if you still want to open your mouth for a meal after, have a glass of milk. Don?t take many liquids in the night for sleep will be disturbed. Eat only to satiate your hunger.?

Card therapy

Tarot, a set of 78 cards that are used to foretell the future, can be used as a spiritual tool, states Dr Roopa Patel, a practitioner and a columnist. Patel says Tarot cards can be used for meditation. Patel conducts tarot classes and seminars for spiritual growth and guidance. ?A spiritual support is a must. One must meditate ? after waking up to be able to face the day; and at the close of day to clear out the stress collected through the day.? Patel says any person can use the tarot card number 14, Temperance for meditating. Use tarot not as a predictive tool but as a meditative tool, she says. ?You are the world and the world is you. What you do has a ripple effect. Change can happen if you understand yourself.?