Quit Smoking Now

Here are some simple and effective relaxation techniques to gradually quit smoking, without spending time or money.

See this e-mail from Michael, well on his way – “I was smoking a pack and half a day. I had been looking for a way to quit that would not require more money and the same old results. I was introduced to the ‘counting breaths’ methods. After just a week of doing the method once in the morning and right before bed, I was able to cut down smoking down to around 15 cigarettes a day from the previous 20 a day, by doing nothing more than the method. I now do it throughout the day and I am down to about 4 cigarettes a day. My goal is to be smoke free within the next month. This is all due to doing the method: I am more relaxed, I don’t need to lash out at everybody because I am edgy. The best part is, it costs me nothing to do, except for my effort into it. I didn’t need any outside help like gum or patches; I did it on my own which is a great feeling. My wife has now started this method and we are slowly getting into our children to do it too. I highly recommend this for anyone of any age.” Michael S e-mail: mksmail800@verizon.net , April 23, 2009.

Reports from more smokers can be seen in his web site countingbreaths.com under the tab ‘Remarkable Benefits’ in the home page and then the tab ’smoking’ . These people succeeded by using the simple technique of ‘FOCUSING ON BREATHING’. It can be practiced anywhere, any time. It induces relaxation, reduces stress and gradually weakens established habit patterns like helpless smoking.

HOW CAN I FOCUS ON BREATHING?

Practice the following modes keeping your eyes closed. You can also do it eyes open but it is less effective.

(A) USE FINGER TIPS: Touch the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger. Breathe in, breathe out, three times, counting in the mind, during the out breaths. During the first out-breath, count ‘one’, second out-breath ‘two’, third out-breath ‘three’. Repeat the 3 breaths, at each of the next 3 finger tips. When you get to the thumb, place the tip of the index finger at the base of the thumb and complete 3 breaths. Then switch to the other hand and repeat the process. Continue to practice, switching hands.

(B) USE FINGER SEGMENTS (without counting): Every finger has 3 segments, separated by 2 lines. Keep the thumb tip at the top segment of the little finger. Breathe in and out, one time, without counting. Shift the thumb to the middle segment and complete one breath. Move to the bottom segment and complete one breath. Now, move the thumb tip to the next 3 fingers repeating the same steps. When you get to the thumb, place the tip of the index finger on the segments of the thumb and complete one breath at each segment. When all the fingers of one hand are done, switch hands and repeat the practice. Practice as long as you like, switching hands. Don’t count in this mode, just breathe.

(C) COUNT IN THE MIND (without using the fingers): During every in-breath, feel the coolness in the nose, without counting. During every out-breath, count in the mind: first out-breath – count ‘one’, second out-breath – ‘two’ and so on. At some number, your mind wanders and you forget to count. Every time this happens, restart counting from ‘one’.

(D) FEEL THE BREATHS: During the in-breaths, feel the coolness inside the nose. During the out-breaths, feel the neutral or warm feeling in the nose. Don’t use fingers. Don’t count.

(E) STARING: Stare at a small spot, mark or thing: Select any small but prominently visible spot, mark or object, before you. While continuously staring at this target, practice any mode A / B / C / D.

(911) BREATHING OUT THROUGH THE MOUTH: Breathe in through the nose, feeling the coolness. Breathe out gently through the mouth, with slightly open lips, focusing on the sensation in the lips. In this mode, the out-breath is controlled and long.

WHEN CAN I PRACTICE AND IN WHAT MODE?

Try all the suggested modes. Use whatever works for you. Feel free to modify and combine the modes.

TO SLEEP: Everybody loves this time of practice and it is the most effective time to make a beginning. Initially use mode A. Then any mode A to D.

ON WAKING UP: This is another great time. Continue lying under the cover. Practice any mode.

HOME: Walking, cooking, cleaning, gardening etc. do not require thinking. These are very good opportunities for relaxing in any mode C to D / 911. See how many breaths it takes to brush teeth, toast bread, fill a cup, load the laundry and such repetitive activities.

WALKING: Use mode C. While walking continuously, feel the coolness inside nose, during every in-breath. During every out-breath, every time a foot touches the ground, match it with the number being counted. Repeat the same number, till the out-breath is completed. After a little practice, you will be walking normally while practicing in this mode. After some time, you can practice even while running and on the treadmill!

WAITING (sitting or standing): Whenever you wait, you get bored and restless: for breakfast, lunch or dinner to be ready, computer to boot or web page to load, standing in a line, sitting at doctor’s office etc. These are opportunities for mini relaxation. Practice any mode.

TRAVELING in Car / Bus / Air plane: Any mode.

DRIVING: Every stoppage at a red light is an opportunity for micro relaxation. Practice mode (E) with the red light as the target. Similar opportunities arise in a traffic jam and at the toll gate.

WORK PLACE: Whenever you walk in the parking lot, hallway or work area, practice walking as described above. During work, whenever you lose concentration, mind wanders, any part of body feels tight or you feel tense, break for 2-3 minutes. Practice any mode.

RESTING (sitting or lying): Practice any mode.

PLAYING GAMES: When waiting for the ball to reach you, feeling frustrated or angry on losing ,to refocus on the game etc., practice any mode.

EXERCISING: Practice on the tread mill in any mode A to D. When using weights or resistance training, breath out through the mouth, with a ‘haa’ during the strenuous movements. Breathe in, deeply, during the light return movement.

UNDER STRESS: When angry, anxious, panicky or in pain, use (911) mode, many times to get relief. Switch to other modes for a while and back to (911) till the crisis eases.

When you practice one or more of the modes, especially before sleep and on waking up, you will feel a general sense of calmness in mind and relaxation in body. The urge to automatically reach for a cigarette gets gradually weakened and your rate of smoking will gradually reduce, as reported by Michael and others. One such person who was smoking 10 cigarettes a day even reported developing aversion to smoking! The results may be slow in coming for some people.

One appealing feature of these methods is that they do not prescribe any rules regarding time, place, posture, length of practice or regularity. If you are already using conventional methods like nicotine patches, these relaxation practices will add strength to them. If you have any questions, e-mail thruogh his web site.

Suryanarayana Chennapragada (short name – C S) has been teaching the simple self-help methods of ‘Focusing on Breathing’ to children as young as 5 years to adults, since 2002 at Albany NY USA. Visit his web site to see the benefits for Mind, Body and Relationships reported by the practitioners. Contact him through his web site http://countingbreaths.com if you need help. He offers on-line coaching at affordable charges.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/quitting-smoking-by-focusing-on-breathing-989879.html

Think about the number of cigarettes you smoke on an average per day. Divide that number by twenty (the number of cigarettes in a standard pack) and then multiply it by the cost of one pack of cigarettes. You will now know exactly how much you spend on cigarettes every day. At this point, you may scoff at the number in front of you, as it may well be a paltry sum. Hold on, we have not arrived at the final cost of smoking just quite yet. Using the daily cost of cigarettes that you have just calculated, multiply it by three hundred and sixty five. Astonishing, isn’t it?

Most of us who smoke do not even realise just how much money we spend on cigarettes every year. Now take a few moments to imagine what you could do with all that money you would save if you could stop smoking. Imagine all the things that you could buy to enhance your life in other ways.

If you are serious about wanting to quit smoking, you should be aware of the fact that there are some great resources you can utilise to achieve this difficult goal. Tim Thornton is a Sydney-based hypnotherapist and certified neuro-linguistic programming practitioner who has helped thousands of individuals overcome their addiction to smoking cigarettes. Tim’s quit-smoking program involves a one-time session that lasts about an hour, but comes with a lifetime guarantee. So if you look forward to a smoke free life please visit www.quit-smoking.net.au

A chain smoker in the past, Owen Wills is now an anti-smoking campaigner, writing blogs to help people out of smoking. He writes articles on ways to quit smoking, which are both resourceful and informative.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/the-monetary-cost-of-smoking-988767.html

Most people fail at giving up smoking many times before they eventually stop. Fact is that nicotine addiction is harder to beat than cocaine or heroin addictions. Frightening isn’t it that tobacco companies can legally manufacture and sell harmful addictive products whilst less addictive substances are illegal.

Stopping smoking is a challenge and as with any challenge in life you’ve got to give yourself the best shot at not failing. I think that mindset plays a large part in whether you are going to succeed or not.

Some people suddenly decide that they are going to stop there and then and they do. Others set a date for their big quit smoking day, or think about it for a while and prepare themselves. The 2 most popular new years resolutions are either to stop smoking or lose weight and most of us break our resolutions so it’s no wonder there are so many of us still smoking. Every week Monday is the set day for many people to start dieting or stop smoking, that only really works if you have prepared yourself.

Preparation can make a big difference in helping you to control your withdrawel symptoms and temptations in the early days of your attempt. First of all you should make a list of why you want to stop smoking, study that list and you will see that you have a lot of good reasons for quitting. Tell yourself that yes you can end your addiction, that you are in control of your life and not the tobacco companies.

Stopping smoking is a life changing experience and to succeed you need to be ready for your change in life style. It’s a good idea to remove all traces of smoking from your home. Banish lighters and ash trays to the darkest corners of your cupboards and drawers if you cannot bring yourself to throw them away. Throw the last of your cigarettes out during the evening before you quit. I know that some people manage to keep a pack of cigs and still stop but to me that is unnecessary torture and increases the chances of you starting again.

Ideally you shouldn’t smoke inside your home for a while before your big stop day. Let the horrible smell dissipate and the fresh air in. Make your home a no smoking zone before and after stopping.

Ask your friends and family for help. Ask the non smokers not to lecture you and tell you that you had better not start again – that is like a red rag to a bull to me. Ask the smokers not to smoke in your home and to never offer you a cigarette. Smokers offering those who are trying to quit cigarettes is one of the main reasons for starting again.

Unless you are very brave and going cold turkey make sure that you have your stop smoking aids ready. Those aids could be one or a mixture of:

Nicotine Patches

Nicotine Gum

Inhalator

Self-Hypnotism DVD/ Video/ Audio/ mp3

Motivational Courses

Books/ Ebooks

Electronic Cigarettes

Stop Smoking Cash Cans

Laser Therapy

Microtabs

Lozenges

Stop Smoking Diary

You can even set up a blog and or forum to help yourself and others. Mutual encouragement can be a powerful form of motivation to stop and stay stopped.

Lay in a few treats for yourself. Weight gain is often a worry with smoking cessation, but having plenty of low calorie, low fat treats to nibble the cravings away helps.

Finally think about your reasons for giving up smoking regularly and especially if your resolve begins to weaken. Remind yourself just what harm they are doing to your body and your life and tell yourself and the world that yes you can stop smoking.

Are you struggling to stop smoking? I was but not any more. Just click on giving up smoking to follow my progress, or visit the stop smoking forum. Grab yourself a free copy of How To Stop Smoking Forever

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/preparations-for-giving-up-smoking-987414.html

Being on my umpteenth attempt at giving up smoking I decided to look back at the excuses I and those around me gave for not stopping smoking, or starting again after quitting. When I say excuses they are usually given as reasons when really they are excuses.

Stopping smoking makes me put on weight

Absolute BS. Nobody has ever put on weight simply because they have stopped smoking. How do I know that? Because I’ve been there. Sometimes I have put weight on, sometimes I haven’t but each time has been different.

What happens is that you automatically try to substitute the craving for nicotine with something tasty like chocolate or boiled sweets and that is what puts weight on you.

If you need substitutes try low fat, low calorie substitutes like grapes, oranges, Tic Tacs or carrots. If you really can’t manage without chocolate or boiled sweets use the money that you are saving on cigarettes to pay for membership at a gym and work the calories off. Or get yourself a Wii Fit like I have! Whatever you do exercise will help to keep the weight off and to make you healthier.

The bottom line is that tobacco products are more likely to kill you than a few pounds weight gain so forget vanity right now.

My husband/wife/partner smokes

OK it’s a tough one when somebody that you live with continues to smoke when you are trying to quit. It’s far easier if they don’t smoke or if they decide to stop with you, but if they care about you they should be happy to help you.

One way that they can help is to go outside to smoke and keep your home smoke free. Apart from keeping temptation out of your way, if you have children they shouldn’t be smoking in the home anyway for the sake of the children’s health.

Smoking outside also keeps your home cleaner, less smelly, doesn’t need decorating as often and your partner will find that he or she smokes less and saves some money too because they haven’t got the convenience of just being able to light up where ever they are.

In fact banning smoking from the home, or just having one room where you can smoke can help you to cut back on smoking and lead up to stopping.

My grandparents smoked and they lived until they were in their 90s

Your grandparents aren’t you and statistically they were darned lucky to live so long as smokers. Truth be told I used to say the same about one of my grandmas, conveniently forgetting that this shriveled up relative of mine who always seemed to have a Capstain full strength dangling from her lips could rarely get a sentence out without coughing. In fact that image of her in my head is my only memory of her and that’s sad.

I’m going to stop smoking on Monday not today

Monday comes and goes and you have either forgotten your promise or you decide that you will wait until the following Monday. Or you might even manage an hour or two without a cig before you change your mind.

I can stop anytime

Thats what some smokers say but when challenged they will say that they don’t want to yet, or that they will stop after Christmas, the new year, their holiday, sometime never. Truth is the desire to quit needs to be stronger than your addiction and that is when you will stop.

I’m waiting until after the summer because everybody is getting duty frees for me and I’m saving money

You would save even more if you quit altogether!

I smoke roll ups/ a pipe and they are not as bad for you

They are still killers no matter how you smoke tobacco.

I get too stressed and that’s bad for me

That isn’t stress it’s the nicotine addiction and craving. There are lots of products on the market today to help reduce the craving and withdrawal symptoms: nicotine gum, nicotine patches, inhalators, books, hypnotism, subconcious learning cds, tablets, fake cigarettes and even a Wii game to help you to stop smoking.

I’m sure there are many more excuses for not stopping smoking, but there are far more good reasons for giving up smoking and the main one is your health and the health of everybody around you.

Are you struggling to stop smoking? I was but not any more. Just click on giving
up smoking to follow my progress, or visit the stop
smoking forum. Grab yourself a free copy of How To Stop
Smoking Forever

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/not-giving-up-smoking-excuses-987432.html

Smoking is a habit that became highly popular in the 1920’s and most people had no idea how bad it was for their health. Through modern technology and researching various “modern” illnesses and diseases, it has now been established that smoking is very bad for your health and that it is also addictive. The nicotine inside cigarettes is a highly addictive substance that is basically a drug, and can also cause many health problems. This substance is found in tobacco leaves which belong to the nightshade species of plant. It has similar pharmacological properties of addiction as that of heroin and cocaine and is, according to the American Heart Association, one of the most difficult addictions to break.  If you value your life and want to become healthy again, live for longer, and prevent nasty illnesses and life threatening diseases, then you need to stop smoking. When first isolated and analyzed by German chemists in 1828, they classified it as a poison, which just goes to show how dangerous it really is.

Dangers of Smoking

On average it takes nicotine about 7 seconds to reach the brain once inhaled, as it is absorbed very quickly in the human body. The half life in the human body is about 2 hours, but this all depends on various factors including how high the dose was, how much was inhaled, how many cigarettes were smoked, or if tobacco was chewed. Usually the chewing tobacco or snuff that is held in the mouth is of a much higher potency than cigarettes.

Smoking is highly dangerous on many levels. First of all it is synthesized in the liver and this causes a lot of strain to the organ, especially if you are a heavy smoker. The blood brain barrier is quickly crossed when you smoke which means that it affects the babies of women that are pregnant if they light up. Similarly, people who are even around a smoker are affected by secondary smoke, because even though the nicotine is burned off, the smoke still contains enough of the chemical in its vaporous form. The drug causes various neurotransmitters in the central nervous system and the brain to function at higher levels, which causes the relaxation effect that gets so many people addicted, and through the stimulation of certain of these receptors adrenaline through an influx of calcium which it binds to is released into the blood stream which causes high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and a rise in blood glucose levels.

Tips for Quitting the Habit

If you want to stop your high blood pressure and high glucose levels before it is too late and you end up suffering from a heart attack or stroke, as well as develop diabetes and more, then you need to stop smoking. Aside from the illnesses that you can develop, smoking has also been linked to various cancers, and other diseases. To stop smoking you must first of all have the willpower and the desire. Once you want to stop, it becomes a whole lot easier. Many people use patches to quit, and some go under hypnotherapy, whilst others just go cold turkey. The best method of quitting will be dependent on the extent of your habit, but if you really want to get healthy, you should try any or all of them.

Are you struggling to stop smoking? I was but not any more. Just click on giving
up smoking to follow my progress, or visit the stop
smoking forum. Grab yourself a free copy of How To Stop
Smoking Forever

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/the-effects-of-smoking-and-how-you-can-stop-smoking-987437.html