If you're feeling overwhelmed with all that you have to pack in to every day use the following three tools to help you feel calmer, gain a more balanced perspective and cope better....
1) GET THINGS DOWN ON PAPER & OUT OF YOUR MIND!
Write things down to allow your mind to be clear of them! From your daily to-do list to the list of goals that you want to achieve, by transferring them to paper or a document on your computer or phone- you can just refer to them when you need to, but not have them constantly in your mind. I love the Morning Pages technique by Julia Cameron, a way to get all of the ‘chatter’ out of the mind in the morning. This allows the mind to be clear and creative (it was designed for creatives and artists) but can be used for us all to enable us to be more happy, balanced and effective in our daily activities. Check this out at; www.juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages
2) A SIMPLE VISUALIZATION TO HELP YOU.
Use the Vault Exercise- if you have a thought or worry that emerges in your mind when you really don’t want to think about or deal with it- you can use the following technique to shelve the issue until later;
Imagine a secure container or vault, big and stable, with a lock, which can only be opened by you. It can be any colour, size, material. It can be whatever you like- a chest, box, cabinet or locker, room or even an island if you like.
You can store anything that you feel you can’t deal with right now, any worries or stresses that create a negative reaction, inside of this vault. In the vault these thoughts are kept safe, until the time that you want to open it up look at what is inside, explore and process them or discard them.
Just close your eyes and imagine depositing the thoughts or worries into the vault, now close the lid or door and lock it shut. If using an island, imagine being in a plane, helicopter or boat if you prefer and dropping or leaving the material on the island before leaving in your preferred form of transport.
3) USE THE POWER OF THE BREATH.
Use your breathing to calm yourself. If you’re finding yourself getting overwhelmed, use this simple alternate nostril breathing exercise to de-stress and calm the mind during your day.
What are the benefits?
With just a few minutes of alternate nostril breathing, you can restore balance and ease in the mind and body. Sometimes when we feel frazzled or find ourselves doing too many things at once, it’s because energetically, we are out of alignment. This breath is great for restoring that necessary balance. In addition to calming the mind and reversing stress, alternate nostril breathing also:
· Improves our ability to focus the mind
· Supports our lungs and respiratory functions
· Restores balance in the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and clears the energetic channels
· Rejuvenates the nervous system
· Removes toxins
· Settles stress
Whether you’re nervous about a project or presentation, anxious about a conversation, or just generally stressed out, this is a quick and calming way to bring you back to your centre. If you meditate and find it difficult to settle into your meditations, try using this tool for a few minutes first. Next time you find yourself doing too many things at once, or you sense panic or anxiety begin to rise, move through a few rounds of alternate nostril breathing. It’s a great way to hit the reset button for your mental state.
How to do it;
1) Sit comfortably, making sure your spine is straight and your heart/chest is open, shoulders are down and relaxed.
2) Relax your left palm comfortably into your lap and bring your right hand just in front of your face.
3) With your right hand, bring your pointer finger and middle finger to rest between your eyebrows, lightly using them as an anchor. The fingers we’ll be actively using are the thumb and ring finger.
4) Close your eyes and take a deep breath in and out through your nose.
5) Close your right nostril with your right thumb. Inhale through the left nostril slowly to count of 5
6) Close the left nostril with your ring finger so both nostrils are held closed; retain your breath at the top of the inhale for a count of 5.
7) Open your right nostril and release the breath slowly through the right side to the count of 5. Pause briefly at the bottom of the exhale.
8) Inhale through the right side to the count of 5.
9) Hold both nostrils closed (with ring finger and thumb) for a count of 5. Open your left nostril and release breath to the count of 5 through the left side. Pause briefly at the bottom.
Then start the process again repeating steps 5-9. (Repeat 5-10 cycles, allowing your mind to follow your inhales and exhales.)
I hope you like the above techniques for stress management- they're simple and they work!
תגובות