Breathe… And Other No Nonsense Tips To Reduce Stress.
Use these tips, tools, and tricks to reduce stress and restore your peace of mind.
Moments of stress and anxiety can happen to anyone, how these moments are handled can make the greatest difference between back to calm or a day full of worry. If we allow our thoughts to loop in a negative pattern we lose out on joy, productivity and even chance lowering our immune system. Lucky for us there are many tools we can use to get the mind back on track.
My favorite tool is also the most essential building block of life, breath! When I find myself holding my breath or breathing irregularly, whether that means short and shallow breathing or taking long pauses between breaths, I know I’m just a few rounds of box breathing away from a deep relaxation. Box breathing, also called square breathing, is simple and effective to learn and practice. To begin, you simply exhale completely followed by a nice full inhalation, then at the top of your inhalation you will hold your breath for a count of four seconds. Now, exhale for a count of four seconds, hold at the bottom of your exhale for 4 seconds, then begin the cycle again by inhaling for four seconds. You can carry this pattern along until your breathing in this manner feels natural or until you feel a sense of calm wash over you. There are apps and visualizations you can follow along with to help you keep track of the cycle, like this video.
Another great practice to relax the body and in turn to relax the mind is Progressive Muscle Relaxation. You will work through the body tensing and releasing each muscle group until you have released tension throughout your entire body. Try following along with this video for a guided tense and release experience.
When you are experiencing stress your body is stuck in a fight or flight mode, to counteract this and to reset your parasympathetic nervous system to a relaxed state you can simply lie on your back and place your feet up a wall. In about 15 minutes or less you will feel the relief associated with this practice, known in yoga as Viparita Karani. Try it for yourself by lying perpendicular to the ground, with your bottom meeting the wall and your legs extended upwards. To add ease to this pose you can place a folded blanket or towel underneath the pelvis and place an eye pillow over the eyes for deeper relaxation. This pose is meant to help you restore and reset, meaning there are no rules for how long you must stay in this position. If you can stay and find comfort for 15 minutes that’s great, if 5 minutes feels satisfying that works as well. Each of our bodies is unique and resilient, and we work best when we respect, listen to, nurture and support our body and mind holistically.
I hope you enjoy these new tools for reducing stress and its effects on our health and wellbeing. Give them each a try and let me know what practice fits best for you in your life. There are so many ways we can work to nurture our bodies and protect ourselves from the cycle of stress and anxiety, and I would love to hear any of your personal remedies for keeping your peace.
Wishing you the best!
Maddison Lee
