11 Simple Stress-breaking Exercises I Do on my Own At Home

These are not in any particular order: one a day may work for you, or two, or three. In the case of the deep breathing exercise (number 3), this is good to do every day and can be done morning and night. It lifts my happy feelings.

1. When cold and stressed: I put warm/fairly hot water in a bowl big enough to soak my feet. I add a little lavender essential oil (or oil of choice) and massage between toes, soak and enjoy and top up with hot water if it gets cool. (If you have the luxury of a "foot-bath"-make sure you use it at least once a week.)
2. Using the ball-tips of my fingers, (not my nails) I massage my whole scalp, particularly the base of my scalp at the top of my neck, and also my temples. Two or three minutes is good.
3. Standing in the place in my home where the air is the freshest (out on my balcony facing the trees), this is best if I am able to be out in the fresh air, weather permitting, and, smiling as wide as I can make myself, I draw in air through my nose, into my chest and stomach until full, take in a little extra if possible, then exhale through my mouth, until all air is gone, then huff out further. I repeat this about 5 or 6 times and then laugh aloud at myself.
4. Using felt-pen(s), color(s) of choice, I draw a picture about my stress on a blank white piece of paper, (or doodle it, scrawl it, make lines and circles) then crunch the paper into a ball and either burn it, shred it, throw it in the trash (or I title it, date it and keep for a while.)
5. Write down as many things as I can in a few minutes, about my stress, for which I can be thankful: for example: “I sprained my ankle when I fell, but I did not break my leg, arm, or neck.”
6. Write for a few minutes about some simple blessings/good things in my life. Write a few lines, a short poem.
7. I think back over the stresses of the day and imagine what a comedian would do with it all - I see if I can find something in those awful stresses to laugh about. Lighten the stress, happiness and joy is my choice. Laughter is medicine for the spirit.
8. Thinking about the biggest stresses of the day and imagining them to be in the backs of my hands, I stand in an open doorway and press the backs of my hands out and into the door frame. I am pressing my stresses out the backs of my hands, I keep pressing for two or three minutes. Then I release my hands and turn 90 degrees and let my arms relax and rise, imagining my stresses floating away. This exercise may be followed directly by the next one.
9. Sitting in a comfortable chair, I close my eyes, and using tips of my fingers, I very gently stroke the back of one hand, then the other, left, right, left, and so on. Very soothing.
10. I like to spend time stroking my two little dogs and playing in the yard with them. When it is raining I have a "string bone" I toss around inside for them to fetch. Every few minutes each day with animals is de-stressing.
11. When I have stress and care that weighs me down, I trust in the Bible Verse, “Casting all your care on God, for He cares for you.” I give my weighty cares to God. He is stronger than I and able to take the burdens for me. The hard thing is to leave them with God and not to pick them up again. So, the "casting" is like "throwing" it so that it is out of my reach. The stress is then gone; it is no longer my burden. I like that. I need to do that "casting of cares, or stresses", often!