Take a moment (or 15) to be still today. Allow for relaxation, and you will feel it.

I’m sure you’ve heard that “you can’t solve a problem using the same thinking that created it.”

With chronic stress, it’s no different. You can’t decrease your stress level by continuing to rush around, or take on more, or attempt to avoid that which is causing you tension and anxiety (it’s still lurking in the shadows).

We can, however, opt-out of the tension. Let it go, release it, drop it like it’s hot.

We can opt-out of the tension and opt-in to more relaxation. In just three breaths.

And if you have a few more minutes, you can breathe spaciousness and ease into the most difficult situation.

The Practice:

1. Start by giving yourself some space. Put your work aside or find a quiet place. Notice your body resting here. Bring some alignment to your posture, then allow yourself to completely relax.
2. Now begin paying very close attention to your breath. You can notice it at the tip of your nose, or simply watch it as it moves through the body. Let yourself relax even more on the next out-breath.
3. Whenever a thought arises, just come back to the breath. Try this now for a few minutes. Close your eyes gently.
4. Welcome back.

As you can see, when we allow for relaxation, it happens. We can consciously let our tension go, and in the act of doing so, relax the body and the mind.

With regular practice, we become more aware of what causes us tension, and how to release it.

By turning on the Relaxation Response, the Stress Reponse is silenced, zapped, iced.

Just be still and breathe, and notice how the body wants to relax if we only allow for it.

Now we can chill.

Stress Release Tip

As we relax the mind, open up, and notice the thoughts that cause us stress, we can see where we are unconsciously choosing stressful circumstances. Like standing at the checkout line impatiently tapping our foot and cursing the speed of the person in front of us. Or in traffic. Instead, we can surrender. Let it go. Feel the anxiety, the discomfort, and then drop it. Easy-peasy…sometimes not so easy, but still doable.

Mindful Moment

A study done at California State University-Dominguez Hills sheds some light on how easily students are distracted by technology. Students from middle school to university were asked to work on an assignment for 15 minutes, but on average they did only 10 minutes of concentrated work. The main distractions? Texting and social media. How are you with distractions in your day?

Quote From Adam

“No matter how much pressure you feel at work, if you could find ways to relax for at least five minutes every hour, you’d be more productive.”
– Dr. Joyce Brothers